Sunday, January 31, 2010

Ensure Gender Balance Says ZANU-PF Women's League

Ensure gender balance: Muchinguri

Herald Reporter

Zimbabwe must honour its Sadc obligations and ensure gender balance in the composition of key committees in the constitution-making process, the Zanu-PF Women’s League has said.

Speaking after a Women’s League meeting at the party headquarters in Harare yesterday, secretary for women’s affairs Cde Oppah Muchinguri said thematic and outreach teams should reflect the number of women in the country.

The Women’s Parliamentary Caucus has already petitioned the Select Committee on constitution-making to ensure fair representation.

The Select Committee has rejected that appeal saying the political parties should have nominated lists reflecting these concerns.

"Zimbabwe has signed the Sadc Protocol on Gender which compels member States to ensure 50-50 representation in decision-making. We want the outreach teams that would gather people’s views to have more women.

"The Select Committee should not hide behind a finger; they should have returned the list to the respective political parties so that it complies with the GPA," said Cde Muchinguri.

On the recently elected Zanu-PF Women’s League national executive, Cde Muchinguri said members would go through an induction course in the next two weeks.

"We will also walk them through the various achievements the League has made since Independence and the effects of sanctions on ordinary persons.

"It is also in this context that we are urging the MDC-T to tell the West to remove sanctions," she said.

Women’s League’s secretary for information and publicity Cde Monica Mutsvangwa said the wing was concerned by the sustenance of illegal sanctions.

"David Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary has finally owned up to the imposition of illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe. The Zanu-PF Women’s League appeals to Britain, the European Union and the United States to remove the sanctions.

"We call for a new Chapter in Africa-Europe relations," said Cde Mutsvangwa.

She said women had borne the brunt of the embargo.

"For the first 15 years of Independence, we went through the bliss of hard-won freedom. We saw our country make great progress in all human indices of progress as we filled our granaries.

"Alas our respite from pain and suffering was short-lived. Soon after we embarked on the land reform programme the West imposed sanctions," Cde Mutsvangwa said.

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