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Women demand a quota system for the 2003 Council elections
Caroline Gwature, Federation of Africa Media Women (FAMWZ)
July 11, 2002

Due to government’s inability to support women’s calls to have more women take up leadership positions in Local Government, the women in Local Government are appealing for a quota system especially in the forthcoming 2003 council elections in order to have more of them in senior positions.

Women constitute over 50 percent of Zimbabwe’s population and this higher percentage is reflected in the urban areas, yet they are not visible when it comes to the administrative and political structures of urban councils.

This poor representation of women in senior positions in the local government has caused a lot of concern among women, as they feel that their concerns are not being fully represented in this area.

Chairperson of the Women in Local Government Forum (WLGF), Glory Chipadza said several women found it difficult to enter into local governance because of the uneven platform for competition with men.

"The cause of these disparities are mainly derived from patriarchy, where women are supposed to be confined to the private domain whilst it is only acceptable to have men in the public arena," said Chipadza.

This, she said, caused problems when a woman decided to take part in the public sphere.

"It’s not easy I tell you. The fact that you have to be voted into a position and elections held makes it more challenging. At times you are called names, you are undressed by these men who do not want to see any women take up these posts, such that only a few aggressive women make it to the end.

"Although it had been declared that there would be an equal representation of both men and women in Local Government by 2005, the country is still way behind this target mark."

Local Government, she said, was the level of government which was closest to the people and it had a particular importance for women because of its responsibility for the delivery of goods and services that had an impact directly on the necessities of social responsibility.

"The majority of women are responsible for the well-being of their families. They are the ones most affected by poor services. They know how it feels to have water or electricity supplies cut off. They know how it feels to have uncollected garbage in the streets and what effect this has on the health of their families," said Chipadza.

She said the role of women in the development of urban centers was often ignored yet sustainability of towns and cities could not succeed if women continued to be marginalised in the affairs of urban local governance.

Whilst the IULA worldwide Declaration on Women in Local Government adopted in Harare made a passionate appeal to national governments to "recognise national associations of local governments as important partners in the development, promotion and support of gender equality at the local level, and in the exchange of experiences at the international and national levels" this is not so on the ground.

To date there are 247 male councillors against 40 women; there are 14 male mayors and one female one who has since disappeared from the playing field.

She said this was because some men were still resistant to this new phenomenon and were making it very difficult for women to take up posts in the Local Government.

The major constraints which women highlighted that needed to be addressed included finances, limited access to information, personal attributes like age, education and the absence of a gender-sensitive electorate.

Responding to the issue, Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Minister, Ignatius Chombo said government was committed to the advancement of women at all levels in Local Government.

"For as long as they are competent then we are willing to support and encourage them," he said.

"It is unfortunate that although they are the majority in the country’s population and voters, they are not yet able to vote for each other," he said.

He also urged political parties who stood to benefit from these elections to assist the women in preparation for elections, as resources were major obstacle for many women who wished to for local government elections.

As for the introduction of the quota system, Chombo said it would not be the decision of Government alone, but of various stakeholders who would have to come together and decide.

While the 2003 council elections will be the turning point to try and have more women in Local Government, WLGF will also try to genderise all functions, operations, levels and systems of local government, in areas such as recruitment promotion, policies, projects and resolutions.

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