War cry for female candidates

War cry for female candidates

 

Hosia Mviringi

 

In the month of March every year, the world commemorates and celebrates the woman species as one of the greatest gift of God to mankind.

The celebration is an attempt to make up for the marginalisation, abuse and at times inhuman treatment of women at the hands of their masculine counterparts.

 

As the country counts down to the March 26, 2022 by-elections, political parties have been making an effort to ensure that a sizeable number of women get a chance to stand for election to various positions available both in the House of Assembly and Local Authorities.

 

“As ZANU PF Women’s League, we are rooting for the party’s female candidates who are contesting in these by-elections. Indeed it has not been easy to get more women to contest in these elections due to the usual competition from our male counterparts,” said Cde Maybe Mbowa who is the Party’s Women’s League National Political Commissar.

 

“We thank our President and leader Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa for being a listening President by extending the critical women’s Parliamentary Quota by another 10 years making sure that participation of women in governance is guaranteed even against a backdrop of some hostile competition from our male counterparts,” she said.

 

President Mnangagwa in August last year ascended to Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment number 2 of 2021 whose passage in the Senate on May 4, 2021 gave a new lease life to a proportional representation of women in the House of Assembly for another 10 years after its expiry. The extension of the proportional representation of women and youths in Parliament was in direct response to and taking cognizance of the prevailing hostile environment towards equitable participation of women in governance processes such as elections.

The current Constitutional provisions were due to expire in 2023 following a 10 year tenure which ran from 2013.

 

The amendments were however instituted well ahead of time to allow government to work on some of the provisions of the Bill such as delimitation, appointment of judges, the issues of Presidential running mate and others that are critical to a successful election in 2023.

 

In Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa and the world at large women have been perennial victims of abuse, marginalisation, victimisation, blackmail and exclusion each time they make an attempt to stand for political office.

The practice has seen fewer and fewer women making a decision to participate in political processes.

The abuse of women has been primarily driven by insecurity on the part of the dominating male counterparts who have always felt insecure in the presence of powerful women. Political intolerance has seen such brave women politicians as Linda Masarira enduring persistent abuses which include vulgar language and body shaming on social media.

 

“We are particularly elated that at least in this by-election the ZANU PF Women’s League has managed to push five female candidates to represent the party in the House of Assembly elections. We have Cdes Musa Ncube (Tsholotsho North), Betty Nhambu Kaseke (Kuwadzana), Mavis Gumbo (Harare East), Zalerah Makari (Epworth) and Loice Magweba (Harare Central). This is an encouraging number for us and our hope is that they all win so that our chances of Parliamentary representation as women are increased come 2023,” she continued.

 

Harare Central has got two female candidates, Loice Magweba (ZANU PF) and Linda Masarira (LEAD), who are battling it out against one Norest Marara of the MDC Alliance, while in Kuwadzana Constituency Cde Betty Nhambu Kaseke will have to contend with yet another female candidate Fatima Madamombe of MDC Alliance.