by Gretinah Machingura
HARARE, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe on Tuesday joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Women's Day, with various speakers at the launch, calling for more efforts to build the resilience of women and achieve sustainable gender equality.
In a speech read on her behalf at the launch of the Day, Zimbabwean Minister of Women Affairs, Community Small and Medium Enterprises Development Sithembiso Nyoni, said Zimbabwe's strides in achieving gender parity were being hampered by many factors among them climate change.
While the international theme for this year is "Gender Equality for a Sustainable Tomorrow", Zimbabwe's commemorations ran under the theme: "Gender Mainstreaming and Women Empowerment in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management".
Nyoni said in line with this year's theme, the commemorations are focusing on how to achieve sustainable gender equality in the context of climate change, its impact on women and ways to mitigate this.
"Women's vulnerability to climate change is due to a number of factors such as social, economic and cultural. It is therefore imperative to make gender considerations in climate change, disaster risk reduction and environmental conservation strategies," she said.
She said women were more vulnerable to climate change compared to men, with women highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihoods, particularly in rural areas.
Nyoni noted that women have limited access to and control of resources, environmental goods and services and have negligible participation in decision-making.
They were also not involved in the distribution of environmental management benefits.
"Consequently, women are less able to confront climate change. During extreme weather such as droughts, cyclones and floods, women tend to work more to restore and secure household livelihoods. This will leave less time for women to access training and education, develop skills or participate in the economic mainstream, thus gender equality remains low," the minister said.
She said her ministry was alive to the effects of climate change and disasters on women and has been involved in the formulation of policies and strategies which are gender-sensitive and inclusive of vulnerable communities.
Observing that gender equality is crucial for sustainable development of any country, Nyoni decried that gender-based violence is on the rise not only in Zimbabwe but the world over, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said her ministry has adopted an integrated approach towards eradication of gender-based violence and continues to offer comprehensive Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Services through One-Stop Centers, Police Victim Friendly Units and Safe Shelters throughout the country.
To date, the ministry has established six One-Stop Centers that provide all key services required by a GBV/sexual violence survivor under one roof namely health, psychosocial, legal and police services, she said.
"The ministry is also implementing the mobile one-stop center concept to cater for those who are in hard-to-reach areas to access services. Continuous awareness campaigns on GBV are being carried out in all the provinces and districts across the country," she said.
Nyoni added that it was imperative for Zimbabwe to economically empower its women and girls as a sustainable way to achieve gender equality.
Women, she said, should benefit from the COMESA 50 Million Africa Women Speak platform which is meant to provide access to markets, information and investment opportunities.
To date, over 7,000 Zimbabwean enterprises have accessed the platform, she said.
Nyoni urged Zimbabwean women to also take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which has created a large market for goods and services as well as investment opportunities.
In a speech read on his behalf, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu said the impact of climate change on women and the country's socio-economic development aspirations cannot be overemphasized.
"Women, children, youth and people living with disabilities are disproportionately affected by the impact of climate change and require adaptation and resilience-building support.
"Women and children face greater burdens of climate change. It is important that processes and systems that guide the formulation of climate change policies are gender-sensitive and responsive," Ndlovu said.
Zimbabwe, he said, was making progress in the mainstreaming of gender-sensitive climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Acting United Nations Resident Coordinator Esther Muia said gender equality in Zimbabwe is being undermined by multiple, interlocking factors.
"Climate change shocks and the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated gender inequalities," she said.
She said gender equality is a critical economic issue for Zimbabwe as it is linked to growth and poverty reduction outcomes.
Muia noted that out of 5 million people living below the poverty datum line in Zimbabwe, 70 percent are women while maternal deaths in the country, at 490 per 100,000 babies born per year, remained unacceptably high.
She said out of every four people infected with HIV in Zimbabwe, one is a young person and out of the four young people infected, three are girls.
To ensure gender equality and to reap the benefits of engaging women who constitute 52 percent of the country's population, the Zimbabwean government needs to ensure equality in access to education, regulate and legalize informal sector employment and increase the participation of women in governance and decision-making positions, she said. ■
