The Sunday Mail
Editor’s Brief
Victoria Ruzvidzo
The Beijing Women’s Conference of 1995 sent tremors across the world changing the gender narrative in an unprecedented fashion to the extent that up to this day many from grassroots levels up to high echelons of power still speak about it.
It is now 22 years since the epoch-defining event to which progress on women’s issues have been attributed. Many still refer to it even comically or in a derogatory fashion when they speak about women’s issues.
There have been serious discussion around gender equality at national and international levels particularly around the need for women to be accorded more space physically and metaphorically so they can play their effective role as global citizens.
Some cultural practices have been tweaked or turned upside down while others remain unmoved as efforts to address gender disparity.
Billions of dollars and thousands of hours have been expended under the gender discourse to make women a better lot in society.
The jury is still out on the effectiveness of some of these discussions and whether results to date are commensurate with what has been invested but what has come out in most instances is that the role of women is indeed central in making the world a better place. There is certainly no debate on the fact that politics, the economy and social issues are better handled if women are part of the process, not at the periphery but right in the thick of things.
Some ground has been covered in promoting gender equality but the truth is there is still a long way before an ideal situation is achieved.
Of course it is extremely important that all efforts continue to be made towards levelling the playing field. So many hurdles constrain women from achieving even half their capacity. There is statistical evidence and millions of research papers attest to this.
Indeed the Sustainable Development Goal Number 5: Achieve Gender equality and empower all women and girls” is quite instructive but there is still a long way to go before this dream becomes reality.
However, while fierce debate continues to rage on what governments, corporates and society in general needs to do to change the narrative, women themselves need to sabotage hurdles and do the best they can to sit at their rightful place on the table, while enjoying their fair share of the cake.
The world is replete with opportunities, goals and targets that women can and should grab against all odds. It takes more determination and a greater resolve to see these and maximise on them.
It starts with one woman just deciding to rise up and for that specific goal that may not be a low hanging fruit but one through which she can use a ladder or a stack of rocks to get to. Women are known to be quite resourceful hence the need to use this attribute to their advantage.
It starts with the little things and little steps that may appear insignificant on face value and yet quite effective in winning the game.
Women have largely been dismissed as incapable of one thing or the other because of stereotypes and instances where predecessors may have failed to perform optimally when given the chance. For instance, there are instances where people say I will not ride on a commuter omnibus or bus being driven by a woman simply because they have come across one who could not deliver.
The Constitution recognises gender equality and women’s rights as being Zimbabwe’s founding values and principles. It clearly says the State and all its institutions consider gender equality in laws and policy, to implement measures that provide care and assistance to mothers, and to grant women opportunities to work. Happy days for women.
However, while other stakeholders pursue strategies to better the environment, the onus is on women themselves can correct this by maximising every opportunity to correct a past wrong and the ensuing perception. While the same can be said about men, the onus is actually on women with access to such opportunities to ensure they do they best to blot out the misconception.
In fact women have since proved that they are great pilots, which means driving is not even an issue. So women need to pass the button stick in that relay to communicate the message strongly that individually and largely circumstantial failure cannot describe the whole lot.
Furthermore, it is common knowledge that in some positions in the corporate or public sector sphere, male candidates are preferred to women. Mourning about this has not changes the situation hence it calls for women to empower themselves with knowledge and skills so they can be viewed as equal to the task if not even better,
Human resources managers should be left with no reason whatsoever why they cannot appoint a woman as a chief engineer, data capture analyst, head of IT department or some such position. More women with the skill and technical know-how should step up to the plate.
Barring cultural practices that condemned women to the periphery, modern day families and society have seen reason to educate a woman. So what this means is that women should climb the academic ladder and attain those levels that will make them difficult to ignore when appointments are made.
Where experience is required, women can even volunteer their skills to boost their Curriculum Vitae if that is what they must do to gain experience. We are not condoning male chauvinism in this instance but we need to eradicate the work space of any excuses, no matter how flimsy, that have been used against women.
Since there is gender inequality prevalent in many spheres be it in business circles or otherwise, women must find a way to go around this equipping themselves more than the male counterparts
Globally governments and other international institutions have put in place systems to empower women. Although these may not be the best or the most effective, women should maximise them and take every opportunity inherent in them to transform themselves.
For instance in this country, Government has established a Women’s bank through which loans can be accessed while the central bank has encouraged all banks to have special women’s desk to take care of women’s financial needs.
Before we debate the merits and demerits of such initiatives, it is critical that women grab such opportunities with both hands. Everything then falls into place along the way.
We have instances where the women’s bank and other facilities for women have reported a low uptake with no sound reason given. Lack of information should thus not be an excuse, women need to keep abreast with development not just in their locality but nationally and internationally.
In politics, more women can only be appointed if they stand up for appointment. More women can become parliamentarians or ministers if they are voted into office. The beauty of it is that in Zimbabwe and other countries, women account for the majority of voters but right from grassroots levels going up, women hardly vote their counterparts into office for one reason or the other.
It has been said that sometimes women do not have adequate resources for campaigning hence they cannot adequately market themselves to the electorate but as stated earlier, women are resourceful and can come together and launch an effective campaign. Voters and the powers-that-be need a pool of women from which to choose, but if they cannot present themselves then they must not cry foul.
Indeed there is so much women can do themselves to bulldoze their way through and change the narrative even in the presence of genuine impediments.
In Its Gender Parity report, the World Economic Forum says it will take . . . years for …..
A research document by UN Women also notes that…
The theme for this year’s International Women’s day celebrations is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world”.
This illustrates that despite the Covid-19 setbacks, the pandemic has brought with it opportunities that women can cease. Already women lead the pack in terms of them being caregivers, frontline workers and decision makers. If anything the current circumstances bring to the fore the importance of women not just in the fight against Covid-19 but any challenges confronting the globe.
Ultimately, women are capable of making a world of difference to their circumstances. They should that step forward and give of their best. This will leave the rest of the world with no choice but to follow and seek to make the environment more conducive so that both men and women can work together in eradicating the world of poverty, wars, diseases and other such issues so the world can become a better place for everyone.
It takes two to tango and it remains a fact that more can be achieved through joint efforts by men and women. With gender equality we all emerge winners.
In God I Trust!
