Women make strides

AT the height of the liberation struggle, women bore the brunt of the struggle as they battled to unyoke the country from the grip of the white colonial regime.

As the enemies attack intensified at the front, legions of women who were miffed by the white regime’s disregard for black majority rule, fought from all angles of the country.

Many will remember how women of all ages mainly in rural areas would provide food, attend night vigils to boost morale and express their gratitude to the gallant men and women, who sacrificed personal liberty and gains to fight for the liberation of Zimbabwe.

Those in the cities did not just fold their hands while the battle ensued, but they partook in several organised underground activities to unsettle the white supremacy which regarded black people as second class citizens.

Many strikes that predominately spread across cities in the then Rhodesia were orchestrated by women.

In 1961, women took to the streets against a constitution which institutionalised racism, with thousands demonstrating in the then Salisbury (now Harare).

At least 2 000 of them were arrested and refused to pay their fines, choosing instead to go to jail.

Even school girls, who were yet to attain 18 years, abandoned their studies and joined the great trek to Mozambique and into neighbouring countries, where they received military training, before returning home to defend what was rightly theirs.

Not only did women feed the front by carrying war material to it from the rear, but they also fought on the front and were equally exposed to the enemy’s bullets in the same way as men.

They braved the cold, the scorching heat, the rough nights when they got soaked in the rain, and went through the tough military training.

There is nothing wrong in highlighting women’s dual role of also taking care of their fellow comrades, just like mothers, in addition to their major role of defending the sovereignty of this country.

They were in the war to fight and to deliver victory to Zimbabweans, and theirs was not just a side hustle, as many would want to believe, but commitment to a just cause.

They were guerrillas, bent on defeating the mercenary and unwarranted acts of the white minority.

As the country prepares to celebrate the hard won independence, which came through the barrel of the gun, it is important to acknowledge the role women played in the liberation matrix, and the contribution they continue to make in various forums.

When Zimbabwe attained independence, women’s ascendancy in politics, social and economic era did not happen overnight, but was a result of sheer hard work.

Inspired by the need to succeed, hundreds of women with the assistance of Government embraced all forms of affirmative action and other empowerment policies to improve their economic, social and political status.

Names are too numerous to mention of women who broke the glass ceilings and other barriers to attain phenomenal success in their areas of specialisation, be it in business, health, education, aviation or politics.

However, they will attest that the road has not been smooth, but has been riddled with a lot of challenges.

The women will confirm that their achievements have been a gradual transition riddled with problems, red tape and in some instances downright discrimination, resulting in some of them falling by the wayside.

Apart from failing to get cheap finance from banks, and failure to broker mega deals, failure by society to accept that women are as good as men has also been one of the challenges snail-pacing women’s total emancipation.

However, the Government says it remains committed to promoting more women empowerment, despite physical and structural challenges that still exist in society.

Speaking at the SheRoars Zimbabwe Young Women’s Conference in Harare recently, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Government has strived to put women on an even footing with their male counterparts since independence.

Women have to be part of decision-making processes in both business and politics as they make up more than half the country’s population, she said.

“Total empowerment of women in any society is very important and Government, since independence, has put in place numerous policies that seek to empower and emancipate women all over the country,” said Cde Mutsvangwa.

“During the colonial era, women were double oppressed and even with women empowerment policies enacted after independence, gaps were still there.”

A war veteran herself, and a hard working female Minister, who has proven her mettle through dedication, commitment and zeal to empower other women, Cde Mutsvangwa’s passion on gender equality is historical.

From a mere school girl, who joined the liberation struggle barely in her teens, Cde Mutsvangwa has inspired many women to remain resolute and steadfast in their pursuit for economic and political achievement.

For others coming from a disadvantaged historical background, but with the zeal to achieve more, their ascendancy has been aided by several Government initiatives that have been put in place to advance their cause.

Progression for millions of women previously marginalised in the colonial era, was necessitated by a number of pieces of legislation, government’s policies towards women’s emancipation and the political will within the current leadership to uplift women.

The Government’s positive policy towards the role of women in national development resulted in the creation of a ministry responsible for women affairs, gender and development, charged with the responsibility of spearheading the development and advancement of women.

The ministry, with the assistance of women’s organisations and other Government ministries, has over the years been instrumental in lobbying for progressive legislation and programmes for the advancement of women.

Like any other system, the economic and political empowerment of women has not been without hitches and is still riddled with a number of problems, with lack of access to capital being one of the major obstacles.

There still exists some attitudes and customs that society still use to discriminate women in different social and economic spaces.

There are organisations and companies that still have the colonial vestige mentality, where they still trivialise the role of women, regarding them as incapable and incompetent ornaments meant to beautify wide and open spaces. It is the same mentality that the nation will need to rid from its midst so that women can get the fair share of the cake, without being discriminated on the basis of their physiology and not their capabilities.