The Chronicle
FOR most African countries, actualisation of sustainable gender equality and the enforcement of women’s rights lies in the implementation of evidence based interventions and the constant monitoring and evaluation of progress on commitments made after signing and ratification of continental instruments such as the Protocol to the African Charter on Human Rights and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), better known as the Maputo Protocol.
The Maputo Protocol holds immense importance as a legal instrument for the promotion and protection of women’s rights in Africa.
It addresses crucial issues affecting women’s lives, serves as a comprehensive legal framework, promotes women’s empowerment and participation, and establishes a system of accountability for African countries. The Maputo Protocol fosters a culture of transparency and progress in the promotion of gender equality.
It was adopted by the African Union in July 2003 and has become one of the most ratified instruments in the African Union, with 44 out of 55 Member States ratifying or acceding to it and eight countries signed but not yet acceded to it as of June 2023.
Despite obstacles by other African countries to the full realisation of this human rights instrument which contains a number of ‘global firsts’ in relation to women’s human rights, Zimbabwe was hailed at the recently held celebrations of the Maputo [email protected]: High Level Intergenerational
Dialogue on Women in Political Participation (WPP) in Nairobi, Kenya for making commendable progress in the implementation of the protocol and promotion of gender equality.
The protocol is also lauded as one of the most progressive instruments on the rights of women and girls in the world, pushing boundaries with clauses on reproductive health rights.
The commemoration event held under the theme, “Raising the Bar on Accountability: Twenty Years of Strengthening Women’s Rights in Africa, was in the form of an Intergenerational Dialogue linking the gender stalwarts that were present during the development of the protocol, the women politicians who have seen the protocol at work and young women in politics who aspire to be in political leadership.
It reflected on the achievements and challenges of women’s rights in Africa over the 20 years of the Maputo Protocol, holding Member States accountable for their human rights obligations to guarantee gender equality and women’s empowerment in Africa, identifying emerging issues of women’s human rights as well as defining impactful strategies and actions to consolidate gains and accelerate implementation.
Gender Links regional networking manager for Local Action for Gender Justice Ms Priscilla Maposa said the implementation of the protocol made a difference in the lives of most women in the country, particularly the participation of women in politics and those running for high public office.
“Zimbabwe has made commendable progress in the implementation of the Maputo Protocol which has seen women particularly those in politics now having meaningful representation and participation.
“I’m also happy to say that Zimbabwe made a milestone achievement when it implemented a 30 percent women’s quota at the local government level and is going to be in use for the first time during this year’s harmonised elections.
“The quota at the local government on its own is going to bring in 23 percent of female councilors which is actually a milestone achievement as compared to the 14 percent representation of women at the local level that we currently have. So with other councilors coming through in post-elections, I’m sure that we will have an increased percentage representation of women at the local government level.
“So this is an indication that there is a lot happening in Zimbabwe in terms of trying to promote women representation both as administrators and politicians and that’s why as a country we are here in Nairobi, Kenya celebrating Maputo [email protected],” said Ms Maposa.
She however said there were some obstacles hindering women’s participation in politics and electoral processes.
For example, 70 women will contest for National Assembly seats in the August 23 harmonised elections out of the 673 candidates cleared by the
Nomination Court on June 21. This translates to about 11 percent of the total number of contestants.
“Some of the challenges that we are facing on the ground is that we still have low representation of women in decision making structures, for example if we look at the percentage representation of women at the local government level as chief executive officers, town clerks, we find that as a country we are still lagging behind although the government is trying to put in measures to ensure that we promote women leaders at local government level.
“And again, when it comes to women politicians, they still face challenges in reaching their full potential due to an uneven playing field. “Most of the women who want to participate are not economically empowered which is one of the reasons that make them pull out of politics. As a way forward, we are trying to encourage all political parties to meet the constitutional provisions on gender parity and equal opportunities,” said Ms Maposa.
In addition to the implementation of the protocol that values gender equality and equity in politics, Zimbabwe is a signatory to many declarations aimed at increasing women’s leadership and decision-making.
This is further supported by the country’s Constitution, in particular sections 17, 20, 56 and 80 which make provisions for equal participation of women and youths in key decision making positions.
The Constitution also has a provision of 60 seats set aside for women for proportional representation in Parliament.
Member of Parliament for Hurungwe North Cde Ability Gandawa who was also one of the panelists at the event hailed Zimbabwe for enhancing compliance with gender equality provisions in the Maputo Protocol.
“I’m quite excited to be here in Kenya for the celebration of the Maputo [email protected] and as a country we have managed to enhance compliance with gender equality provisions in the protocol.
“There are key achievements that Zimbabwe has realised especially when it comes to gender parity. We look at how parliament is structured in Zimbabwe. We already have 60 women who are elected on a proportional representation basis, that is quite key in terms of emancipation of women and we have also extended in our political field that councilors become part of the achievements and aspirations of the Maputo Protocol.
“We have a quota for women to make sure that they are supported and emancipated to the political arena. As a country, we also recognised that there are some articles which are in the Maputo Protocol which call for the emancipation of women in the rural areas and that was implemented by giving them capacity to ensure that they are self-sustaining and resilient so that they don’t entirely depend on their male counterparts,” said Cde Gandawa.
Commending Zimbabwe’s national policies for advancing gender equality and other African countries that have made strides in the implementation of the Maputo Protocol, Botswana’s Assistant Minister of Basic Education Honourable Nnaniki Wilhemina Tebogo Makwinja said although her country has not yet ratified the Maputo Protocol, they have made significant progress towards gender equality.
“Although as a country we have not yet signed the Maputo Protocol, I want to assure people that are here that Botswana has, however, made strides in ensuring gender equality in a lot of areas.
“In as far as the majority of the chapters of the Maputo Protocol are concerned, we have done a lot and what is just remaining is the signing which to us will be a formality because as we speak, the chief executive officers or permanent secretaries of key critical ministries, we are almost at parity and we are hopeful that very soon we will sign the Maputo Protocol.
“So in as much as we have not yet signed, I think we have done a lot more than other countries that have signed but actually not making any progress towards achieving gender equality,” said Hon Makwinja.

“We are however, talking of 11 percent representation in parliament which is still far below the 30 percent stipulated in the Maputo Protocol that we have to sign, and we are actually working very hard so that we get more women to be interested in taking part in politics.”
Founder and director of the Rozaria Memorial Trust (RMT), a leading policy development and governance work organisation promoting health, education and entrepreneurship for women and children in low-resourced communities, Dr Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda said economic resources were also some of the systemic barriers hindering women’s participation in politics and electoral processes.
“Lack of economic resources is also one of the systemic barriers hindering women’s participation in politics and electoral processes.
“It should however be understood that women’s political participation in the elections is more than the candidate running for elections since elections are a passing event which happens periodically hence it is important to also acknowledge that we need to go beyond that by looking at women representation in terms of figures to ensure equal power and control in decision-making outside of politics,” said Dr Gumbonzvanda who is also former Africa Union Goodwill Ambassador on Ending Child Marriages.
As part of its strategies to facilitate enhanced participation of women in politics and positions of power, the Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) has rolled out several awareness-raising engagements with political parties, capacity-building initiatives across the political divide and partnerships with various stakeholders.

For example, over the last year, they had the Women Rise in Politics programme, which seeks to educate, empower and prepare women to fully take part in the upcoming elections. The programme offers women training in communication, campaign management, voter engagement, presentation, fundraising and financial planning. The commission is also on record urging political parties to continue to prioritise and respect provisions in the national Constitution that promotes gender equality and non-discrimination.