Women in Zimbabwe still face challenges?

29 Jun, 2014 - 06:06 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

A National Women’s Constitutional Conference recently held in Harare unearthed a number of challenges that women still face several months after the adoption of the new constitution amid calls for immediate re-alignment of the country’s laws to the new constitution.
Zimbabwean women have been subjugated by their male counterparts for a long time.
Research has shown that most women are troubled by the nature of family laws which primarily deal with issues of marriage, divorce and inheritance.

The situation was even worse during the colonial era when women would not get identity documents. They were barred from voting and could not be counted during a census.

But after independence, the Government has crafted a cocktail of policies and laws such as the Equal Pays Act to emancipate women from the vices of a patriarchal society.

Recently, the new constitution opened a window for local women to plug gender loopholes that existed in the Lancaster House Constitution.
Women lobby groups spoke with one voice during the new constitution-making process and came up with a gender-sensitive constitution which is being referred to as a “women constitution” in some circles because of the raft of clauses that seek to address women’s challenges.

However, while the new constitution promotes women’s political and social rights, other lobbyists still feel the new supreme law does not address their economic rights.

Vice-President Joice Mujuru said Government was determined to realign all laws to the new constitution.
She said the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs has already identified 400 pieces of legislation that will be re-aligned, and because of the magnitude of work to be done, the ministry had directed other line ministries to work on laws under their jurisdiction.

“In cognisance of the numerous gender-sensitive provisions in our new constitution, the process of realignment of laws to the new constitution is particularly important for the women in Zimbabwe. It provides an opportunity to address historical imbalances between men and women.

“It is our responsibility as Government to respect these provisions of the constitution and have them engraved in the laws that impact on the lives of Zimbabwean women. Failure to do so will have let down 52 percent of our population,” said VP Mujuru.

It is believed that the challenges faced by women have also affected the full implementation of Government’s economic blueprint, ZimAsset, which is hinged on four critical pillars of food security and nutrition, social services and poverty eradication, infrastructure and utilities and value addition and beneficiation

Minister of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development Oppah Muchinguri said women are often underestimated and overlooked in agricultural policies and laws.

She said women were not benefiting fully from agricultural input schemes introduced by Government to ensure food security.
Minister Muchinguri added that in the mining sector, women make up 15 percent of small-scale mining, but are concerned with the stringent laws governing the sector and a lack of information on mining related issues.

Other challenges faced by women include the absence or limited representation in decision-making bodies in the public and private sectors, which is against the founding principles of the new constitution.

Meanwhile, participants also called for the review of laws which contribute to the abuse of the girl child and women.
Women and Law in Southern Africa national co-odinator Ms Slyvia Chirawu told The Sunday Mail that researches conducted by her organisation have revealed the need to realign family laws to stop young girls from being forced into early marriages.

“We note that child abuse in the form of marrying off girls is rampant. The Customary Marriages Act has no limit for marriage and we want this addressed to tally with the constitutional provision that only persons aged 18 and above can found a family and this will mean no to child marriages.

“The Marriage Act as it currently stands allows girls to marry at 16 and boys at 18 but even at an early age, if the minister gives consent.
“We want these clauses removed to make it clear that only persons aged 18 and above can marry,” said Ms Chirawu.

Women also face problems with regards to division of matrimonial property upon divorce.
It is important to note that one of the national objectives in the new constitution requires that, “In the event of dissolution of a marriage, whether through death or divorce, provision is made for the necessary protection of any children and spouses”.

The provision which seeks to enhance the protection of spouses will impact fundamentally on divorce and inheritance laws.
“We want the law to deal with issues such as property grabbing and also that there should be protection of surviving spouses,” added Ms Chirawu.

Women are also advocating for the law to recognise unregistered traditional marriages.

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