Women need to participate in politics and leadership positions to ensure gender equality in Zimbabwe’s governance systems, Women Affairs, Community and Small and Medium Enterprises Development minister Monica Mutsvangwa has said.
She said women were the majority in the Zimbabwean population hence the need for them to actively participate in the country’s leadership.
Mutsvangwa made the remarks during a high-level dialogue meeting conducted by the ministry, Bulawayo metropolitan provincial leadership and women drawn from different sectors in the province recently.
“Women constitute 52% of the population and it’s critically important that they take up leadership and political decision-making positions so as to represent other women and make input into the developmental process. Gender equality cannot be achieved without the effective participation of women in politics and economic activities.
“In order to address challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, my ministry is promoting women’s access to markets and provision of training on technical and business skills as well as provision of workspaces.”
Mutsvangwa said the government established the Women Development Fund and the Zimbabwe Community Development Fund to provide loans to groups in communities without collateral security.
Ecobank representative Tayesa Banda said the bank had come up with an end-to-end solution which enabled women to gain access to both financial and non-financial support.
“Women businesses under the Elevate by Ecobank partner, not only enjoy defoliated financial solutions, but value-added services in the area of training and capacity building,” she said.
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A successful entrepreneur, Sibonokuhle Buhlungu, encouraged women to be persistent and innovative if they want to be economically empowered.
“We are pushing, fighting and advocating that we want equal opportunities. Let’s start local, you are strategists women start thinking outside the box,” she said.
