24/08/2026
Last week IMUNT participated in capacity building training held by ZWRCN Zimbabwe Gender Commission and UN Women on Advancing Women’s Political Participation: Identifying Barriers, Strengthening Responses and Building a Roadmap for Action
A session on advancing women’s political participation and leadership in Zimbabwe was conducted, where participants identified a range of interconnected barriers affecting women’s political participation. These included the high cost of politics and nomination fees, unequal access to financial and other resources, patriarchal norms, tokenism in political representation, technology-facilitated gender-based violence and broader violence against women in elections. The legal and policy session highlighted that Zimbabwe has a substantial constitutional and policy framework supporting gender equality, but that implementation and enforcement remain significant gaps. Participants examined the gaps that exist and legal reforms that can advance women’s political participation.
The last session concluded the workshop by emphasising moving from dialogue to action through proposed political, administrative, and legal reforms to advance women’s participation. Participants recognised that advancing women’s political participation requires coordinated efforts by the Zimbabwe Gender Commission, civil society organisations, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Parliament, political parties and other stakeholders. The workshop provided the basis for a joint advocacy roadmap. Overall, the workshop identified key issues for advancing women’s political participation and provided an advocacy roadmap.
women
