WOMEN’S participation in politics remains low, with only 11% representation in Parliament and 15% in local government after the August 2023 elections, the Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) has said.
The ZGC, in its 2023 Gender Observatory, undertook a long-term election observation and monitoring mission for the 2023 election cycle with a particular focus on the following key processes biometric voter registration, nomination court process, pre-election environment monitoring, polling and post polling monitoring.
Speaking at the launch of the observatory yesterday, ZGC acting chairperson Obert Matshalaga said high nomination fees and deep-rooted patriarchal structures in political parties are a primary factor hindering women’s candidacy and engagement in the electoral process.
“Women were being shunted out because they said because there is a quota system, you will win and yet our interest is in the direct participation of women in the electoral process and to ensure that consistent with the constitution women are given equal opportunities to be elected. The outcome is very worrisome.
“It is, however, worrisome to note that the outcome of the 23 harmonised elections reflects regressing trends in women’s political participation,” he said.
“The trend analysis which was put forward for all of us to see showed, I can call them percentages, out of the 12 presidential candidates, it was nice to say it was 8%, but it was one female who managed to put forward a candidate. They could not do that because the fees were just too high.
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“On the National Assembly, because the fees were too high, they were all being funded mostly from parties which are breeding grounds of patriarchy or inequality, which begins with compromising the participation of women.”
He, however, dismissed indications that there was an 8% representation in the presidential election, yet there was only one female candidate.
In 2023, in the National Assembly, women represented only 24,3% and this was a marginal increase from 11,9%, which is about 0,4% increase.
“In local authority, there was, of course, a marginal increase in terms of direct vote by about 3%, from 13,3% in 2018 to about 16,2% the outcome of the 2023 election and the finding of gender authority continue to reinforce the already existing target to women political participation,” he said.
Matshalaga said the outcome of the 2023 election and the findings from the Gender Observatory continued to reinforce the already existing challenges to women political participation.
“Some of the major highlights have been presented to you this morning today and I will not be-labour the points,” he said.
“It is, however, worrisome to note that the outcome of the 2023 harmonised elections reflects regressing trends in women’s political participation at all levels starting at the level of fielding of candidates to the outcome of the elections.”