UN Women Zimbabwe says it will intensify engagement with policymakers over the next four years to ensure gender equality laws and policies move beyond commitments on paper and deliver measurable benefits for women and girls.
Speaking during a strategic consultative meeting with civil society organisations, UN Women Zimbabwe deputy country representative Loveness Makonese said the organisation's new strategic plan would prioritise holding duty bearers accountable for commitments made towards women's empowerment.
Makonese said Zimbabwe had adopted several progressive policies and international commitments, but the focus must now shift to implementation.
"We don't want just policies that are sitting on the shelf. We want to engage with policymakers and hold them accountable to what they've committed to do and what they've committed to deliver," she said.
Makonese said UN Women would also advocate for increased resources for services targeting women and girls, including those aimed at ending gender-based violence.
"Zimbabwe is a country where our President signed the High-Level Political Compact for Ending Gender-Based Violence. Some of the aspirations within that policy are to increasingly put more resources towards women and girls' specific services," she said.
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Makonese said the organisation would strengthen women's capacity for enterprise growth, climate resilience, access to decent work and fair wages, while promoting innovative financing mechanisms to support women-led initiatives.
UN Women will also continue advocating for stronger laws, policies and institutions to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, while pushing for implementation of Zimbabwe's National Action Plan on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
"That action plan needs to be implemented and we need to see the results from that commitment," she said. "
Makonese said empowering women and girls to participate meaningfully in decision-making processes would remain a priority.
She added that engaging men was critical in addressing patriarchal norms and structural inequalities that continue to undermine women's rights.
"We are realising we can't achieve gender equality or address structural inequalities and patriarchal norms without engaging men. We need men at the table as partners in this work," Makonese said.
She said partnerships with the private sector would also be expanded to improve women's access to economic opportunities through gender-responsive governance, budgeting, financing, skills development and business support services.
Civil society organisations and anti-gender-based violence groups welcomed UN Women's continued support but called for increased funding for grassroots organisations working directly with communities.
They said community-based organisations remain at the forefront of addressing gender inequalities and gender-based violence but often operate with limited resources.
The organisations urged UN Women and development partners to channel more funding towards local initiatives, arguing that sustainable progress depends on addressing challenges at the community level.