Zimbabwe women reduced to cheerleaders in the upcoming elections

For the National Assembly, there are 70 women candidates against 637 men in 210 constituencies. This represents 11% of candidates, down from 14% in 2018.

Parliamentary candidates must pay US$1 000 to register, compared to US$50 in the previous election — and that’s before the huge amounts necessary to compete in a country where vote-buying is rampant.

“Women have historically been squeezed out of the economic arena … That deprivation is now being used to elbow us out of the race for public office,” lamented Masarira. “Political leadership is a preserve of rich men.”

Many women chose to stay away rather than try to raise such “exorbitant fees,” she said.

Pressure groups are disappointed, especially after campaigning hard ahead of party primaries.

In February, major political parties signed a ”Women Charter”, pledging action to increase the number of women candidates under a #2023LetsGo5050 campaign driven by a coalition of women’s rights groups.

When candidate registration closed, the biggest political parties had fielded less than 12% women candidates each for the National Assembly, said Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence or WALPE, a local non-governmental organisation.

WALPE described the numbers as a “slap in the face,” accused the parties of “tokenism” and threatened to campaign against them “as the only way” to demonstrate women’s determination for a seat at the table. The group is now running a campaign urging women voters to elect fellow women where they appear on the ballot.

Those women who do run for public office also endure derogatory stereotypes.

Take Judith Tobaiwa, an opposition politician, and the first female MP for a politically volatile constituency in central Zimbabwe. She is seeking re-election. But for her opponents, gender seems to trump the 35-year-old’s track record.

“What is so special about Judy … How different is she from other girls?” thundered a ruling party campaigner during a recent rally in her constituency. “If it’s about being a prostitute, we also have prostitutes in ZANU-PF,” he said to applause for the comments captured on video and later widely criticised by activists.

Yet, according to Mandevere, the human rights lawyer, females have proven to be effective leaders through many decades of multiple crises in Zimbabwe. These range from the HIV/AIDS pandemic that killed millions, to the coronavirus outbreak that left many women and girls as household heads, and a prolonged and debilitating economic meltdown that catapulted women to the forefront of fending for families.

“That’s the sad part. We are fine with women taking care of us at home during times of crisis, but we frown upon their ambitions when it comes to national politics,” he said.- AP

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