Canadian ambassador to Zimbabwe, Malawi and Botswana Christina Buchan says girls need to be empowered to protect them from child marriages. She speaks to NewsDay (ND) reporter Vanessa Gonye about the effects of child marriages, and different Canada-funded projects in Zimbabwe to deal with the scourge.
ND: You have been involved in projects to do with the girl child, please shed more light on that.
CB: Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are key Canadian values, and as a result, the government of Canada is committed to promoting women and girls through its advocacy and programming initiatives. Canada firmly supports the view that gender equality is a human rights issue, and is essential to achieving prosperity, sustainable development, social justice, peace, and security.
Canada’s feminist foreign policy addresses the key barriers to the empowerment of women and girls by protecting and advancing the human rights of women and girls; supporting their equal participation in decision-making at all levels of political, economic and social life; and, reducing inequalities in access and control of resources.
ND: To achieve that, how has Canada assisted Zimbabwe?
CB: Canada’s international assistance to Zimbabwe includes initiatives in areas such as gender equality, access to education, and health and humanitarian assistance. The majority of Canadian projects in Zimbabwe are channelled through regional and multilateral organisations in partnership with Zimbabwean local organisations.
We also have the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, which provides support to projects that focus on raising awareness on issues such as gender-based violence (GBV), economic empowerment and improving women and youth participation in local and national governance issues.
ND: Child marriages have been on the increase in the country disadvantaging a number of girls, especially on the issue of access to education. Are you doing something to ensure that this problem is dealt with? Zimbabwe has been working on gender equality, how do you see the efforts made so far and how are you assisting in the process?
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CB: Canada was encouraged by the new Marriages Act, which bans child marriages, as well as other measures meant to curb GBV, for example the Sexual Harassment Policy. However, legal reforms need to be complemented by behavioural and attitudinal changes. In Zimbabwe, as in all countries, promoting gender equality is an ongoing process that requires consistent efforts and meaningful action at all levels of society and in all spheres from the household to the church, and from the courts to Parliament.
Child marriages have far-reaching consequences — they deny girls their childhood, disrupt their access to education, jeopardise their health and make them vulnerable to violence. Child marriages prevent girls from reaching their full potential and from fully contributing to the social and economic growth of their families, communities and countries.
Canada has several projects running in Zimbabwe in support of the girl child such as the Supporting Transition, Retention and Training for girls (START4Girls) CAD$9,4 million four-year project.
START4Girls implemented by Care Zimbabwe, the government of Zimbabwe, communities, religious and traditional leaders in Mutare and Buhera districts, promotes the return to school or entrance into vocational skills training centres for girls who have dropped out, especially married girls and teenage mothers. This project ensures that girls receive comprehensive social protection and WASH support.
Canada also supports the World Food Programme on-going efforts to support urban and rural food needs. Canada has contributed about US$407 million to Global Partnership Education (GPE) since 2007 and Zimbabwe has received US$75 million in grant funding from GPE since 2013.
Current grants include US$7 million support for Zimbabwe’s COVID-19 response, and a US$42 million, both being implemented by Unicef.
ND: The world is slowly returning to normalcy after the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. What challenges did you face during that time and how are you recovering?
CB: The COVID‐19 pandemic increased inequalities and reversed development gains globally. Measures to address the COVID-19 effects also presented significant risks to democracy. COVID-19 more severely affected women and children who already experienced poverty, exclusion and/or marginalisation.
Recovery is a process, but I am happy to say that since February 2020, Canada has committed US$3,4 billion in international assistance in response to COVID-19. This includes over US$2 billion for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator) and approximately US$1,4 billion for humanitarian and development assistance programming to respond to the immediate needs created by the pandemic.
In Zimbabwe, Canada helped counter the COVID-19 pandemic by providing US$1,2 million to the World Bank Zimbabwe Multi-Donor Trust Fund. Canada is one of the seven countries that made vaccine donations through the COVAX facility, from which Zimbabwe received almost one million COVID-19 vaccine doses last year, to complement ongoing national vaccine deployment.
ND: Please tell us about the trade relations between Zimbabwe and Canada.
CB: Since late 2017, we have witnessed a noticeable increase in interest from Canadian companies in Zimbabwe, particularly in the extractive sector. While some companies have taken concrete steps to explore commercial and investment opportunities, many appear to be tracking developments related to the business climate and economic reforms before advancing their plans.
Improvements in the rule of law and security of investment, including land tenure, ease of repatriation of revenues, availability of foreign exchange, and stabilisation of the country’s currency challenges are among the areas being cited by potential investors and traders.
ND: What is the current state of political relations between Canada and Zimbabwe?
CB: Canada-Zimbabwe relations have been, and are characterised by a number of important ties. Canada established diplomatic relations with Zimbabwe in 1980 following Zimbabwe’s independence and has been here ever since. Canada has invested millions in development funding and humanitarian relief, mainly through multilateral channels.
There are also strong people-to-people ties between our two countries with many Zimbabwean students choosing to study in Canada, creating warm personal relationships between our two countries.
ND: What is your stance in combating HIV and Aids among adolescents in Zimbabwe?
CB: Canada continues to invest in the Global Fund to Fight Aids, tuberculosis and malaria to ensure the world’s poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and girls, have access to the treatment, care and support they need. We have pledged more than CAD$930 million over three years to the Global Fund starting in 2020, which will bring our total contribution to over CAD$3,8 billion by the end of 2022. These commitments are helping to address the gender and social inequality that drive the spread of HIV and Aids.
Thanks to the Global Fund, nearly 22 million people received life-saving antiretroviral treatment for HIV and Aids in 2020 alone. This year, Canada hosted the International Aids Conference — to help accelerate the HIV response in Canada and globally.
ND: Zimbabwean elections are coming next year, what can you say about ensuring media freedom during the elections?
CB: Media freedom is essential to the protection of human rights, fundamental freedoms and universal values anchored in the Universal Declaration for Human Rights.
The media plays an essential role in defending and advancing the truth around the world, and journalists must be allowed to report facts freely and independently. This is essential in any democracy.
ND: What is your view of the pre-election period in the country?
CB: Democracy is at the core of Canada’s work around the world and election monitoring is key to strengthening democracy. Canada is encouraging peaceful, fair, transparent and democratic elections with respect for diversity and human rights.
ND: Women journalists and media workers are disproportionately targeted for harassment, threats, sexist hate speech, trolling and violence. How are you helping local female journalists faced with such challenges?
CB: Female journalists around the globe disproportionately face harassment, threats, sexist hate speech, trolling and violence. Attacks on female journalists distort the media landscape by threatening diversity and perpetuating inequality. Encouraging women journalists, and having stories about, or that are relevant, to women creates a more diverse and open media dialogue.
The embassy in Harare, in partnership with Gender and Media Connect, conducted a speed mentorship event that saw young female journalists getting the chance to speak to experienced senior female journalists.
Female leaders from across the spectrum of Zimbabwe print, radio, photography, social media and broadcasting participated in the event. For the student journalists, this was an opportunity to ask for advice or guidance about the media industry, career path and lifestyle from women who have already had similar experiences. Women supporting women is a way towards gender equality.
