The Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre and Network (ZWRCN) is lobbying government to ensure that women receive a fair allocation of resources in the upcoming budget process.
This was revealed on Monday during the 2024 pre-budget meeting facilitated by Southern Africa Parliamentary Support Trust(SAPST) to highlight women’s priorities.
"We know that now is the budget season and we are basically looking at ensuring that women get a fair allocation in the budget," ZWRCN executive director Thokozile Ruzvidzo said.
"Women in Zimbabwe constitute 51% of the population (and) a lot of livelihoods are the responsibility of women because for most households to be where they are, women are at the forefront."
In the 2023 budget, the Ministry of Women's Affairs was allocated $18.5 billion, which translates to 0.5% of the total budget.
According to women’s lobby groups, this depicts that the country is not adequately addressing the differential lived experiences and realities of women, men, girls and boys in its allocation of resources.
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"The budget needs to focus on the critical issues that affect women such as access to land, mechanisation and basic access to factors of production," Ruzvidzo said.
"Women are so crucial, they need to be strengthened and need critical skills. We are aware that there are limited resources at the moment but we will continue to advocate for more funds."
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Gender Commission representative Lorraine Mbodza underscored that funding for women in previous budgets had been low.