Zimpapers Logo

Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Chronicle Reporter
PARLIAMENTARIANS have urged Government to avail more financial resources towards the economic and political empowerment of women to affirm that it prioritises gender equality.

This is in accordance to the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which Zimbabwe is signatory to.

The CEDAW which Zimbabwe ratified in 1991 also calls for signatories to ensure women have a right to decent work, access to family planning services and that they fully enjoy rights and responsibilities during marriage and its dissolution.

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Cde Chido Madiwa said Zimbabwe submitted the CEDAW report to a meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland last year.

She told senators before parliament adjourned for the Christmas break last year that the CEDAW committee received the report and also made some recommendations for the country.

“Treasury should, from the 2021 budget onwards avail financial resources for the implementation of CEDAW recommendations and timeous submission of the Report to affirm government prioritisation of women economic and political emancipation,” she said.

“The Government delegation to the 75th Session of CEDAW in Switzerland, Geneva, in February 2020, was too huge comprising of delegates from various government departments. The Zimbabwe delegation had about 20 members compared to other countries with 5 or 6 delegates,” said Cde Madiwa.

She said failure to control the number of delegates exerts a lot of pressure on the already strained national budget.

“There is need therefore from the next meeting to cut the travel budget by making sure that the CEDAW report compilation is participatory, multi-sectoral and consultative, and that only a small number of delegates submit the report to the CEDAW Committee,” she said.

Zimbabwe, according to Cde Madiwa was asked to ensure timeous submission of CEDAW reports as required.

She also said the committee expressed the need for the country to do more to curb child marriages and to increase the number of women in decision making positions, given that the quota system is coming to an end in 2023.

“The Committee was notified that the Government of Zimbabwe had introduced measures that empower women economically in the mining, agriculture, tourism and trade sectors. We also shared about the Financial Inclusion Strategy and the establishment of a Women’s Micro Finance Bank, empowerment loans targeted at women, youths and SMEs, which is meant to economically empower the targeted groups,” she said.