Women, youth participation in  electoral processes fraught with obstacles

Women, youth participation in  electoral processes fraught with obstacles

Thembelihle Mhlanga

LUPANE – Despite being the majority, women and youths face various impediments in their quest to participate in the electoral processes in Zimbabwe that are dominated by males and the elderly.

 According to a World Bank collection of development data for 2021, women constitute  52.2 percent of the Zimbabwe population while youths comprise 41 percent of the same. However, these demographics are largely underrepresented in the electoral processes as men and the elderly hold sway over the political sphere.

Lupane Local Board Chairperson, Mrs. Monica Ngwenya said challenges faced by women in participating in the electoral processes stem from the patriarchal system that is bent on pulling them down as society tends to discourage women from participating in political activities, believing they should be confined to domestic and family affairs.

“Our society is still bogged down in the old systems where women were denied leadership positions as leadership was the prerogative of men. Also, women who participate in electoral processes are largely mistakenly considered to be of loose morals,” said Ngwenya.

She further added that women, who are usually of low income, find it very difficult to carry out campaigns and partake in the process. Their lower earnings result in a mismatch as far as taking on their usually monied male counterparts in political contests. Ngwenya noted that in relationships, vis-a-vis marriages, properties are considered to be under the ownership of men, therefore the playing field is therefore tilted heavily against women in that men can readily use their resources for their campaigns, a reality that most women can only dream of.

The Programme Officer for Lupane Youth for Development Trust, Miss Zibusiso Moyo said it is very difficult for youths to participate in electoral processes as they have no income and political parties do not recognise nor consider them for intra-party positions, where positions are mostly given to males and the elderly.

“Young people are never given a chance by elderly members of political parties since they are considered ‘immature’ and not fit for prominent decision-making positions. Above all, they do not have resources to enable them to carry out their campaigns,” said Miss Moyo.

Moyo went on to say that young people should also shoulder part of the blame as they rarely take it upon themselves to fight for their rights and representation in the political space due to distractions caused by illicit dealings, drug and alcohol abuse.

Melusi Ncube, an aspiring candidate for Sipepa Ward in Tsholotsho District said it is very hard for the youth to participate effectively in the electoral process. He cited political parties’ reservations and unwillingness to promote young people to take up leadership roles.

“Party leaders who are usually the elderly empowered to make key decisions on the constitution of party leadership do not trust the youth with important positions. You will discover that only one unimportant slot is set aside for youth in the party structures while the rest are occupied by the elderly. 

As you can see, even in the allocation of the women’s quota for the National Assembly, only elderly women are given a chance or selected for those slots, as candidates for this position are listed in order of seniority and there are no young people who are seniors in political parties, therefore youths are  always sidelined,” said Ncube. 

Ncube further deplored the exploitation of  youths that  are hired by political parties to carry out violent activities.

“The youths allow themselves to be used when given a small stipend to engage in violent activities when they have not even registered to vote. Thus, their only contribution to the electoral process would be undesirable violence,” he said.

The Lupane Women’s Development Trust Manager, Ms Hildguard Mufukari noted that there are several factors causing the poor participation of women in electoral processes, mainly that women are vulnerable and physically disadvantaged when compared to men given that the electoral process is characterized by physical movement.

“Women are physically disadvantaged making it easy for men to take advantage and take the major stake in the process.

Moreover, society questions the morality of women who vie for political office and this discourages women from participating in political activities.

The government through ZEC and political parties should create such an enabling environment for both youths and women to easily participate in the electoral processes. Civic Society organizations should also capacitate the electorate to understand the plight of women and encourage participation of women and youths in the electoral process,” said Mufukari.

According to the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) Report on the 2018 Harmonised Elections the number of women registered as voters for the 2018 elections was 3 073 190, making it 54 percent of registered voters, while male registered voters constituted 2 622 516 which is 46 percent of registered voters. The report further states that registered youths consist of only 43 percent of the 5.6 million voters in Zimbabwe. 

Yet the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) Gender and Inclusivity Policy reveals that, of the total votes cast in the 2018 Harmonised Elections, female candidates received only 513 099 votes (11 percent) while male candidates received a total of 4 728 226 (89 percent) of the total votes cast.

 ZESN recommends that government should put in place a policy that a quota system is imposed at party level for equal participation by both men and women in vying for electoral posts