Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 World.
In shona there is this saying Musha mukadzi and in Matebeleland they say Wathinti umfazi watinti imbokodo, so l Challenge each one of us here to live up to that even amid this Pandemic.
Challenged world is an alert world, and from challenges comes change
Covid 19 has brought about impediments and it has affected women critically. If we look at the world stats women had to soldier on.
Domestic violence rapidly increased and women had no voice especially during the lockdown. It is of importance that these challenges are put into consideration beforehand we shouldn’t give a blind eye knowing that abusive men exist.
We must also consider that women are lacking basic rights like contraceptives and due to the pandemic pregnancy rate rapidly increased hence the government should pay attention to maternal health and social policies that will favour women.
Being a woman is difficult as you are initiated or born in a struggle within a struggle. It is not easy to be a real ideal woman in a nation with gross human rights abuse. Being a woman means being a mother and sister to someone. It has become the new normal that women are being detained, arrested, tortured for being bold and standing up by the truth. Therefore, today we are castigating normalising the abnormal. Hence as women let’s unite and defend the rights of women. We are advocating for equal opportunities, affordable healthcare, free breast cancer screening as well as promotion and elevation of women to position of influence hence lam challenging all women all over the world to strive for this goal.
Let’s also challenge ourselves to push for Economic reactivation and reconstruction because we bear the brunt as women always.
Women both in urban and rural areas were hit hard by the pandemic because most of them are vendors, cross borders etc. Those in remote areas like rural areas were more deprived. They survive on substance farming and sell their produce in the city for survival.
We need to restore and rebuild essential health services and strengthen the primary health care. It is important for us as women to conduct training sessions on technology awareness during this digital era so that we don’t allow the pandemic to affect our Leadership skills.
As we celebrate this Women’s day l want us to swiftly conform to the new ways of doing things even selling our produce on line to survive.
I will reach out to progressive organisations to ensure that women are provided with gadgets to enable them to operate during this pandemic.
Happy Women’s day.
I thank you.
Hon Lynette Karenyi
MDC Alliance Vice President.