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NATIONAL WORKSHOP REPORT: NATIONAL ALLIANCE

BUILDING AND STRATEGY WORKSHOP

12 SEPTEMEBR 2013

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INTRODUCTION

Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe in Collaboration with Gender Links and UN Women

held a National Women’s Workshop on the 12th of September 2013 at the Cresta Lodge

in Harare.

WCoZ is a member of the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance. The Alliance was

formed in 2005 and consists of national networks of gender NGOs. The Alliance

promotes and facilitates the creation of gender equality through lobbying and advocacy

towards the achievement of 28 targets of the SADC Protocol on Gender and

Development by 2015. Gender Links provides secretariat to the Alliance and

partnership programme. In collaboration with UN Women the Alliance has produced

gender annual SADC Gender Protocol Barometers to track progress of the

implementation of key provisions of the Protocol. The National Women’s Conference

was held as part of the Alliance’s monitoring and evaluation process.

WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES

The following objective guided the workshop:

Strategize going forward as women of Zimbabwe using the SADC Protocol on Gender

and Development.

ATTENDANCE

The meeting was attended by WCoZ membership, organizations and chapters; funding

and strategic partners. Over 120 people were in attendance.

Part of the delegates who attended the National Women’s Conference

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WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS

The chairperson of the WCoZ Mrs. Virginia Muwanigwa gave welcome remarks. She

welcomed the delegates to the workshop and was hopeful that fruitful deliberations

would be realised.

She however expressed dismay about the gender disregard in the appointment of

female cabinet ministers especially after the women’s movement had worked so hard to

ensure that gender equality is enshrined in the constitution. Furthermore, Zimbabwe

being a signatory to the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development failed dismally to

comply with the gender equality provisions of the Protocol. The President indicated that

he could not find women with suitable educational qualifications to appoint for cabinet

posts. Such utterances were unacceptable. Virginia however urged the women to

continue to upgrade themselves educationally and professionally so that they get

appointed on merit. She urged delegates to consider making demands on the

implementation of the constitution so that women are not short changed again. Despite

all the disappointment women were encouraged to celebrate the small wins made so

far.

WCoZ Chairperson, Ms V. Muwanigwa

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UN Women Remarks

The UN Women Deputy

Country Representative Revai

Makanje-Aalbaek indicated

that the workshop had come at

an opportune time; the

constitution adoption in May,

peaceful election and 32%

female representation in

Parliament. She acknowledged

that the 32% is a product of

women’s activism. The

appointment of female judges

is a milestone to celebrate.

She however quickly changed

tone when she was talking about the sobering reality of women in Zimbabwe. She noted

the magnitude of domestic violence experienced by women and girls; 47% of women

indicated that they had suffered violence in one form or the other, 1in 3 girls experience

sexual violence before turning 18 years, they are forced, coerced and under duress.

Maternal mortality is high, the prevalence of HIV and AIDS is still high and Revai

wandered what that means for women. In her opinion there is need to find sustained

solutions to the problems faced by women. She proposed that women need to analyse

Expectations

The following were key expectations expressed by delegates:

Solid, implementable and effective strategies will be developed that will

position women in effective positions.

With God all things are possible women have been called for such a time as

this.

When the worse comes to the worst litigation is the way.

All things are possible to them that believe.

Zimbabwe will never be same again after the workshop.

When women gather there will be a difference.

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their situations and seek strategies that are different from what has been used in the

past. She urged the women to challenge patriarchy which is the major source of power

imbalance that exists in the Zimbabwean society. She pledged UN Women’s

commitment to finding solutions to women’s problems turning away the negative

experience to positive enjoyable experiences.

Contextual Analysis: Opportunities and Challenges for women in socio-economic

and Political Sectors

WCoZ Coordinator Netsai Mushonga presented the Zimbabwean contextual analysis

focusing on opportunities and challenges for women in the socio-economic and political

sectors.

In her presentation Netsai indicated that women need to ask questions that will make

contextual analysis relevant and these questions include: What are the threats? What

are our opportunities? Are we strategically positioned? How have we used the SADC

Protocol on Gender and Development? How have we used our new constitution?

WCoZ Coordinator Netsai Mushonga presenting a contextual analysis

Netsai gave a brief overview of the national context in which she highlighted the socio-

economic and political transition Zimbabwe went through; the development of the new

constitution, the end of Government of National Unity (GNU) by the 31st of July 2013

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and the elections that gave ZANU PF landslide victory which the MDC disputed, the

new parliament with female representation of 32%. The creation of the new constitution

and the increased female representation in Parliament are opportunities for women.

Netsai also touched on the political commitment on gender equality. In the run up to

primary and national elections it was obvious that patriarchy has raised its head again.

This was evidenced by the backlash against the 60 seats allocated to women; powerful

women candidates, were elbowed out of their constituencies and in the end only 26

women managed to win in the First Past The Post seats (FPTP). She highlighted the

high disregard of gender equality as she reflected on the appointment of the cabinet and

their deputies where only 9% are women which is far below the 50% in the constitution

and in the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development

Seeing this situation there is need to demand accountability for the respect of women’s

human rights. Netsai emphasised the need to be stronger more than ever, knock on all

doors and to be strategically positioned to make a difference. The women’s movement

needs to create viable partnerships that will bring change.

For the advocacy agenda Netsai encouraged women to ask themselves provoking

questions and these include; Who do we need to make an alliance with? Who should

we advocate? Who should we threaten? Who should we arm twist? Who are the

movers and shakers now? Who can make a difference for women of Zimbabwe? These

questions needed to be answered by the time the national conference ends. She

encouraged the delegates to be open-minded and think outside the box. She reminded

the delegates that we are in the AU Decade for African Women and the theme is “Time

for Women, Time for Africa”. At the same time the SADC Protocol on Gender and

Development says that by 2015 all women in the SADC region should have all their

human rights. Most of the governments in the SADC region signed and ratified the

Protocol. The questions again – Which mountains do we need to move in order to

access our rights? Women should continue to use these opportunities to push for the

women’s agenda in their advocacy.

In terms of strategy Netsai said women should consider the government architecture;

the majority ZANU PF government, we have the first vice president who is a woman,

and also we have the first lady. Women need to understand how powerful these two

women are and how they can harness their strength to benefit the women. It was

thought provoking when Netsai indicated that Honourable Mujuru might also be our next

president.

In the end, Netsai’s presentation set the tone for group discussions by highlighting the

opportunities and gaps in each cluster; Women and governance, Education and

training, Employment and economic empowerment, HIV and AIDS, Gender Based

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Violence, Peace building and conflict resolution , Media, information and

communication.

Netsai’s presentation was followed by a plenary discussion that re-emphasised the

need for coming up with a new strategy to address the existing gender gaps and also

use identified opportunities.

Report on the resolutions from the First National Women’s Conference

Prior to the National Women’s Conference held on the 12th of September, WCoZ in

collaboration with the Self Help Development Trust (SHDF) had conducted a similar

workshop to strategize on broadening women’s participation in political, social and

economic sectors. The resolutions from that workshop formed the basis for the Second

National Women’s Conference. It was therefore important to share these resolutions

with the delegates. Below are the highlights of the resolutions.

Target political parties for lobbying to increase women’s numbers

Lobby for increased Media coverage for women

Defend the new constitution in case there are amendments that could

be detrimental to women’s gains.

Campaign for peace as Civil Society, churches and as individuals

Build and support capacity of women in parliament and local

government so that they deliver and get re-elected in future elections.

Analyze internal and external impediments to women’s participation and

address the root causes e.g. culture, socialization and traditions

Strengthen the national and grassroots level networks to ensure a wider reach

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Group discussions

Peace- Building Cluster discussing issues affecting their sector

Delegates were divided into groups according to the clusters to identify key issues and

priorities and assess progress in achieving gender equality and come up with the

resolutions for each cluster. The table below highlights the resolutions for each cluster.

Group presentations in session

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Resolutions from The Second National Women’s Conference

Issues Strategic actions

Constitutional

and legal

Advocate for the creation of laws to align with new

constitutional provisions

Align laws by engaging parliamentarians to encourage them

to introduce new bills, assist them to create the new bills

Coach policy makers to enable them to argue in parliament

in support of the new bills

Engage in strategic litigation to ensure that the legislation in

Zimbabwe is consistent with the new constitutional

provisions

Make noise about the litigation and attract national and

international attention, expose the shortcomings of

government to take action

Health Advocate for the implementation of free maternity for women

Advocate for availability of free care of cancer patients

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Advocate for the increase of youth friendly health centres

Advocate for economic empowerment initiatives for women

Raise awareness of sexual and reproductive health and rights

Research and document around provision of health services

to young women

Monitor and evaluate health service provisions for women

Engage the church and civic society on issues of sexual and

reproductive health and rights

Empowerment workshops for young women on sexual,

reproductive health and rights

Economic Justice Advocate for the implementation of constitutional provisions

that guarantee women’s equal access to resources and equal

participation in decision making

Advocate for effective gender mainstreaming in all ministries

Advocacy for the protection of the rights of women in the

informal sector

Robust advocacy for the revival of industry and employment

creation

Carry out economic literacy for the community

Support women to move from micro to macro businesses

Advocate for quotas for women in all economic sectors

Advocate for equitable access to resources and accountability

Provide information on economic empowerment to women

Access to land

and natural

resources

Campaign for security of tenure of women if their names

appear on lease agreements

Raise awareness of agriculture as business among women

farmers

Gender and the Lobby against sexual harassment in the media workplaces

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media To venerate women policy makers as opposed to demeaning

them

Engage community media to cover women positively

Train and advocate with media to mainstream gender issues

Engage female and male policy makers on media issues

Take advantage of free slots available on radio and TV

stations

Advocate for the implementation of positive media policies

and de-campaign the negative ones

Peace building Defend new constitution since amendments might be

detrimental to women’s gains

Advocate for recognition of peace building monitors in the

various communities

Capacity building of female peace builders in the various

communities

Make proposals for the operations of the National Peace and

Reconciliation Commission and suggest a gender policy for it

Advocate for the active participation of women in peace

building

Advocate for a gender sensitive, gender balanced police

Advocate for strict codes of professionalism among the police

force to enhance women’s security

Advocate for gender sensitive security sector reform

Education and

training

Push for improved enrolment of girls in education

Advocate for improved retention of girls in the education

system

Advocate for improved graduation rate for girls

Advocate for free basic education , scholarships and

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bursaries specifically for girls

Promote affirmative action for girls in tertiary education

Introduce functional literacy

Advocate for improved service conditions for staff in the

education sector

Popularise education policy and second chance policy

HIV and AIDS In general, on the all issues raised, which affect women in

HIV and AIDS, we would recommend that the Ministry of

Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development to

champion these within cabinet.

Civil Society should adopt an integrated approach to

engagement with government for multi-sectoral impact

The Ministry should establish discussion fora which creates

a platform for active engagement with women at the

grassroots.

MoHCW should safeguard women’s health by walking the

talk in relation to consultation and user fees.

Educating service providers through their curriculum about

how to communicate on issues related to HIV and AIDS.

Government should utilize national natural resources to

augment the AIDS Levy in order for us to attain 100%

Universal access.

On the economic front, women need to access resources that

enable them to be self reliant.

As civil society we should strengthen support groups and

providing up to date and targeted information at the

community level.

As civil society our role should be to monitor the

implementation of policies in place and raise the red flags

when there are violations.

Civil Society should promote women’s leadership and support

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demand for health rights.

GBV Raise awareness of socialising boys to be nonviolent and

responsible citizens

Life skills and economic empowerment training for young

women critical

Advocate for awareness raising and respect of the DVA

Churches to be mobilised to use the DVA

Unite and make noise against GBV, too much silence

Way forward

The discussions throughout the presentations and plenary sessions pointed to the

following as the way forward;

i. There is an urgent need to hold duty bearers accountable for the respect of

women’s constitutional rights. This should be duty bearers at all levels.

ii. There is need to introduce several strategic test litigation on constitutional issues

as well as publicise provisions of the constitution

iii. WCoZ and its membership should engage in research on issues affecting women,

strengthen documentation and profiling of women in leadership at all levels

iv. There is need for intergenerational mentoring, direct support and awareness

raising for younger women

v. Capacity building efforts should be strengthened around information, knowledge

and skills transfer

vi. There is need for evidence based and robust advocacy on the ten

thematic/clusters areas

vii. There is need to examine issues of sustainability, continuity and innovation

viii. WCoZ should keep the international, regional, national to grassroots linkages

strong

ix. There is need for a multi-sectoral cooperation/approach (civil society, government,

UN and other development partners)

x. The WCoZ media cluster and the wide movement should engage in a robust media

engagement to push for coverage of women

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Closing Remarks

WCOZ Board member Joyce Mhungu thanked all the delegates for attending the

workshop and coming up with a strategy to carry the women’s agenda forward. She

also appreciated Gender Links, the UN Women and WCoZ secretariat for organizing

such a successful conference. She wished every delegate a safe journey home.

Village level workshops

The National Alliance Building and Strategy Workshop paved way for village level

workshops in different wards around Zimbabwe on the SADC Protocol on Gender and

Development. WCoZ members who showed interest in these attended a half day

training of trainers (TOT) at Zimbabwe Women’s Bureau on the 16th of September

2013.

WCoZ National Coordinator, Netsai Mushonga gave a brief background on the SADC

Protocol on Gender and Development and Zimbabwe’s role in its implementation.

Zimbabwe adopted the Protocol in 2008 and ratified it in 2009. The framework covers

the gaps in the Millennium Development Goals through setting up 28 realistic targets to

be achieved by 2015. The targets are covered in ten thematic areas: - constitutional and

legal rights, media, information and communication, HIV and AIDS, peace building and

conflict resolution, economic justice, gender and governance, education and training,

health and gender, climate change and sustainable development.

Gender Links Country Manager Priscilla Maphosa and Programme Officer Tapiwa

Zvaraya gave a detailed explanation on the objectives of the village level workshops

and how to use the information, education and communication (IEC) material provided

particularly the monitoring and evaluation forms to achieve the set objectives.

The objectives for the village workshops were presented as:

Raise awareness of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development with 500-1000 community members.

Strengthen capacity for advocacy in communities.

Raise awareness of gaps in the respect of women’s rights in Zimbabwe.

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Nine members of the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe convened the village level

workshops in grassroots communities; in and out of Harare. These include:-

1. Humanitarian Information Facilitation Centre HIFC

2. Women Filmmakers of Zimbabwe WFoZ

3. Jekesa Pfungwa Vuliqondo JPV

4. Self Help Development Fund SHDF

5. Women’s Action Group WAG

6. Women and Aids Support Network WASN

7. Young Women Christian Association YWCA

8. Farm Orphans Support Trust FOST

9. Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association ZWLA

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VILLAGE LEVEL WORKSHOPS

Village workshops in Hopely Farm, Crowbrough and Chiweshe Picture collage by HIFC and

JPV

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Key activities for the village level workshops included the SADC Gender Protocol quiz,

an attitudes survey, unpacking of the SADC Gender Act and a discussion of issues

within the community in relation to the provisions in the protocol.

Key outcomes

Most communities were not aware of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development

but however displayed knowledge on basic human rights.

Women were more articulate about economic issues affecting them but were unaware

of Article 15-19 on productive resources, employment and economic empowerment.

The attitudes survey disclosed that patriarchy still has a stronghold on society and that

communities consistent awareness raising is imperative to ensure better understand.

The village level workshops enabled an average reach of 5000 people.

Lessons learnt and Recommendations

It is crucial for WCoZ to always play the coordination role to ensure that follow-ups with respective organisation are made.

Adequate training material should be provided so that all participants have information, educational and communication (IEC) material for better understanding of issues raised.

Refresher courses in the villages are pivotal to keep communities engaged on the issues and updated about the progress the country is making towards the fulfilment of the provisions.

Monitoring and evaluation visits are essential in tracking the progress of the workshops being conducted and the impact on communities.

There is need to simplify the language used in the formulation of IEC material.

Conclusion

The National Workshop and village level workshops helped raise awareness on the

SADC Protocol on Gender and Development and the importance of its implementation.

It built momentum that has resulted in the key stakeholders’ interest in the Protocol, its

implementation and progress the country is making. This momentum was apparent

even in the recent launch of the SADC Gender Protocol 2013 Barometer. Zimbabwe

has made vast progress towards the set targets of the Protocol but has also

experienced some drawbacks. As 2015 approaches, the women of Zimbabwe continue

to advocate for the full implementation of the Protocol in all sectors. While the women

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celebrate the small wins over the years it is critical that they continue to push the

women’s agenda. Patriarchy is a deep rooted system that takes time to uproot. It

manifests itself in socialization and culture contributing to women’s lack of self-

confidence. Economic disempowerment and high poverty levels also affect one’s ability

to participate effectively in other spheres of life. Women should endeavour to address

all factors that hinder them from achieving equal participation in all sectors.

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