POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Women Excluded From Top Posts In Ruling Party

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Lewis Machipisa

HARARE, Dec 18 1999 (IPS) - Not a single woman in Zimbabwe is among those tipped to be elected into the top leadership of the ruling ZANU-PF party during their national congress which kicks off this week.

This marginalisation has been going on for 20 years now. While a few women have managed to rise to ministerial positions, the rest remain marginalised from the corridors of power.

Zimbabwe’s cabinet has 30 ministers including president Robert Mugabe and his two vice presidents. Of these, six are women. Of the 14 deputy ministers, all but three are female. The attorney general, and the planning commissioner, both male, are also members of Zimbabwe’s cabinet.

This marginalisation has enraged the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) women’s League who say women, who make up more than 52 percent of Zimbabwe’s 12 million population, deserve better.

About two weeks ago, members of ZANU-PF women’s league met in the resort town of Victoria Falls where they resolved that the league should boycott the congress unless they gained assurances that women would be guaranteed representation in the top four posts of the party.

According to female parliamentarian, Mavis Chidzonga, the Zanu- PF women’s league would meet again Tuesday, to review their position on their participation at the congress.

“We are demanding that a position be given to a woman for every three positions that goes to a man in the party at all levels,” Chidzonga told IPS.

“We had wanted the top five leadership of the women’s league to meet president Mugabe before the Congress to discuss with him but that failed as he was away. But we are told that he is very positive to the request,” explains Chidzonga.

Media reports, however, say nothing will change for the women at this week’s consultative meeting. President Mugabe will retain his position as party president and first secretary.

The post of chairman is widely expected to go to John Nkomo, minister of Local Government who so far has been nominated by six of Zanu-PF’s 10 provinces. Four others, all men, are also vying for the same post.

The posts of the vice presidents have already been endorsed by the provinces. These will go to Simon Muzenda, one of Zimbabwe’s two vice-presidents and Joseph Msika, minister without portfolio and current ZANU-PF national chairman.

“The latest we know is that the men are going ahead disregarding our position. We don’t seem to have much support from the men in the party in general. Some are even raving mad that we have made this request,” regrets Chidzonga.

“If nothing drastically changes at this congress, women will continue to be window dressers. Women have always been recognised as those who mobilise votes, produce children and sing praise songs for the men,” notes the outspoken legislator.

“The men are very comfortable to have an all bull team. Their attitudes since we made the resolution in Victoria Falls has been so bad. Even as we lobby them, some are getting so extreme,” she says.

“They are used to a women’s league that was passive and all it did was praise and sing for them. Now unfortunately, they have a different women’s league. We have graduates among our members. Unless we stick together and implement the resolution at Victoria Falls we won’t achieve much,” warns Chidzonga.

Resistance to women’s advancement in the party also includes women themselves, points out Chidzonga. “We even have women in the top who would rather remain the few at the top. They see themselves as the Super Breed,” she claims.

Media reports claim that the male leadership of the ZANU-PF has not been pleased by boycott threats. The local Zimbabwe Standard newspaper reported that Nyasha Chikwinya, the secretary for publicity and information in the Zanu-PF Women’s League, has come under fire from senior party officials for allegedly coercing women in the league to boycott the party’s congress.

The paper said after inquires by the politburo, ZANU-PF’s supreme decision making organ, some women dissociated themselves from the resolution, blaming Chikwinya for it and for revealing it to the Press.

Zanu PF secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa, says the party is aware of the boycott threats and is waiting to see if the women will attend the congress.