By Patricia Mashiri
Women’s leadership is not merely a matter of representation but a constitutional right and a critical driver of Zimbabwe’s development, delegates at the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) High-Level National Indaba heard.
The Indaba brought together representatives from the church, traditional leadership, civil society and government to discuss strategies for advancing women’s participation in leadership and decision-making.
Officially opening the National Indaba on Women’s Leadership, Guest of Honour, Divine Ndhukula, said empowering women to participate fully in leadership was essential for achieving sustainable economic growth, peace and national development.
“Today, we are not just talking about women’s leadership as a thematic preference. We are addressing it as a constitutional right, a developmental necessity and the cornerstone of our nation’s future.
“Zimbabwe’s aspirations under the National Development Strategy and the National Gender Policy cannot be achieved if women remain excluded from leadership and development processes,” she said.
Ndhukula said leadership begins at community level, making it important to deliberately create opportunities for women to lead local committees, school boards and community development initiatives.
She also stressed that economic empowerment is a crucial pillar of leadership, noting that women cannot effectively participate in decision-making while remaining economically disadvantaged.
Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe Chairperson, Muchanyara Mukamuri, said the Indaba focused on empowering women to speak for themselves while strengthening peace and security.
“We agreed on a communique that calls for moving from policy to implementation. We realised that Zimbabwe has beautiful policies, but the challenge lies in implementation.
“Even if we look at the Constitution, the supreme law of the land, it speaks to gender equality and non-discrimination. The real challenge is implementation. We are calling on all stakeholders to rally behind the implementation of the policies we have adopted as a country,” she said.
Mukamuri also said Zimbabwe should be prepared to welcome citizens returning from South Africa and support their reintegration into society.
Representing the church, Dr Reverend Noreen Chinyerere of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches said faith-based organisations were already facilitating peace and conflict dialogue initiatives to promote harmony among citizens.
