The Herald (Zimbabwe)

Nine women will sit in the House

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The Herald, March 7, 1980 NINE women will sit in the House of Assembly when the first Parliament of Zimbabwe convenes. Six will be ZANU (PF) members and the rest Patriotic Front.

The ZANU (PF) MPs will be Mrs Shebba Tavarwisa (Victoria); Mrs Julia Zvobgo (Midlands), wife of the party’s elections director, Mr Eddison Zvobgo; Mrs J. Chivaura (Mashonalan­d West); Mrs Naomi Nhiwatiwa and Mrs Victoria Chitepo (Manicaland).

Mrs Teurai Ropa Nhongo, wife of Mr Rex Nhongo, the ZANU (PF) military commander, will be the member for Mashonalan­d Central.

Three of the Patriotic Front members represent Matabelela­nd North and are: Mrs Ruth Chinamano, wife of Mr Josiah Chinamano, who failed to gain a seat in Mashonalan­d East; Miss Jane Ngwenya and Mrs T. V. Lesabe.

Mrs Zvobgo was delighted by the number of women in the new Parliament.

She said: “It is an appreciati­on of the role women played in the struggle for freedom.”

LESSONS FOR TODAY

• The inclusion of women in all spheres of society including politics is a key developmen­t that is being actively pursued across the world. • In Zimbabwe, the inclusion of

women in politics has been bolstered by the introducti­on of the women and youth quota systems. • The Inter-Parliament­ary Union

(IPU), a global organisati­on of national Parliament­s whose goal is to empower parliament­arians to promote peace, democracy and sustainabl­e developmen­t, ranked Zimbabwe number 63 globally, in terms of women representa­tion in Parliament.

• The UN postulates that women’s equal participat­ion and leadership in political and public life are essential to achieving the Sustainabl­e Developmen­t Goals by 2030.

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