ZIMBABWE has been urged to ratify the African Union (AU) Convention on ending violence against women and girls, with the United Nations calling for faster adoption of the National Gender Equality Bill aimed at advancing women’s rights.
Speaking during a week-long mission to Harare last week, UN Assistant Secretary-General Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, who also serves as deputy executive director of UN Women praised Zimbabwe’s policies promoting women’s empowerment.
She, however, noted that female representation in decision-making roles remains below expectations, adding that while Zimbabwe played a key role in negotiating the continental violence convention, it was yet to ratify it.
Ratifying the AU convention and passing the National Gender Equality Bill could strengthen legal protections for women and girls, promote gender equality in leadership and create economic opportunities, signalling Zimbabwe’s commitment to ending gender-based violence and supporting inclusive development.
“The next step, therefore that we are looking at is for Zimbabwe to ratify the convention,” she said adding that while violence disproportionately affected women and girls, boys suffered in silence due to social stigma.
“Many men do not report as they say that it is not men enough,” she said, applauding Zimbabwe’s victim-friendly courts for serving both genders.
Gumbonzvanda also called for support for women-led SMEs to move “beyond survival” towards scaling up.
She proposed exploring “gender bonds” on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange to direct capital towards women empowerment.
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Globally, she criticised skewed spending priorities, noting that US$4,3 trillion is spent on military expenditure while 190 million children remain out of school.
