Women can do it, but did they this time?

Women’s fight for political space

By Phyllis Kachere

"WOMEN can do it," but did they this time?

While for some the campaign by the Women’s Trust aimed at increasing the participation of women in politics during the recent harmonised elections has paid off, for others the number of women who have made it to the august House has fallen far too short.

Far too short for the initial Sadc requirement of at least 30 percent women participation in Parliament, which percentage the African Union has increased to 50 percent.

A combined total of 50 women from all the political parties (14 percent) would be in the House of Assembly and Senate for this Parliament. The House of Assembly has 210 seats while the Senate has 60.

Figures show that countrywide 919 women contested in the election at different levels (740 council, 118 House of Assembly, 61 Senate).

But for the Women’s Trust executive director Ms Luta Shabba, while the percentage of women who eventually made it is low, it was the high number (compared to the previous elections) who offered themselves for political office that made the difference.

"We are absolutely excited about the impact of the ‘Women Can Do It’ campaign. One of its objectives was to mobilise women to engage in the political process. And we are happy to say we managed to get a whopping 919 women participating as candidates in the harmonised elections compared to only 58 who contested for the House of Assembly seats in 2005," said Ms Shabba.

She conceded that while the number of women in the House of Assembly appeared to have increased, the increase is due to the increased number of seats that were up for grabs (from 120 previously to 210 this time).

Ms Shabba said while the 14 percent fell far too short of the AU 50 percent target, the fact that a significant 919 women offered themselves up for election could be attributed to the campaign.

"Previously, political office used to be a preserve of the original small group that made it to Parliament at independence. But the campaign managed to break that barrier and drew more women into the race.

"Most women used the ‘Women Can Do It’ campaign to lobby their political parties to reserve seats for them and for that we are excited. We mobilised resources for the women, a challenge that has always ensured that women remained behind in the campaign for political office.

"We also trained the women on leadership, which will be followed through with those who made it as we train them for Parliamentary debates, etiquette, and all that is expected of them now that they hold political office " said Ms Shabba.

But critics of the campaign say while the campaign was moving in the right direction, it came too late and could have done better if its activities had been co-ordinated and linked to other existing programmes like the Women in Politics Support (WiPSU) 50-50 campaign since they have similar goals.

"The Women Can Do It campaign could have done better if it had started earlier. That would have given more time to consult and campaign in constituencies of their choice. And if the campaign had joined hands with WiPSU 50-50 campaign, who knows, more women could have entered Parliament," said the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers’ Association (Zwla) director, Mrs Emilia Muchawa.

Mrs Muchawa said not only was the visibility of women contesting political office heightened by the campaign, but that political parties were forced to field female candidates as they sought to be in sync with the hype created by the campaign.

Unfortunately, said Mrs Muchawa, the stakes were too high in this election, that even the best women candidates lost because the electorate was voting on party lines and not for the candidates of their choice.

National co-ordinator of Women and Law in Southern Africa (Wlsa) Ms Slyvia Chirawu said while the campaign raised the visibility of women, it came too late.

"Women usually take time to decide and the late coming of the campaign did not help matters. Unfortunately some of the women candidates went into the unwinnable constituencies where they lost. Political parties should shoulder the blame as they also used women to frustrate other male candidates who would have been campaigning in particular constituencies they declared for women," said Ms Chirawu.

She said campaigning for political office was expensive and proved so for most women as they could not dish out resources to the public like their male counterparts.

Even though most of the women who stood for political office owned substantial resources, they might not be in full control of how to use them.

She said women in political offices should be willing to groom and assist new women into political office to ensure maximum participation of women in politics.

Mrs Muchawa, like Ms Chirawu, hoped that the campaign would be sustained and not wait to resurface come 2013 elections.

In concurrence with in-coming House of Assembly representative for Mutasa North Mr David Chimhini, Mrs Muchawa said the campaign should not only be reserved for entrance into Parliament but should ensure that women are positioned in all decision-making seats.

"Although women have failed to reach the AU 50 percent target in Parliament, the ‘Women Can Do It’ campaign should be used to lobby for equitable distribution of all decision-making posts in both the public and private spheres.

"But I don’t believe that men should create opportunities for women. Instead, women should be on the forefront to claim what is theirs. The campaign came too late but it should be commended for reminding the electorate that women can do it," said Mr Chimhini.

He castigated women who always moaned about the lack of resources and said these had nothing to do with being articulate about policies.

"Almost 30 years after independence, and with the age of majority, women should play their part in national and economic development. They should not play second fiddle to men although it needs to be acknowledged that the playing field for women in terms of education needs attention.

"We still have not addressed the real issues why we still have a whole school of nursing whose majority are women while in the engineering or other such fields men are the majority. Let’s put things right for women to excel," said Mr Chimhini.

Beitbridge Senator Mrs Tambudzani Mohadi said the low number of women in Parliament could be attributed to some cultural practices that discourage women from taking political office.

"While the majority of people in Zimbabwe acknowledge that women can get into politics there are still some dangerous pockets who frown on women taking political office. It is the influence of this small number that has a bearing on the low numbers of women participating," said Mrs Mohadi.

Mufakose House of Assembly representative Ms Paurina Mpariwa welcomed the "Women Can Do It" campaign for training and mobilising resources for women candidates.

"Both the major political parties made an effort to increase the number of women candidates for these elections. And the campaign helped boost women’s confidence although I think they were too neutral.

"I had hoped for them to print campaign T-shirts for the women candidates in their own party colours instead of the neutral ‘vote for a woman’ standard message. The election was more of a battle of the parties and because of that some of the best women candidates lost," said Ms Mpariwa.

Responding to queries of the readiness of the Zimbabwean electorate to vote for women politicians, Minister of Science and Technology Dr Olivia Muchena said it was ready although a little more time and resources were needed for societal attitudes to change.

She said while women lobbied in their different political parties to campaign in "winnable" seats, the allocation for seats was not democratic leading to better women candidates losing out. Some critics have accused women of trying to create an "industry" for them to loot donor funds using women, most of the women interviewed defended the campaign saying it ensured space for women to participate in politics.

"Whenever there are challenges to be addressed it is normal for the affected group to mobilise resources and strategies to lobby for the challenges to be addressed. And that is exactly what women have done," said Mrs Muchawa.

"There is nothing new in that accusation. We have heard it before and that should not discourage women to keep the pressure and maintain momentum on asking for what is rightfully ours. We will fight for our political space," said Ms Chirawu.