BELOW is an extract from a report by The Girls Table titled Position Paper on Young Women’s Participation in Decision Making – Enhancing Young Women’s Voice, Agency and Participation in Public Life:
Gender-based political violence
Violence against girls and women in politics undermines young women’s political participation and representation in decision making bodies and reduces opportunities for gender-equality.
Often individual women are targeted but gender-based political violence impacts “beyond their intended specific target” and “frighten other women who are already politically active, deter women who might consider engaging in politics, and communicate to society that women should not participate in public life in any capacity”.
Even more damaging is the targeting of those “who are in positions of influence or leading human rights advocacy are frequently targeted, with a view to silencing their voices and the voices of others”.
The Girls Table is committed to a society in which girls and young women live their lives free from violence by challenging the laws, discriminatory gender-based attitudes, norms and behaviours that cause and sustain it.
An estimated 44% of women over 15 years of age in Zimbabwe have experienced sexual or physical violence by an intimate partner, compared to the global average of 27% and regional average of 33%.
Besides physical assault, evidence showed that online and offline hate speech, sexist comments and sexual harassment were also widespread and regularly used as tactics to dominate and silence women in politics.
Limited economic opportunities
Unpaid care work, which “refers to the direct care of people and the housework that facilitates this, such as cooking, cleaning, collecting firewood and water, and looking after children and the elderly” is mostly done by young women and girls.
In Zimbabwe, like in most countries, women perform more than two times “the amount of unpaid care work that men do, disproportionately reducing the amount of time women are able to dedicate to paid work, to participating in public life, or to resting and enjoying leisure time”.
This often leads to economic disempowerment and related vulnerabilities.
Studies show that “economically empowered women are likely to have confidence and the resources they need to stand up for women priorities, challenge stereotypes and stand for office”.
Growing evidence also “shows that the level of income and availability of time are correlated with levels of political participation; the unequal distribution of these resources between genders is thus a commonly cited explanation for lower levels of political participation amongst women.
Furthermore, unequal family and household care responsibilities have been found to contribute to “time-poverty” and depriving young women time to do paid work, further pushing them to the bottom of the economic ladder.
According to a World Bank Report, in Zimbabwe “labour force participation rate (LFPR) for males is 53%, compared to 34% for females, and men outnumber women in most sectors. [Only] 22% of working women are employed in wage or salaried positions, compared to 41% for men, and, to make matters worse, women employees on wages “earn on average about two-thirds of their male counterparts”.
Poverty also contributes to the scourge of child marriages, early pregnancies, substance abuse, poor young women and girls who cannot afford sanitary wear, poor access to education and health, long distances to water points, and long distances to schools.
All these factors also take away young women’s agency and dampen their ability and willingness to participate in leadership positions.
Resources constraints
Vying for political office in Zimbabwe can be expensive and highly resource-intensive and political parties are generally unable to financially support their candidates.
Young women who were surveyed for this position paper indicated that astronomical nomination fees, campaign expenses and the cost of electoral material were key issues that deterred them from seeking nomination for public office in the August 2023 elections.
For example, in the 2023 elections a candidate for presidency was required to pay a nomination fee of US$20 000 while those who wanted to be candidates for the National Assembly had to pay US$1 000.
The Girls Table, like many human rights advocacy organisations, believes these nomination fees were highly insensitive and unjustifiable and a brazen violation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution seeking to have more women in leadership positions.
To make matters worse, the fees ignored the dire economic realities and the high levels of gendered poverty in which young women are disproportionately affected.
Due to “structural and systemic barriers” that “continue to impede their full and meaningful participation in the economy”, “women in all regions of the world are more food insecure than men…”
Unsurprisingly, lack of financial resources acts as a very practical barrier to their entry into politics.
In the light of this, many young women lack the required resources to register as candidates and campaign for office and are, therefore, placed at serious disadvantage, placing the country’s quest for gender equality in jeopardy.
We believe removing all nomination fees and alleviating the burden of campaign expenses for young women should, therefore, raise the number of young women candidates, resulting in improved chances for election of many young women into office.
Gender-biased political parties
Overall, evidence shows that like social norms linked to both age and the fear of violence, harassment, or abuse during the electoral cycle, “political systems and mechanisms for participation which are neither inclusive nor accessible” create barriers for young women’s participation.
As the vehicle for engaging in politics and expression of policy options, political parties are critical to the advancement of young women in politics and in the struggle for gender equality and participation in decision-making.
Yet many political parties in Zimbabwe, especially the major ones, are structured in ways which limit young women’s ability to voice their issues, share their thoughts and express themselves, which in turn affects their sense of belonging and political efficacy.
Invariably, they tend to be male- dominated, misogynistic and epitomes of patriarchal gate keeping that reduce the numbers of young women seeking and getting leadership positions.
Gender-blind policies and gender-biases when selecting candidates for public office and allocating leadership positions have contributed to the systematic exclusion of young women and the silencing of young women’s perspectives, experiences, and interests in decision-making.
Similarly, youth wings of political parties are also often male-dominated, placing young men at an advantage to learn how to handle and use power to achieve policy outcomes. Women’s wings, where they exist, are usually weak, unable to influence policy, kept in the peripheries of decision making and often not well-integrated into the main party structures.
In view of this, the Girls Table believes that to achieve gender equality and meaningful participation in decision-making by young women ought to involve reforming political parties. Political parties must be compelled by the laws to embraces an internal environment and institutional processes and mechanisms that strengthens opportunities for participation by women and young women.
Legal barriers
IPU interviews with young parliamentarians at IPU meetings and various scholarship points to legal barriers as playing a role in restricting youth participation and assumption of office by young people in various countries.
Key among these is lack of alignment of voting age and qualification to hold office. For instance, in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, a person is qualified to vote as from 18 years of age (Section 67), while a person can only be a senator at the age of 40 years (Section 121), a member of the national assembly at 21 years of age (Section 125), and President at the age of 40 years (Section 91).
Globally, the results of an IPU study indicated that 69,7% of chambers of parliament having a minimum age to hold office that is higher than the voting age. Zimbabwe belongs in this group.
This has created a perception that politics is for older people and generated apathy among young people.
In turn, this means fewer young people with interest to vote or hold office, depriving policy-making of critical perspectives of a key demographic group.
With that in mind, a growing number of countries are lowering the age of qualification to hold office so that a person qualified to vote is qualified to hold office.
High impact on policies
When women, including young women, are elected to political positions, they impact legislation and policies and make a difference in the lives of girls and young women.
Women are “more likely to pursue inclusive policies and respond to constituent concerns; tend to push for positive change around health, community wellbeing, poverty reduction, and family welfare; and are more likely to strive to reach a consensus on policies”.
Another study indicated that “an increased number of women in parliament leads to greater investments in education”.
For example, “in some Scandinavian countries, where women are well represented in positions of power, public budgets and policies more appropriately reflect the interests of girls and women.
This same principle holds true for institutions of global governance, where there is a distinct gender imbalance”.
Therefore, investing in young women’s right to political participation plays a key role not only achieving gender equality and promoting a representative democracy but contributes to economic development.
Studies show that where women in parliament are allowed space to freely function and realise their full potential, they are more likely to sponsor legislation, reach across political lines, and secure funding for the socio-economic development of their constituents.
Having more female legislators “are associated with improved government accountability”.
For instance, a survey conducted in more than 125 countries “suggests that the presence of women in government is associated with lower levels of corruption”.
Quality of service delivery
According to the UN Women, there is “established and growing evidence that women’s leadership in political decision-making processes improves service delivery”.
For example, in India studies show that “the number of drinking water projects in areas with women-led councils was 62% higher than in those with men-led councils”. In Norway, “a direct causal relationship between the presence of women in municipal councils and childcare coverage was found”.
The impact of women goes beyond the public sector into the corporate world.
Women with income have been found to “typically invest more of their income in the health, nutrition and education of their children than men”.
The Girls Table is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to increase and amplify the voices and influence of girls and young women, especially those from rural and disadvantaged background, on socio-economic, political and cultural.
The Girls Table is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to increase and amplify the voices and influence of girls and young women, especially those from rural and disadvantaged backgrounds, on socio-economic, political and cultural issues.