Njabulo Ncube, Assistant Editor
THE failure to appoint a significant number of women to influential posts in the current government of national unity (GNU) should be regarded as yet another outstanding issue in the shaky power-sharing truce, gender activists said this week, warning the coalition government risked alienating the female folk in the wake of talk on fresh elections. With women constituting more than 52 percent of the Zimbabwe population, Article XX of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) states that there is need for gender parity, particularly the need to appoint women to strategic Cabinet posts.
There were high expectations at the consummation of the coalition government that more and more women would be parachuted into Cabinet and other senior positions, such as permanent secretaries and commissioners, among other top jobs.
But alas, more men were instead being appointed into lofty positions in the GNU.
An analysis of the composition of the current Cabinet and the appointments of senior government officials in the GNU reveals that fewer women hold influential position in the coalition government, an issue gender activists say does not augur well for the unity government.
Currently eight women occupy Cabinet posts out of 50 members, including the presidium and the Attorney General, Johannes Tomana, who is an ex-officio member.
These are namely Vice President, Joice Mujuru, Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe, Gender Minister, Olivia Muchena, Labour Minister, Pauline Mpariwa, Integration and International Cooperation Minister, Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga, Co-Home Affairs Minister, Theresa Makone and Flora Buka, the Minister of State in Vice President John Nkomo’s Office and Small Enterprises Minister, Sithembiso Nyoni.
Jealous Mawarire, an independent analyst who has written extensively on gender issues and has done an analysis on the composition of the present GNU vis-à-vis gender, said this anomaly should be part of the outstanding issues arising from the implementation of the GPA.
“Article XX of the GPA is clear on the need for ensuring gender parity in the allocation of strategic Cabinet posts and if one has to look at the ministries allocated to the eight female Cabinet ministers, there is nothing strategic about them,” said Mawarire.
“If anything, Dr (Olivia) Muchena is taking care of women affairs because the principals believe women’s issues, and gender issues, are better administered by women while Misihairabwi-Mushonga was hired to give a beautiful face to an ugly government so as to lure international partners while Mpariwa was made to continue with her workers’ rights advocacy from her days with the Zimbabwe Congress Trade Unions.
“Of these women allocated ministries, no one was allocated a strategic post, and that no one has made this an outstanding issue is baffling to some of us who believe in gender equality and also to people who expect the three parties to respect their agreement. We need the GPA to be implemented in its entirety and Article XX is no lesser article than the provisions for the appointment of governors,” he said.
In this respect, Mawarire said the GNU has not only failed women, but it has also exposed the hypocrisy replete in its ranks for neither ZANU-PF, nor its two MDC accomplices, have raised this issue among their list of outstanding issues.
“Doesnt gender discrimination ostracise in just the same way as do sanctions and other political and economic embargos? Isn't failing to respect Article XX a failure to respect the rule of law, a law or rule that these three parties agreed on their own volition,” asked Mawarire.
Tafadzwa Muropa, a research officer with the Zimbabwe Women’s Coalition, a non-governmental organisation, said more effort needed to be done by the partners in the GNU to ensure that there is gender equality in the allocation of strategic ministries such as Finance, Legal Affairs, Economic Planning and Defence among others.
In South Africa for example, President Jacob Zuma has appointed several women into powerful posts.
Zuma has Lindiwe Sisulu as his defence minister while Lindiwe Zulu is his advisor on international affairs.
Several women also hold influential provincial cabinet posts in South Africa.
Muropa, however, noted that while there were glaring omissions in the GNU regarding the appointment of women to powerful positions, some officials in the GNU, such as Vice President Mujuru and Deputy Prime Minister Khupe, were trying their best in promoting gender equality and economic empowerment among women.
“Unlike in the past, the current women’s parliamentary caucus has been progressive in demanding (recognition of) women's rights in Parliament, though more work needs to be done, especially in shunning politically motivated violence especially against women,” she said.
It has also been suggested that female politicians should push for media provisions in the SADC Gender protocol to be included in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy and other media policies so that the gender disparities in the media are addressed.
A Southern African Gender and Media Progress Study on Zimbabwe released in Harare last week revealed that there has not been any significant improvement in the participation of women in the media.
The results of a Gender and Media Baseline study showed that after seven years there has been a one percent progress from 15 percent to 16 percent.
The country performance is lower than the regional average of 19 percent and the global average of 24 percent, according to the 2010 Global Media Monitoring Project.
Former ZANU-PF legislator, Margaret Dongo, said women must keep shouting so that they can be heard.
“There is no reason why we (women) should not have more female ministers than men more-so when women constitute the majority of the population,” said Dongo.
The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development envisages that they should be 50 percent representation of women in all areas of decision-making by 2015.
The protocol also encourages the media to ensure that women and men have equal voice in the media and that gender stereotypes are challenged.
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