Published by the government of Zimbabwe
30 August 2007
Harare — WOMEN parliamentarians should introduce economic empowerment projects in their constituencies to ensure self-reliance and reduce the effects of poverty that mostly affect women, President of the Senate, Cde Edna Madzongwe, said this week.
Cde Madzongwe was speaking during the just-ended Women's Parliamentary Caucus workshop on Gender Violence and Reproductive Health in Masvingo.
The workshop, which was organised by the United Nations Population Fund, discussed various issues concerning the development or lack of development of women in various spheres of life, HIV and Aids, challenges around reproductive health and the way forward following the codification of the Domestic Violence Act.
"It is crucial that money is put where it matters most and any policy pronouncement without resources is doomed to be ineffective.
"As women parliamentarians, we need to advocate the vibrancy of gender budgeting to address various needs related to both men and women but, above all, we should strive to economically empower our fellow women through various projects," Cde Madzongwe said.
She said it was a fact that women in Zimbabwe are generally disadvantaged due to the patriarchal society that supports men in terms of economic empowerment.
"We are worried that 27 years after attaining independence, many women still beg for approval and money to access health services and to start their own projects. This workshop is most welcome because it seeks to remind us of the need to uplift our fellow women who are still dependent on our male counterparts for survival," Cde Madzongwe said.
She, however, said women should also involve men and ensure their active participation when debating issues of reproductive health and women empowerment.
She said women should also unite and share ideas in order to come up with effective strategies that address constraints threatening the achievement of some of the Millennium Development Goals.
"We are stepping up our campaign for the 2008 elections and advocating an increase in the representation of women in politics.
"It is, therefore, imperative that women leaders are seen articulating the aspirations and needs of fellow women and try to make a difference in their quality of life because they are the ones who vote them into power."
UNFPA, the Women's Trust, Parliament Women's Caucus and Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development are working in stages to address pertinent issues affecting women in the areas of HIV and Aids, gender-based violence, and protecting the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women.
The team also seeks ways to incorporate all these concerns in gender budgeting, which the caucus agreed was a crucial tool for women's development.
During the training, participants identified poverty as the country's greatest enemy worsening the plight of women.
It was clear from the workshop that without adequate resources, women's advancement programmes are not prioritised.
The deterioration of neo-natal and post-natal health services was also discussed at length with some Members of Parliament saying they still had women delivering at home.
Participants also raised concerns over the high incidence of abortion, saying practical effective ways should be found that enable women in difficult circumstances to be assisted without putting their lives at risk.
Director of the Women's Trust Ms Luta Shaba said women in leadership positions should agitate for the incorporation of women empowering international conventions and protocols that Zimbabwe signed.
"The power of women in leadership positions can never be underestimated and with their participation in politics we know we have naturally thoughtful mothers and sisters with human development at heart," Ms Shaba said.
Deputy Minister of Indigenisation and Empowerment Senator Tracy Mutinhiri said women parliamentarians had a role to play through monitoring the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, whose mandate is to help improve the quality of life.
"We know how poverty negatively affects women and girls.
"This is why we have to move with speed and implement various recommendations to curb unnecessary loss of lives and further deterioration of livelihoods," Sen Mutinhiri said.
She said reproductive health was both a development and security issue.
"Security has to be viewed not only in military terms, but also encompasses the need to have food security and universal access to reproductive health," Sen Mutinhiri said.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
