Infocus News - October

Women

and integrity rights

HUMAN Rights related to bodily autonomy and in tegrity in the context of sexuality and reproduc tion ensure that women and girls are empowered to make decisions about their reproductive and sexual lives.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) are not only a crucial part of healthcare, but they constitute an essential element for achieving gender equality and pro moting women’s rights.

They give women the possibility to make autonomous decisions about their own bodies and sexuality. More importantly, they keep wom en healthy, dignified and safe.

Against this backdrop, WILD conducted a Women’s dialogue on sexuality and politics with the aim to empower Women with knowl edge that constantly reminds them

of their bodily autonomy and integ rity rights.

The dialogue also sought to provide a platform for women to discuss some of the challenges they face in leadership positions be it in poli tics, business or at a Community level.

Speaking during the dialogue, the Women’s Institute For Leadership Development Executive (WILD) Director urged Women to respect their bodies.

“The problems emanating from women being sexually violated are deeper than submission hence there is need for women to submit to themselves first, respect oneself, treat one’s body with integrity be fore submittig to the next person.

“A Woman should take ownership of her body and have principles or guidelines that she abides by to respect that body,”said Samukeliso

Khumalo.

The Executive Director also noted that there is lack of information on bodily autonomy and integrity rights.

“Sexual violation comes through many forms and is informed by a capitalist system, political system and power. Many women have been subjected to various forms of violations which range from psychological, sexual, physical and sometime verbal.

“Despite these violations, some women are not able to speak out because they don’t know about their bodily autonomy and integri ty rights,”said Samukeliso Khumalo.

Speaking during the dialogue, WILD Board Member Priscah Dube said there is a need to bal ance religion and culture.

“Religion and culture plays a vital role in the violation of women hence there is a need to balance between the two so that women can be able to control their bodies.

Due to religion women often accept violations towards their own bodies due to desperation and beliefs, for example accepting visions from witch doctors and prophets” said Priscah Dube.

The dialogue session was held at WILD Learning and Resource Centre in Bulawayo.

urged to uphold their bodily autonomy

be commissioned,’’ emphasized Mr K Moyo.

Moyo highlighted that BCC has launched a cycling programme because the cycling culture is key in mitigating congestion to the man agement of air pollution towards obtaining positive carbon credits, reducing cost of transport and in ducing health benefits in line with Sustainable Development Goals.

BCC targets commissioning Egodini Project first phase by year end

ulawayo City Council (BCC) is expecting to commission the first phase of the Egodini Project at the end of this year, a BCC official has said.

Speaking during a Voluntary Local Review Stakeholder meeting (VLRS) which was conducted on the 19th and 20th of October 2022 in order to reflect on initiatives be

ing implemented to foster sustain able development at a local level.

‘’In line with the vision to create an upper middle-income economy by 2030, we have looked at different sectors and we want to develop sustainable infrastructure for the city,” presented Moyo as he out lined activities being done by BCC to fulfil SDGs.

B Y

“We have started with what we call city regeneration, targeting suburbs like Makokoba so that we develop into high rise buildings and shop ping malls, we have also looked at old terminuses like Egodini Project, which is already under construc tion and we are hoping that by the end of the year the first phase will

During the meeting different stake holders shared their experiences, successes, challenges and possible solutions with a view to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and adapt indicators to the local context and advance the local ization of the Sustainable Develop ment Goals (SDGs).

Young girls encouraged to be confident

oung girls have been encouraged to be firm, principled and focused so as to build a generation of confident and empowered girls.

This was discussed during a com memoration of the International Day of the Girl Child which was conducted by the Bulawayo City Council in partnership with vari

ous stakeholders including Wom en’s Institute for Leadership Devel opment.

This event sought to give a platform to all girls so that they raise their voices and stand for their equal rights.

During the event different presen tations were made to address issues that are a stumbling block to the girl child.

‘’Girls should desist from attending Vuzu parties because this is where most young girls end up getting

Sexually transmitted diseases,” said Sinatra Nyathi who is the Bulawayo National Aids Council Manager.

Speaking during the discussion, the Deputy Director of Mental Health Services And Substance Abuse in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Dorcas Sithole highlighted that alcohol and drug abuse impair one’s ability to function normally.

‘’Substance abuse is on the increase, drugs have a propensity to destroy lives and are difficult to let go once you taste them, drug abuse is one

of the causes of mental illness,’’ said Sithole.

She also encouraged girls to refrain from peer pressure so that they do not end up succumbing into sub stance and drug abuse.

Young girls who participated in the event were given sanitary pads.

‘’This is a way to promote men strual hygiene as well as to ensure accessible hygienic materials for use so that health is not compro mised,’’ said Audrey Manyemwe the Senior Health and Safety Officer for the Bulawayo City Council.

Electoral Information Blitz

said the guest speaker Nikiwe Ncu be who is a Development Practi tioner and a lawyer.

She further highlighted that certain measures should be put in place to adhere to the threats and intimida tion happening to women during the electoral cycle.

‘’Laws in place are supposed to be practiced without distinction for example the Criminal Law Codifi cation and Reform Act hence po lice have an obligation to make sure that there is law enforcement so as to guarantee security for women during the elections,’’ she said.

Male dominated model of politics undermines women’s participation

Women face a number of challenges during the electoral cycle such as being victims of violence and intimidation due to gender-based stereotypes as the male dominated model of politics tends to undermine the value of women’s contribution and their participation.

This came out during a meeting held by Women’s Institute for Lead ership Development held on the zoom platform dubbed: promot ing peace and security of women during the Electoral cycle.

Participants who attended the meeting lamented that the lack of political will within political parties to safeguard the interests of women candidates worsens the situation.

‘’The campaigning and the elec toral ground have not been level for women, we have seen women being beaten insulted and degraded in a manner that is really inhuman hence hindering them to fully campaign so this is in violation of the Constitution especially Section 57 which affords everyone political rights and freedom of association,’’

One of the participants, Precious Ndlovu, who is a young aspiring candidate and the Director for Youth in Progress Trust shared the experiences faced by women during the election cycle, alluding to the recent by-election in Matobo.

‘’There were 3 candidates for the by-election one being a female and two being males then the female candidate who was running against 2 men felt victim of political moti vated violence, she was beaten up including her female counterparts, her house was burnt and her shop was looted and destroyed,’’ she said.

The zoom meeting discussion em phasized on the need to promote a violence free environment, that is conducive for women and a police service that protects its citizens especially women during the elec toral cycle.

‘’Laws in place are supposed to be practiced without distinction for example the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act

Zimbabwe is anticipating to hold general elections between July-August in 2023. It is against this background that Women’s Insti tute For Leadership Development held a Roving Podcast in Matopo which was aimed at discussing the importance of upholding constitu tionalism and sustainable conflict prevention ahead of 2023 harmon ised elections.

To kickstart the discussion Suzette Masuku defined what constitu tionalism is. “Constitutionalism

is a doctrine that a government’s authority is determined by a body of laws or constitution. The princi ples of Constitutionalism include Separation of Powers, Responsible and Accountable Government, Popular Sovereignty, Independent Judiciary, Individual Rights and Rule of Law.”she said.

Election-related violence frequent ly starts long before the actual election. Politicians are frequently the targets of political violence in some locations. The general public may feel restricted from openly

and freely expressing their political opinions, participating in public debates, and becoming politically active. Consequences of such an unstable climate include challenges in holding politicians account able in addition to limitations on political rights. It is against this background that the discussion during the podcast was centered on the importance of upholding sus tainable conflict prevention ahead of the 2023 elections to maintain peace during the whole electoral process in Zimbabwe.

The Roving Podcast was also an op portunity to engage artists on how best they can use arts to promote peace during the electoral cycle. The discussion was joined by one of the prominent singers in Bul awayo goes by the stage Msizkay. “Art is a powerful tool that builds or destroys society. Our strength as artists is that we have a lot of people listening to our music. That can be used for peacebuilding” said Msizkay.

He further went on to articulate how art can also directly nurture a peace process by providing a voice to marginalised or oppressed groups, whilst enhancing the rele vance and legitimacy of the process itself. “Art is a powerful instru ment for collective reconciliation between communities, and it can equally be useful for individuals to overcome any trauma linked to conflict” he said.

The importance of upholding constitutionalism and sustainable conflict prevention ahead of 2023 harmonised elections

“Election-related violence frequently starts long before the actual election...”

Electoral Information Blitz

Electoral Amendment Bill eases requirements for registering as a voter

THE new and recently ap proved Electoral Amend ment Bill of 2022 will help a majority of previously disadvantaged citizens exercise their right to vote during elections including the forthcoming General Elections set for July-August next year.

According to the amendment which was presented to Cabinet re cently, members of the public only need proof that they are Zimba bwean to register as voters.

Previously, prospective voters were required to produce proof of resi dence to register to vote and some tenants would face challenges in acquiring the proof of residence as some landlords were not so keen to indulge them.

This coupled with the fact that

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) offices are stationed far away from residents often discour aged members of the public from registering to vote.

Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said people are now required to produce a valid passport or national identity card as proof of identity before they register to vote.

“In terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, one has to be a citi zen in order to qualify as a voter, accordingly, only a valid passport or national identity card will be required as proof of identity. Once the Electoral Amendment Bill 2022 is enacted into law, it will assist in ensuring that only citizens are able to vote in an election, that proper candidates are allowed to contest in an election, providing clarity

on when and how a candidate can withdraw their candidature in an election so as to afford ZEC suffi cient time to make changes to the design of the ballot and advising the electorate of any changes to the candidature in an election,” said Information, Publicity and Broad casting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa during the Cabinet briefing.

Commenting on the new develop ment, Innocentia Masuku said the scrapping of proof of residence will guarantee more residents register ing as they are mere lodgers.

“I live in Mpopoma and we are three families in one extended house meaning all 12 of us eligi ble to vote needed some written documentation to prove that we live there. Our landlord is in South Africa and the process of trying to get that documentation was such a hindrance and we are happy that the Cabinet has approved that we register with our identity cards,” said Masuku.

Nokuthaba Siwela from Pumula South said some landlords were difficult and were not keen to write documents proving residence for their tenants.

“Cabinet should be applauded for this move, they have come to our rescue as we were at the mercy of our tenants. While some are willing to listen, others made the process so difficult and many of us missed out during the 2018 elections be cause we could not prove that we stay in Bulawayo.

Youths in Nkulumane discuss voter apathy Y

ouths in Nkulumane on the 8th of October high lighted that there is low voter turnout from young people due to the fact that young people are politically disengaged.

This was said during a Roving Pod cast at Sokusile Shopping Centre, which focused on Voter Apathy and Politically motivated Gen der Based Violence. The Podcast sought to educate the community on the importance of registering to vote and the challenges that come with not registering to vote.

During the Podcast one of the facilitators Elliard Kupfuma who is a student from Lupane State University highlighted the various issues that make young people not to register to vote.

“Young People lack interest and

zeal to partake in registering to vote, they do not know the impor tance of registering to vote,’’ said Elliard Kupfuma.

The Podcast was conducted by Women’s Institute for Leadership Development in partnership with Skyz Metro FM. Elliard elaborated that youths need to be empowered and have knowledge on issues per taining registering to vote.

“The numbers for youths when it comes to registering to vote are very disturbing as compared to the numbers of the elderly thus youths need to be educated on voter regis tration,” said Elliard Kupfuma.

Another facilitator Rosslyn Mathuthu who is a community woman tackled issues concerning voter registration when it comes to women.

“Women lack adequate resources for campaigning hence this lim its leadership amongst women as compared to men,” said Rosslyn Mathuthu.

She highlighted that women are often underestimated even by other women when they start a cam paign. She noted that women are often viewed as inferior and unable to be political leaders yet wom en have a right to participate as leaders. She therefore encouraged women to actively seek opportuni ties to become leaders within their community and at a national level.

“If you do not vote Bulawayo is at a risk of losing 3 constituencies out of 12 constituencies,’’ said Sibong umusa Mpofu the radio presenter from Skyz Metro FM.