A deep reflection of International Women’s day in line with the 2023 theme of DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality
By Samantha Zengeni and Tinashe Muzama
1.0 Introduction
Women from all nations, religions, and cultures are honored for what they do and have to deal with daily. Women have a unique capacity for overcoming daily challenges with love and care, striving against all odds to improve the world and defend their loved ones through predation. Today, in many parts of the world, women are still fighting for their rights and upholding the movement’s fundamental principles. It is crucial to uphold current values and further their agendas to create a fair and equal society free from gender discrimination.
The 2023 celebrations run under the theme of DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality. United Nations Women alludes that Women make up only 22 percent of artificial intelligence workers globally. A survey of women journalists from 125 countries found that 73 percent had suffered online violence in the course of their work. A global analysis of 133 AI systems across industries found that 44.2 percent demonstrate gender bias. From the earliest days of computing to the present age of virtual reality and artificial intelligence, women have made untold contributions to the digital world in which we increasingly live. Their accomplishments have been against all odds, in a field that has historically neither welcomed nor appreciated them. This article further reflects on the imperativeness of International Women’s day and scrutinizes its relevance with a particular focus on women in Zimbabwe and the challenges bedeviling it.
2.0 Background
National Women’s History Month was established by a presidential proclamation to draw attention to and improve the focus on women in historical studies. It began in New York City on March 8, 1857, when female textile workers marched in protest of unfair working conditions and unequal rights for women. It was one of the first organized strikes by working women, during which they called for a shorter work day and decent wages. Also on March 8, 1908, women workers in the needle trades marched through New York City’s Lower East Side to protest child labor and sweatshop working conditions, and demand women’s suffrage. This was a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. Great unrest and critical debate were occurring amongst women. Women’s oppression and inequality were spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change.
Campaign themes over the years have each focused on a specific and timely topic that, if more widely understood, may help advance women and forge a more inclusive world. IWD campaigns have included: #EmbraceEquity, #BreakTheBias, #ChooseToChallenge, #EachforEqual, #BalanceforBetter, #PressforProgress, #BeBoldforChange, #PledgeforParity, #MakeItHappen, #TheGenderAgenda, and more. International Women’s Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. The growing international women’s movement [has] helped make the commemoration a rallying point to build support for women’s rights and participation in the political and economic arenas.”
Today, women around the world continue to advocate for equal pay, the end of gender discrimination, and an end to violence against women. Advocates also highlight the injustices faced by women of color, transgender women, immigrant women, girls, and women from other marginalized groups
3.0 The Imperativeness of International Women’s Day
History bursts with important events that have made the world a better place. Women have always played essential roles in the movements for voting rights, civil rights, labor rights, children’s rights, and much more. They’ve also accomplished great things in every field, including medicine, science, literature, and politics. International Women’s Day is a great opportunity to recognize all these successes. IWD is a day to celebrate activists on a global level, raising awareness of their work and the challenges they face. It is also a great opportunity to network and connect with people committed to gender equality.
On International Women’s Day, events and activities are organized to raise awareness about the ongoing struggle for gender equality and to pay tribute to the women who have made a significant impact in their communities and beyond pledges to support women’s rights and gender equality during this day, and they take action to create a more equal and just society for all. International Women’s Day matters because at its core, it’s a rallying cry, but it’s an essential reminder that progress does not happen by accident. All the accomplishments and successes the world celebrates did not come easily, but they prove what is possible. As a call to action, International Women’s Day tells us to look at where we’ve been, see how far we’ve come, and keep fighting for more.
In their day-to-day lives, women juggle so many commitments and responsibilities, deal with so much, and look fantastic while getting everything done. A 2021 World Health Organization report found that nearly one in three women worldwide is subjected to physical or sexual violence during her lifetime, an issue that ties in with women’s economic opportunities, access to sex education, and reproductive rights. The date is an opportunity to raise awareness of rights gaps and celebrate progress and the achievements of individual women. This date works as an advocacy tool, It’s one of how people sort of generate momentum. It gives us a moment to re-learn, unlearn and learn something new.
This is a day set aside for women to express themselves on a myriad of issues because Women’s rights are being abused, threatened, and violated around the world to such an extent that women and girls have been erased from public life. The day brings attention to the issues women faced then and still face today, including gender-based violence, workplace sexual harassment, unequal pay, girls not being allowed to go to school, and no-help parenting. Female activists utilize the day to promote gender equality and advance women’s rights.
Moreover, it empowers women. Having a day to commemorate the history and the fights that women have fought is a great way to remember and ensure progress in the future and it Raises Awareness about ongoing issues related to gender equality and women’s rights. It is an opportunity for people to come together and take action to create a more equal and just society for all. Additionally, it serves as a reminder to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions of women in various fields, from politics to business, from education to healthcare, and many others.
This day is full of history. Women have had a long-forged path of fighting for freedom and this day honors all the sacrifices women have made throughout history. It has developed into a forum for women to speak out and promote change over the years. It has been used to draw attention to problems like gender-based violence, pay disparities, lack of access to healthcare and education, and underrepresentation of women in politics and leadership positions. The development of women’s rights all over the world is one of the most noteworthy accomplishments of International Women’s Day.
4.0 Challenges Women Are Still Facing In Zimbabwe
4.1 Lack of Political Representation
Gender-based prejudices are still rife in this nation where women have traditionally been seen as cheerleaders for male politicians. Al Jazeera (2022) denoted that Stereotypes and violence keep women out of politics. Zimbabwe, a deeply conservative country, has always recorded a lower percentage of women participating as candidates in elections since independence in 1980 compared with men, despite constituting more than half of the electorate and the total 15 million people in the country. Various stereotypes have been used to undermine their capability to be active in politics. For instance, if not deemed too weak to lead, women are often presented as having loose morals or as mercenaries for the governing party or opposition
Cyberbullying and physical intimidation has also resulted in women being underrepresented in political spheres. The reoccurrence of violence during elections has continuous negative ripple effects on the participation of women in electoral processes to a certain level that women have largely been on the receiving end of the political antagonism, which has seen a drop in their interest to participate actively in electoral processes. The political landscape in Zimbabwe remains a man’s world as many obstacles perpetually work against women’s participation in public institutions or politics. “It goes without saying that when the electoral environment is patriarchal and prejudiced, women are automatically marginalized.”
4.2 Gender-Based Violence
Gender-based violence continues to threaten the safety of thousands of girls and women around the country while infringing upon their most basic human rights. Gender-based violence in Zimbabwe is so common that it is steadily becoming a normalized part of Zimbabwean culture; 48.6% of women between the ages of 15-24 years believe that “wife-beating” can be “justified under at least one condition.
Gender-based violence threatens a person’s physical and psychological integrity. gender-based violence can have the effect of pushing women and others who are affected to the margins of society and making them feel inferior or helpless. According to WHO Global Status Report on Violence Prevention 2014, one in three women and girls will experience physical, sexual, or gender-based violence (SGBV) in their lifetime. Gender-based violence (GBV) affects one in every three women globally (World Bank, 2019; Moses, 2020). In Zimbabwe, 40% of women aged 15-49 have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner, including 19% who suffered such violence during the previous 12 months (Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency & UNICEF, 2019). Reports suggest that GBV intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps because isolation made it harder for victims to escape abuse and access support (ZimFact, 2021).
The true extent of GBV is unknown because many attacks on girls and women are never reported. Reasons include fear of the attacker, fear of a negative response by others, and the belief that the authorities will not take the case seriously
4.3 Lack of Access to Information
Women are still facing this challenge, especially in marginalized areas. When girls miss out on education this increases the risk of forced marriage, trafficking, and poverty. Section 62 of the constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (no.20), It is emphasizing that every Zimbabwean citizen has the right access to any information. It is the most vulnerable and marginalized population that suffers the greatest due to limited access to information and this is particularly true for women. As various tools are applied to address the web of adversities facing women poverty, illiteracy, violence, and inadequate opportunities for quality participation insufficient focus has been paid to the power that information can play in confronting these challenges.
Women particularly need information on issues affecting their health, for their social and economic development, and as a means to contribute to sustainable economies. Access to information is a human rights norm that entails an enabling environment that allows individuals to access, use, and disseminate information and further develop their capabilities to apply this information meaningfully in their everyday lives. Access to information is intrinsically linked to the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women and Girls, and in turn contributes to the achievement of other SDGs.
4.4 Climate Change
Climate change is a “threat multiplier.” For many women around the world, it is also enacting, and at times creating, new limitations and obstacles in attaining basic rights. When disasters strike, they are likely to produce and build up social, economic, and political inequalities along gendered lines. But these are also generative moments that allow us to be reflective about structural inequalities, critically assess them, and reimagine ways in which we can address them. Women’s vulnerability to climate change is due to several factors such as social, economic, and cultural
Women face starker repercussions of drought and land by the manner labor is divided. While men, who are regarded as breadwinners, would relocate to urban areas in search of work, women, children, and the elderly remain in rural areas to maintain fields and harvests increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Women in Zimbabwe are in constant contact with the natural environment during their daily chores of looking for water, firewood, wild fruits, and agriculture. Land degradation makes all the above resources scarce, in such a manner that women are now walking longer distances to look for them. In some communities, women walk over 10 km (6 miles) to look for firewood and water. These chores usually take them the whole day leaving them with no time to do other meaningful activities such as entrepreneurship. Because of this, most of them remain poor. This is a practice that is not only bad for the environment but also very time-consuming for women, taking approximately 5-10 h per day. The energy poverty in the country, therefore, affects women’s ability to, for example, accelerate their careers, since they have fewer hours than men to spend on income-generating livelihood activities and education.
However, Women are finding it increasingly difficult to feed their families or engage in meaningful forest-based businesses such as beekeeping and community gardens due to land degradation. Women across Zimbabwe make up more than half of the agricultural labor force, yet they do not have equal access to capital, finance, equipment, or land (Zimbabwe Human Development Index 2017).
4.5 Digital Literacy
United Nations Women 2023 supports that a persistent gender gap in digital access keeps women from unlocking technologies full potential. Their underrepresentation in STEM education and careers remains a major barrier to their participation in tech design and governance. And the pervasive threat of online gender-based violence—coupled with a lack of legal recourse—too often forces them out of the digital spaces they do occupy.
4.6 Menstrual Poverty
In Zimbabwe, Menstrual poverty is a global issue, which affects menstruators who don’t have access to safe, hygienic period products or who can’t manage their periods with dignity because of stigma, a lack of menstrual education, or proper hygiene facilities. And, as highlighted by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), period poverty can have lasting consequences on a menstruator’s education and economic opportunities, as well as exacerbate existing vulnerabilities.
Women and girls across the continent already experience discrimination based on gender across all areas of life, and taking care of their menstrual health and hygiene a perfectly normal part of life simply shouldn’t be yet another discrimination to be faced.
4.7 Pull Her Down Syndrome
American feminist Gloria Steinem on various occasions has spoken on the “pull her down” syndrome, a way in which too often women denigrate other women. This infighting happens in any society or group that has been poor or disenfranchised for a long time. For instance, you see one person doing well, think she’s getting it all, and want only to take it away yet it is very destructive in our communities.
5.0 Conclusion
Women are usually not as visible as men when history is told. Their achievements are minimized or they are portrayed only playing incidental or supporting roles to men. Little is known and said about Zimbabwe’s liberation war heroines like Freedom Nyamubaya, Angelina Tongogara, Sunny Takawira, Sally Mugabe, JoiceMujuru, and many more. In addition to fighting alongside men, women risked their lives providing food, shelter, protection, and support to the male fighters. Women also abandoned their education, families, and lives to join the war. Since independence Zimbabwean women have continued fighting for the country’s development from the transformative and innovative leadership of Fay Chung in the Education Ministry in the 80s to the activism of Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga today in advocating better access to education for girls and free sanitary wear so poorer girls are not marginalized. The majority of Zimbabwean women toil on in their daily lives in their humble corners unsung and unnoticed.
It’s also a call to action to work towards creating a more inclusive world for all women to help make our country a rather fairer, safer place for all, not only is Women’s Month a time of reflection, but it’s also a moment to recognize how the efforts and bravery of past generations continue to pave the way for females today. As we celebrate women we challenge them to be bold and despite all the challenges take up space in their respective spheres of influence to become and achieve an equal future in the World. Year after year, IWD is certainly a powerful moment increasing in status. The onus is to make a difference, think globally, and act locally. There’s a space and place for everyone to help fight the good fight. The future is female and the future for the girl child should be bright, equal, safe, and rewarding.
6.0 Recommendations
6.1 Enhanced women’s participation
Girls and women have a right to engage in civil society, vote in elections, be elected to government office, serve on boards, and make their voices heard in any process that will ultimately affect them, their families, and their communities. Investing in girls’ and women’s right to political participation is a necessary step to achieving global gender equality and democratic governance. Women need to see themselves in politics. It’s the only way change will come to Zimbabwe. Once people see you as a leader of integrity, they start to see beyond gender. One of the main things to increase women’s democratic participation is by seeing other women in leadership – the role-model effect. Having women stand as examples of public leadership and investing in the next generation of female leaders creates models in the public imagination and pushes more women to get involved. It builds courage. Increasing women’s representation in the government will not only empower women but is necessary to achieve gender parity. Women’s political empowerment and equal access to leadership positions at all levels are fundamental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a more equitable world. With limited growth in women’s representation, the advancement of gender equality and the success of the SDGs will be jeopardized.
6.2 Scaling up prevention efforts that address unequal gender power relations as a root cause of gender-based violence.
Eliminating violence against Zimbabwean women by changing regressive laws, beliefs, and practices perpetuating gender-based violence should be prioritized. Comprehensive community Gender-Based Violence prevention and response to build up girls’ social assets as a way of preventing abuse and providing post-GBV services is a necessary vehicle.
Integrating GBV and sexual abuse prevention material into relevant curriculum and program activities for girls and boys clubs at secondary schools and community-based centers for out-of-school youth is pivotal as utilizing radio broadcasts and SMS messaging to further spread awareness about gender equality and GBV.
Furthermore organizing a Stop the Bus approach; a mobile one-stop-shop that combines awareness-raising and demand generation for GBV services, with on-the-spot linkages to medical, legal, and counseling support for survivors
6.3 Creation of Information cafes or Hubs
Girls’ and women’s increased access to information will not only contribute to their empowerment but will also have a beneficial impact on society as a whole. In the struggle for the right to information and expression, the freedom to access official information has been acquiring greater salience. The development of their capabilities is key to their equality and empowerment, the objective of Goal 5, while the overall focus of the SDGs is on empowering the poorest and hardest to reach. For women, access to information would bring about great transformational change in the quest to challenge and reform patriarchy; which remains the biggest barrier to women’s participation in all spheres of life. However, Freedom of Information (FOI) has not been readily accepted in Zimbabwe where the state has been largely opaque and secretive in its operations.
6.4 Climate policies that are Gender-Sensitive Legal and Institutional Framework
There is an overarching imperative to address underlying inequalities and adopt proactive measures to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment to address gender inequality. These include women’s rights to participate equally in lawmaking and governance, and equality in access to land and other productive resources, all of which contribute to women’s capacity to respond to and cope with climate-induced shocks. Secure rights to land and the ability to make decisions over productive resources are critical for women’s capacity to respond to climate change and vital for strengthening climate action and building resilience. Conservation and environmental spaces are usually male-dominated, and there is a need to fill the gap and ensure that girls and women are present at the table going forward. Including women might for example entail setting meetings at times that are sensitive to suit women’s schedules, keeping in mind the gendered division of labor. By 2030, the government should have made notable strides to ensure that poor communities have access to sustainable technology to promote cleaner burning fuels. Notable reductions in deforestation and forest degradation, gender-sensitive training, and education and awareness of climate change are other targets. The public media should play a significant role in sharing information on gender dimensions of climate change and how women can contribute and benefit from sustainable development.
Women, especially those in rural communal lands, need to be trained and made aware of various strategies put in place not only by local governments, and NGOs as well as the involvement of women and girls to improve their welfare and livelihoods. Women and men should have equal access to climate change financing vehicles which have been made available by SADC.
Climate Information Service (CIS) for Women is of paramount importance. Weather and climate information and related advisory services are critical to supporting farmers in managing climate-related risks and better anticipating and preparing for climatic hazards (Hansen et al., 2011). However, compared to men, women face challenges accessing and utilizing weather and climate information services
Gender-Responsive Financial Services. Gender-responsive climate financing instruments and funding allocations are needed. Without financial resources, women cannot adapt to or build resilience to climate change. Social and cultural constraints related to intra-household bargaining power and the social status of women limit the broader impact of financial inclusion on women’s economic empowerment. Hence, adaptation projects that target smallholder households need to consider the gender dynamics of access to productive assets and the distribution of benefits. There is a growing body of evidence that confirms the value of integrating gender responsiveness into project design and implementation. However, the effective use of climate finance requires integrating climate change needs and priorities into gender-informed development policy and planning to achieve equitable outcomes
6.5 ITC policies, infrastructure, symposiums, seminars, and capacity building for women
There is a need for change and education in the digital age to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. International Women’s Day 2023 is exploring the impact of the digital gender gap on widening economic and social inequalities. For example, it is this digital gender gap that isolated women and particularly rural women during the COVID-19 pandemic. The representation of voices from rural communities was neglected in the transition to holding conversations online on digital platforms since many women did not have access to digital forums. Digital technology is opening new doors for the global empowerment of women, girls, and other marginalized groups. From gender-responsive digital learning to tech-facilitated sexual and reproductive healthcare, the digital age represents an unprecedented opportunity to eliminate all forms of disparity and inequality.
Without equal access to technology and the internet, women are not able to equally participate in our ever-more digital societies. Holding back women in this area affects every aspect of their lives, including their ability to speak out and campaign on issues that affect them. Moreover, if they are not involved in creating digital tools and online content, they may exacerbate existing inequalities. The gender technology gap also negatively impacts countries’ potential for economic growth and development. Equipping girls with digital literacy skills can empower them and give them tools to continue their education, access information about their rights and reproductive health, and increase their decision-making within their households. Similarly, digital skills are increasingly demanded in the labor markets and, as such, can provide an opportunity for girls to access good quality jobs.
6.6 Provision of free or reduced-cost hygiene products
By increasing access to these products, we can help ensure that all girls have the opportunity to lead active and healthy lives. Schools should also make sure that girls have a clean, private place where girls can change their sanitary items. This shouldn’t just be in secondary school either – some girls can start their period in primary school, so they must be supported from the start.
6.7 Women support Women (WSW) initiative
Inculcating a mentality that embraces or uplifts another woman should be normalized. The reason why women are against other women is that in Zimbabwe we live in a male dominant patriarchal country, and to be super successful in it, you need to demonstrate that you are on the side of the power structure. The forces that ought to be fought have all the advantages and women can only get ahead if they sell out on other women. Until women realize that the struggle is on multiple fronts home, workplace, the society at large, and the institutions thereof and they decide to unite to fight the male dominant patriarchal system (which is not easy, because one might have to stand alone sometimes), we will not have any change.