ED spotlights on gender equality

Source: ED spotlights on gender equality | The Herald June 27, 2019

Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira (right), European Union External Action Service Deputy Secretary-General for Economic and Global Issues Mr Christian Leffler (second right), Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni and United Nations Resident Coordinator Bishow Parajuli during the national launch of the Spotlight Initiative in Harare yesterday. — (Picture by John Manzongo)

Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
President Mnangagwa yesterday launched Spotlight Initiative which aims to eradicate violence against women and girls, saying it resonated well with Government’s commitment to achieve socio-economic development through gender equality.

The President’s speech was read on his behalf by the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Professor Amon Murwira.

Yesterday’s launch is part of a global initiative supported to the tune of 500 million euro by the European Union and is being implemented with the support of the United Nations.

“The Spotlight Initiative is an expression of the same political will demonstrated by the international community in adopting the Sustainable Development Goals, with Goal 5 focusing specifically on gender equality with concrete targets on ending violence against women and girls, as well as mainstreaming gender across the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“Additionally, this initiative resonates well with the provisions in our Constitution and Transitional Stabilisation Programme which recognises gender mainstreaming in all sectors of the economy as an essential toll to ‘eliminate all negative economic, social and cultural practices that impede equality of sexes,’ and gender equality as ‘fundamental to achieving equitable, sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development’,” President Mnangagwa said.

He expressed his hope that the initiative would bring to the fore cases of violence against women that often go unreported.

“It is my hope through the Spotlight Initiative we will adopt measures that will bring this problem into the public domain and enable policy makers to realise that gender based violence has a negative impact on the GDP and national development as a whole. It is a significant obstacle to achieving our Vision 2030,” he added.

He said Government was committed to eradicating gender based violence as enunciated in the National Gender Policy and National Gender Based Violence Strategy.

“I am reliably informed that the programme will have six inter-connected and mutually reinforcing pillars which are aimed at holistically addressing violence against women and girls.

“The six pillars are laws and policies; institutions strengthening, prevention and social norms, services, data and women’s rights movement,” President Mnangagwa said.

The President said the programme will also focus on prevention, protection of survivors as well as increased reporting of violence against women and girls.

“My Government has put in place institutional mechanisms and multi-sectoral and stakeholder structures starting from national down to the ward level to address gender based violence.

“The enactment of the Domestic Violence Act shows Government’s commitment to eliminate violence against women and girls in Zimbabwe,” he said.

The President also said Government was in the process of promulgating a new marriages law that will criminalise child marriages.

“The Marriages Bill will regularise the age of marriage and criminalise child marriages and all its perpetrators and accomplices including parents and vana tete.

“Recently, Cabinet received a Memorandum of Principles on mandatory sentencing, calling for stiffer penalties for rape perpetrators.

“I have tasked the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs (Ziyambi Ziyambi) to look into it and we hope this goes through all the critical processes so that our courts can implement deterrent sentences for rape perpetrators,” President Mnangagwa said.

He said the provision of services to gender based violence survivors through the One Stop Centre Model that are being established at Government-owned hospitals would be up-scaled through the Spotlight Initiative. Zimbabwe will receive 22 million euros for the programme over a two-year period.