Zimbabwe: UNCT Marks International Women's Day

THE United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Zimbabwe joins the world in celebrating International Women's Day under the national theme, "Empower Women in Rural Areas: Eradicate Poverty and Hunger". The national event took place on March 16, 2012 in Binga, a rural area hundreds of

kilometres away from the capital, Harare, befitting the theme.

In Zimbabwe 86 percent of women live in rural areas.

Ensuring gender equality is a fundamental basic human right and equally a social and economic imperative.

The country has registered modest progress towards promoting gender equality in education, in decision- making positions, and in the enactment of legislation and policies that support gender equality.

However, there is still a long way to go before women and girls can fully enjoy their fundamental rights, freedom and dignity to guarantee their well-being.

Thus, gender inequality remains a concern in Zimbabwe, particularly in rural areas.

Real income of women is three times less than that of men, and women have a higher structural unemployment rate of 70 percent compared to 56 percent for men. As for political decision-making, women representation in the Lower and Upper Houses are 14 percent and 33 percent respectively against the Sadc Protocol benchmark of 50 percent.

Maternal mortality ratio is high at 725 per 100 000 live births; and of the total 1,2 million people living with HIV in the country, 52 percent are women.

The 2011 Human Development Report revealed that the Gender Inequality Index (GII), which reflects gender-based inequalities in three dimensions - reproductive health, empowerment and economic activity - stands at 0,583 ranking 118 out of 146 countries.

The ideal index is zero.

For Zimbabwe to ensure the rights of women and gain from engaging more than half (52 percent) of the population, there should be deliberate affirmative policy of gender mainstreaming in all development sectors.

Important areas of focus are education, employment, access to productive assets and greater female bargaining power, as well as increasing the number of women in decision making.

Gender mainstreaming in these areas improves not only women's lives and rights but contributes to wider economic growth and poverty reduction endeavours.

The UN in Zimbabwe, contributing to national development priorities on gender equality and empowerment of women, has been actively providing support.

The support has focused on advocacy efforts to incorporate gender budgeting in the national budget bidding process; the Domestic Violence Act; the establishment of "one-stop centres" for survivors of Gender Based Violence; supporting rural women to access viable urban markets; as well as through microfinance for small business.

These efforts have had a positive impact on alleviating household poverty.

Through the 2012-2015 Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework, the UN Country Team remains committed to support national development priorities aimed at promoting gender equality and equity, particularly in supporting the domestication of international laws, and the establishment of national policies and frameworks that support women and girls' empowerment.

As such, the UN will continue to advocate for all women and men to enjoy equal rights and opportunities, in which the principles of gender equality and women's empowerment are firmly integrated into development, human rights, and peace building agendas.

Women's rights are indivisible component of basic human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As we commemorate the 2012 International Women's Day, let us mobilise our collective efforts as individuals, families, communities and development partners to ensure that all women, whether in rural or urban areas, realise their development aspirations.


(2012-03-17/allafrica)