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Gibson Mhaka
PATRIARCHY is pervasive across the entirety of the global political economy and it shapes women’s behaviour in ways that undermine their performance.
Patriarchal attitudes, often practised at home, are frequently transferred to organisational settings where it dictates women’s career paths, personal image, safety, security, and countless other aspects of their lives.
Bulawayo City Council (BCC) Councillor Perseverance Nyathi who was elected under the Proportional Representation (PR) quota believes that since women bear the brunt of patriarchy, it was therefore essential to empower them in order to create a more equitable society.
She said collaboration, communication, and genuine engagement were key to achieving this goal.
“One of the challenges that women face is working in male-dominated environments. This can lead to resistance from male colleagues, but it is important to remember that social justice and negotiation are powerful tools,” said Cllr Nyathi.
She said patriarchy brings about many harmful practices and beliefs that both women and men need to recognise and resist.
“Another challenge is gender-based violence. This is a menace that requires a multi-faceted approach through education, legislation, and campaigns. As a female Councillor my priorities are to empower women as they bear the brunt of patriarchy,” she said.
She said women also play a greater role in leadership, and their rights were human rights adding that their presence in political spaces was essential for engendering democracy, access, and participation to issues that matter.
“Specific challenges that women face include child marriage, domestic violence, and unemployment. To overcome these challenges, we must work together to create a society where everyone is treated equally, regardless of gender, religion, economic status, or political beliefs,” said Cllr Nyathi.
She adds: “Some specific actions that we can take to empower women and create a more equitable society include promoting education and awareness of women’s rights and gender equality, supporting women-owned businesses and organisations, advocating for policies that support women, such as equal pay, paid family leave, access to affordable childcare, challenging gender stereotypes and biases and encouraging women to run for office and participate in civic life.”
She said by taking these steps, as a country we could create a world where all women have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s harmonised elections held on 23 and 24 August exposed glaring disparities of a serious gender gap where very few females compared to males managed to win the parliamentary and local authority seats.
In the National Assembly seats there were 70 female candidates compared with 637 men across the 210 constituencies, comprising 11 percent of candidates down from 14 percent in 2018.
That was a clear indication that the only space where women led was in voter registration numbers as they are under-represented in political offices.
This also exerted pressure on political parties in the country to implement constitutional provisions demanding equal gender representation on nomination of their election candidates.
Turning to gender–responsive budgeting, Cllr Nyathi said it was one sure and plausible way to ensure the realisation of gender equality as it promotes inclusion and equity.
Cllr Nyathi’s hope for equity and social justice, as well as an egalitarian society, is apparently a noble and important one. It is a hope that we can all share, regardless of one’s gender, religion, economic status, or political beliefs
“Equity is about fairness and ensuring that everyone has the same opportunities, regardless of their background. Social justice is about creating a society where everyone is treated with respect and dignity, and where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
“An egalitarian society is one where everyone is equal and has the same rights and opportunities.
“These are all ideals that we should strive to achieve. In a world where there is so much inequality and injustice, it is important to have hope for a better future,” said Cllr Nyathi.
Her words are indeed a reminder that as a country we can create a better future for ourselves and for generations to come.
“In order to achieve equity and social justice, we need to work together to address the root causes of inequality and injustice. This includes things like racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of discrimination.
“We also need to work to create policies and programmes that promote fairness and opportunity for everyone. When everyone has the same opportunities and is treated with respect, we can all thrive,” she said
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