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International Conference on Women's Economic and Political
Empowerment and Peace Building
Women's
Coalition
June 15, 2011
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Executive
Summary
The Ministry
of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development in collaboration
with the Organ for National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration
(ONHRI), the Ministry of Regional Integration and International
Cooperation and the Women's Coalition representing the civil
society partners co-hosted a 3 day international conference for
women under the theme, "Women's Economic and Political
Empowerment and Peace Building". The conference brought together
women from over ten African countries, as well as Zimbabwean women
from various sectors. This conference was a follow up to a high
level dialogue delegation of eight eminent African women led by
Mary Robinson former Prime Minister of Ireland and Chairperson of
the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
The conference had two overall objectives viz;
- To create
an enabling environment that will increase women's empowerment
in the political, economic and social spheres in an effort to
achieve Millennium Development Goal 1 "eradication of extreme
hunger and poverty and Millennium Development Goal 3 on "gender
equality and empowerment of women" which is key to achieving
the other Millennium Development Goals.
- Provide a
platform for regional sharing of experiences and best practices
on women's empowerment.
The objectives
and the theme of the conference dovetailed into the broad scope
of Millennium Development Goals, so that while the conference theme
had three distinct focus areas, women's economic empowerment,
political empowerment and peace building; in reality these focus
areas were interlinked hence the conference sought to address all
three issues as inter-related rather than as separate issues. In
the introductory remarks by the Minister of Women Affairs, Gender
and Community Development and the United Nations Resident Coordinator,
the issue of the interdependence of the conference focus areas was
highlighted as critical towards appreciating that the Millennium
Development Goals could not be achieved independently of each other.
In the expert
presentations the emphasis was on the interdependence of the three
areas, and how it would be difficult to completely address one area
without taking into account the other two. The expert presentations
also addressed some of the key issues affecting women's empowerment
in the economy and politics as well as limiting the role of women
in peace building. In the areas of economic empowerment, which was
identified as central to the empowerment of women, the key challenges
related to lack of information, capacity and skills. A key issue
was also the fact that where there is no political stability, as
in conflict areas, women's economic empowerment became compromised
hence peace building is critical for women to attain economic empowerment.
The expert presentations
on peace building and political empowerment also highlighted some
of the key issues that limit women's participation in peace
building processes as well as the participation of women in political
leadership and decision making, such as culture and tradition which
have failed to evolve to locate women outside of the home. Further
the fact that there are very few women in decision making was also
noted as a challenge, since men are unlikely to facilitate or open
up spaces for women to take leadership and decision making positions
both in politics or peace building. All the expert presentations
proposed quota systems or affirmative action in various forms to
enable women to attain economic and political empowerment. The conference
participants also had occasion to discuss the focus areas of the
conference and further articulate some of the challenges women face
in the three focus area in groups and in plenary. During the conference,
African Union Women's Decade - Zimbabwe Chapter was
launched by Her Excellency Hon. Joice Mujuru. Participants also
had the opportunity to visit various sites, where Zimbabwean women
are undertaking economic empowerment projects, ranging from poultry
farming to mining. The foreign participants were particularly inspired
to learn that despite the economic and political challenges prevailing
in Zimbabwe, women were still able and committed to attaining economic
empowerment.
The major output
of the conference was an action plan with proposals to enhance women's
economic and political empowerment and their role in peace building.
Among some of the proposed actions and strategies, were the following;
- Women need
to lobby for constitutional proposals for the creation of quota
systems/affirmative action to enhance women's participation
in decision making both at national level through the constitution,
legislation and policies as well as at political party level.
At political party level, this would also entail actively lobbying
political parties to create enabling environments for women to
participate in intra party democratic processes in order to increase
the number of women in leadership in decision making at various
levels within the political parties to ensure that there would
be a larger number of women to participate at national level when
elections and other elective processes came about.
- In terms
of economic empowerment, increased participation of women in economic
policy formulation was encouraged. In particular this would entail
increasing women's knowledge of economic frameworks as many
women did not know how best to access the economic sphere. In
addition, there was a recommendation to audit the various economic
frameworks for compliance with gender equality provisions, since
the economic sector is largely male dominated.
- Women need
to lobby for the domestication of international and regional frameworks
that protect and prevent violations against women and promote
the participation of women in peace building. This recommendation
was in light of the fact that there are several regional and international
frameworks that exist to protect and prevent violence against
women, to which Zimbabwe is a signatory to, which could be used
to prevent violence against women as well as enhance women's
participation in peace building processes. The conference also
recommended that the work of the Organ on National Healing, Reconciliation
and Integration should also create local level peace structures,
so that communities develop their own mechanisms for preventing
and protecting women from all forms of violence in their communities.
The conference
ended with many of the international experts pledging solidarity
to the cause of gender equality in Zimbabwe; and with commitments
of support to the various gender equality initiatives that the Government
of Zimbabwe would wish to pursue as well as pledges to continue
supporting current collaborations between the people of Zimbabwe
and the various international institutions such as the United Nations,
the African Union and International IDEA. The gender ministers present
at the conference also expressed support for the people of Zimbabwe
during the ongoing processes of democratization and they committed
to taking the message of Zimbabwe's positive development and
growth to their countries as well as to the international media.
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