NINE women will sit in the House of Assembly when the first Parliament of Zimbabwe convenes. Six will be ZANU (PF) members and the rest Patriotic Front.
The ZANU (PF) MPs will be Mrs Shebba Tavarwisa (Victoria); Mrs Julia Zvobgo (Midlands), wife of the party's elections director, Mr Eddison Zvobgo; Mrs J. Chivaura (Mashonaland West); Mrs Naomi Nhiwatiwa and Mrs Victoria Chitepo (Manicaland).
Mrs Teurai Ropa Nhongo, wife of Mr Rex Nhongo, the ZANU (PF) military commander, will be the member for Mashonaland Central.
Three of the Patriotic Front members represent Matabeleland North and are: Mrs Ruth Chinamano, wife of Mr Josiah Chinamano, who failed to gain a seat in Mashonaland East; Miss Jane Ngwenya and Mrs T. V. Lesabe.
Mrs Zvobgo was delighted by the number of women in the new Parliament.
She said: "It is an appreciation of the role women played in the struggle for freedom."
Lessons for today
The inclusion of women in all spheres of society including politics is a key development that is being actively pursued across the world.
- In Zimbabwe, the inclusion of women in politics has been bolstered by the introduction of the women and youth quota systems.
- The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a global organisation of national Parliaments whose goal is to empower parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development, ranked Zimbabwe number 63 globally, in terms of women representation in Parliament.
- The UN postulates that women's equal participation and leadership in political and public life are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
