Permanent
Mission of t he Republic of Zimbabwe
to the United
Nations
STATEMENT
BY
MR.
C.W.E. MATUMBIKE
MINISTRY
OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS, EMPLOYMENT CREATION
AND
COOPERATIVES
HEAD
OF DELEGATION OF ZIMBABWE
DURING
THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
ENTITLED
"WOMEN
2000: GENDER EQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT
AND
PEACE FOR THE TWENTY‑FIRST CENTURY"
NEW
YORK
WEDNESDAY
7 JUNE 2000
Mr. President,
Allow me to associate my delegation with the
congratulations already addressed to you upon your election to this demanding
post of the President of the Beijing plus Five Mid Review Conference. In view
of your wealth of experience, we hope to work fruitfully and successfully under
your guidance in search of mutually acceptable decisions in the complex issues
of Gender Equality, Development and Peace. Needless to say, you can count on
the Zimbabwe delegation for support in discharging your duties. We fervently
hope that this conference besides enlightening and, creating awareness among
the misinformed, will also provide information on progress made so far by
various countries in their endeavours to implement the Beijing Platform for
Action.
Indeed this theme has attracted significant attention and
discourse in various fora at National, Sub‑Regional, Regional and International
levels. It is pleasing to note that today we are gathered here to take stock of
achievements in the area of gender equality and development.
Mr. President,
Like most other countries, Zimbabwe acknowledges that any
meaningful development is unlikely as long as gender inequalities are not
addressed. The lack of equal access to natural resources and opportunities
negatively impacts on the social and economic development of women.
Ladies and gentlemen I now want to draw your attention to
the Beijing Platform for action agreed upon at the Fourth World Conference and
the subsequent Plans of Action which Governments drew up for implementation.
Zimbabwe drew up comprehensive programmes to address the critical areas of
concern as was identified at Beijing. Zimbabwe in partnership with civic and
other non‑governmental, organizations recognized the need for this partnership
to ensure sustainable development and attainment of equality between the sexes.
Whilst
Zimbabwe has made
significant achievements, it has not as yet overcome barriers that make it
possible to fully attain equality between sexes. However great strides have
been made by the improvement of legal enactments in most sectors affecting the
female gender.
Agriculture is the
backbone of the Zimbabwean Economy contributing about 17% of the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP). Women constitute about 51% of the population in Zimbabwe of
which about 86% live in the rural areas. It is estimated that women account for
70% of the agricultural labour force in Zimbabwe. Female Headed households make
up the majority of the rural poor. Improvement of conditions in the rural areas through redistribution of land
and ownership of land by women will go a long way towards poverty alleviation,
creating a better, and healthier nation whilst addressing the equality
principles. The current Land Reform and Resettlement Phase II policy framework
(GOZ, 1998) identifies the objective of the programme as the resettlement of
families in a gender sensitive manner.
The resettlement programme
has been and will continue to be implemented through various resettlement
models. Amongst the constraints women face in Zimbabwe are, access to
technology and skills, credit, information skills and other supportive
requisites as well as economic disabilities.
Most development
programmes have made a few strides in recognising women in their own right with
regard to land redistribution, agricultural training and access to credit.
However, in order for women to get full recognition there is need for increased
efforts not only in lobbying but also participation in all economic reform
programmes.
What is of
importance to note is the fact that women are eligible for agricultural land
schemes in the same manner as their male counterparts.
The Government of
Zimbabwe is making efforts to ensure that land is distributed equally and
fairly to all those in need of land. Land is money and money is land therefore
poverty eradication on women can only be achieved if resources are shared
equally and more so to the advantage of women. Women's access to land will
improve greatly their economic empowerment which is a global critical area for
women.
The Poverty
Alleviation Programme has also been introduced to eradicate poverty and
directly support and sustain livelihood initiatives in selected disadvantaged
communities focusing on women and other vulnerable groups. It also emphasizes
employment creation and self‑reliance programmes.
Inspite of the fact
that access to credit is one of the key elements that empower women and enable
them to take advantage of economic opportunities, credit institutions rarely
lend to women since women do not have collateral. In an effort to overcome this
problem, women in Zimbabwe have mobilised themselves to form Savings and Credit
Co‑operatives and Village Banks governed by the Communities themselves. This is
one way of ensuring that appropriate decisions are made for communities.
Efforts are underway towards the establishment of a Women's Bank, through
mobilisation of funds to boost the capital base of the project.
Mr. President,
In an effort to
strengthen the National Machinery and ensure effective contributions to the
Plan of Action, the Government of Zimbabwe recognised that there was need for a
strong mechanism as well as the need to popularise the Global Platform for
Action. With this realisation, the Government of Zimbabwe embarked on a process
of strengthening the institutional mechanism through the establishment and
formulalisation of gender focal points in line ministries and Departments at
the policy‑making level.
This was followed by the training of these officers in gender sensitization,
planning and analysis in order to equip them with the necessary skills to
discharge their mandate. Gender Focal Points have since produced action plans
to facilitate the implementation of the Platform for Action.
Mr. President,
The Government of Zimbabwe with the assistance
of the UNDP embarked on a project on Women in politics and decision making.
This project is aimed at:
I.
Encouraging
women to stand for political positions.
II.
Building
the capacity of women who are already in power points so that they articulate
issues on gender and development.
III.
Sensitize
women on the need to vote for other women.
However, it is sad to note that apart from an insignificant
increase of 3% in women holding local Government and Parliamentary positions.
Women in Zimbabwe are still relatively invisible in decision‑making positions,
be it in academic institutions, the judiciary, financial institutions,
parastatal bodies and their governing bodies.
Mr. President,
The Government of Zimbabwe has made great
strides in engendering the formal education system particularly at primary and
secondary levels. What has not been adequately attended to are the efforts to
change the attitudunal and cultural factors which discriminate against the Girl
Child and Women in which context, attempts at engendering the education system
are taking place. More attention is being directed at addressing negative
contextual factors such as the socialisation process of the Girl Child,
low esteem developed over time and even the negative attitudes towards the Girl
child at home, in the community and at school.
While there has been
marked improvement in retention rates in primary schools, there are glaring
gender disparities in secondary to tertiary education.
Notwithstanding
these gender disparities, Zimbabwe has improved in terms of retention figures
for girls at all levels of the education system as a result of the affirmative
action programmes put in place particularly in tertiary education.
The Government of
Zimbabwe has put in place a gender curriculum, which is in favour of the Girl
Child and includes technical subjects. UNICEF and the Canadian CIDA are main
sponsors of this project. The long term goal of this project is to create an
enabling environment for the Girl Child's equitable access to participation and
achievement in education. The project focuses on changing attitudes, values and
perceptions of a variety of stakeholders who play a role in Girl Child
Education.
Mr. President,
Women and Health is
a priority for the Government of Zimbabwe. The Government recognises that good
health is fundamental to a fulfilling life and is committed to ensuring that
women have access to a high standard of appropriate, affordable and effective
health care services with an emphasis on preventive care and promotion of
health lifestyles. Tremendous strides have been made in the extension of health
care programmes and facilities to women both in the urban and rural areas.
However, in recent years these achievements have come under increased pressure
due to the realities of financial austerity and inflation, and expanding
population and illness related to HIV/AIDS.
While the concurrent
crises of AIDS and the economic decline are critical challenges, it is
important to keep achievements in mind. Successful Primary Health Care reduced
Infant Mortality Rate from 100‑50 between 1980 and 1988 and this continues into
the 1990's. The country has made tremendous progress in the area of mortality
rate from 60% in 1994 to 42% in 1997. To date one in every 3 women uses modern
birth control and this is one of the highest contraceptive practice in Africa.
This allows women to control their own fertility and has contributed to
drastically reducing infant mortality rates.
It is important to
note that 90% of pregnant women receive antenatal care, and ¾ provided by
trained personnel According to the Annual Benchmark Report (1999), the prenatal
mortality rate is on the decline, 43.8 in 1996, 41.4 in 1997 and 40.1 in 1998.
85% of the
population is located within 8 kilometers of a health facility and
ratio/population facility is around 8000.
In comparative terms
health remains a priority of the Government in terms of public spending.
However the year 2000 has seen a decline in the health budget, but this has
been cushioned by the introduction of the AIDS levy.
Mr. President,
The HIV/AIDS
infection rate has reached a level which affect the morbidity, mortality and
demographic profile. In 1998 UNAIDS estimated that 25.8% of people aged between
15‑49 years in the country were infected. The impact of this or, women's health
cannot be under‑estimated. AIDS is responsible for the highest proportion of
the national burden of disease. The report of the 1999 Zimbabwe National Burden
of HIV related diseases maybe as high as 40%.
As a result adult mortality has increased markedly.
Mr. President, In conclusion while the Government of
Zimbabwe is fully committed to promote gender equality, the prevailing macro‑economic
situation has negatively impacted on the efforts being made.
The Government of Zimbabwe has been forced to work with
limited human and financial resources, making it difficult to efficiently and
effectively implement the platform for action.