by by Minenhle Moyo
Gender Based Violence (GBV), has been identified as one of the major contributors to the limited number of women involved in the political spaces in Zimbabwe. Less women are involved in the political processes because they lack confidence to participate in public spaces owed to Gender Based Violence.
During a Virtual dialogue that was facilitated by the Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD), participants highlighted that the laws that speak to gender based violence were not stringent enough to deal with Gender Based Violence.
Less representation of women in all government arms and this has resulted in women falling short in economic and development processes as well as poor service delivery.
Another participant stated that women with disabilities were more vulnerable to abuse as they were not able to defend themselves against different forms of abuse. She urged women to fight against gender based violence as it would help women with disabilities who are not able to defend themselves.
Participants in the meeting suggested that women should be capacitated about all forms of Gender Based Violence and many channels through which they could seek and find help.
