Standards Association of Zimbabwe CEO Eve Gadzikwa
By Idah Mhetu
THE majority of women in Africa are either full-time, unpaid housewives or engaged in low paying care work, especially in clinics and homes, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
This is despite the fact that countries such as Zimbabwe have made significant strides in promoting gender equality and women empowerment by enacting many progressive laws.
Statistics presented by Hopolang Phororo, an ILO country director based in Harare, show that the global female labour force participation rate decreased from 52,4 percent to 49,6 percent between 1995 and 2015.
Of the people working in small and medium-sized enterprises, 22 percent were unpaid, with the majority of the unpaid being women, just because society still believes that women cannot do the job well.
Phororo said women in low-skilled jobs were at 11,1 percent and those in highly skilled jobs were at six percent.
Retired women receiving pensions stood at 0,9 percent.
One woman who has managed to find a footing in the male-dominated world is Eve Gadzikwa, who is the Standards Association of Zimbabwe director-general.
Last year, she became president-elect for the African Organisation for Standardisation, becoming the first woman and individual from southern Africa to occupy this position.
Gadzikwa said many African families rely on women to care for them and to provide basic necessities for survival.
“The majority of the world’s poor and illiterate are women and girls. If this trend continues, girls in sub-Saharan Africa will only reach universal access to primary education in the year 2086,” Gadzikwa said.
She added that if women in Africa received education and were recognised with a higher legal status, they would provide their households with superior nutrition, stronger food security and increased access to health care.
Gadzikwa said women made crucial investments for their families and contributed significantly to their communities.
Sub-Saharan African women constitute only 15 percent of the region’s landholders and face disproportionate challenges ranging from sexual exploitation to illiteracy and disease.
The African Union, as well as other regional bodies, place a good deal of emphasis on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.
Although it is not enough, Zimbabwe has also made strides in giving women property rights, such as land rights, which used to be a preserve for men.
Despite the various initiatives by government to promote gender equality, Zimbabwe has remained miles away from achieving the goal and analysts say women are doing a great disservice to themselves.
Women in poor countries, especially in Africa, experience physical or sexual violence from men. Moreover, millions of women and girls are now being trafficked into modern-day slavery.
In Zimbabwe and some parts of Africa, girls are mutilated and sacrificed to so-called child marriages so that their families can earn a living by marrying them off.
Recently, the country’s High Court ruled that a child below the age of 16 cannot marry and cannot be a bride or groom, a move that will assist girls to concentrate on their studies and follow their dreams before they decide to enter into marriage. Some 36 years after the country gained independence, women still believe they are marginalised, although facts on the ground indicate that they are reluctant to engage themselves in fields traditionally dominated by men.
Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre and Network has noted that: “The accelerated land reform programme did not correct gender imbalances in land ownership; it focused on the ability, not need, thereby disadvantaging women.”
Zimbabwe women’s situation looked bright when former vice president Joice Mujuru was elevated in the ruling party and government, a move other African countries proceeded to emulate; but her ouster, 10 years later, slowed down the gains made so far in women emancipation.
One university student said there was need for emancipation of women through selective prejudice of men.
“Even in universities, the entry points are different between males and females,” said Nesta Mutamarara.
Entry points for women at most universities in the country are lower than those for men.
However, a lot still needs to be done to address gender-based imbalances. The government made critical decisions by passing laws such as the Sex Disqualification Act, which permitted women to hold public office as well as the Equal Pay Enactment and the Labour Relations Act, which banned employers from oppressing or discriminating a worker on the basis of gender.
However, social commentators said the implementation of these and other gender related laws has been half-hearted.
“Women remain ignorant about laws that protect them because information dissemination has been erratic. The government passes laws, but it never supervises their implementation and women continue to be marginalised,” said Mutamarara.
In the country’s 2013 general elections, women had very limited access to information and resources that would have enabled them to efficiently engage in the electoral processes at the same level as their male counterparts.
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