The women vying to become candidates in Zimbabwe's upcoming presidential elections are facing rejection because they can't pay the massive R360,000 (US$20,000) nomination fee.
In 2013, a quota was introduced so that 30% of parliamentary seats were reserved for women, but the lack of female candidates in this year's election shows this rule to be just another bit of political trickery.
It was aimed at portraying a picture of political inclusion and proportional representation, which turned out to be fake.
Speaking to Scrolla.Africa, the president of the United Zimbabwe Alliance (UZA) political party, Elisabeth Valerio, said that she thinks the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is also closing doors for the poor.
"This is a clear indication that we have no democracy in this country," she said.
"There is no inclusivity in our politics and that should be one of the electoral body's prime concerns. It's very unfortunate that ZEC neglected it."
Linda Masarira, a female presidential candidate who heads the Labour, Economist and African Diplomats (LEAD), said it took her five years to raise the nomination fees and due to the economic situation, was still unable to pay it.
"ZEC should have made provisions to receive the money in local currency, as they knew that female candidates would not be able to come up with US dollars and would use that to kick them out of the race," she said.
"In short, it was a systematic elbowing out of women. I approached the courts, hoping for an urgent redress of the matter but I will not be surprised to be told that the matter will be heard after election day on 23 August."
The Women's Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (WALPE) executive director Sitabile Dewa said the presidential candidate nomination fees are exorbitant. She also described it as discriminatory because women have always been on the losing end of economic muscle and leadership in publicly elected positions.
ZEC chief elections officer Utoile Silaigwana said that the commission extended nomination time for all prospective candidates who had raised concerns over payment difficulties caused by banking system problems.
