By Ashley Maponga
In Zimbabwe, women make up over half of the population—but their voices in key decision-making spaces remain disproportionately low. While progress has been made in advancing gender equity in some areas, meaningful inclusion of women in policy-making processes continues to lag, undermining both democratic ideals and development goals.
At a glance, women constitute only 22% of the National Assembly and 44% of the Senate, thanks largely to the constitutional quota system. However, this representation rarely translates into influence over the content and direction of national policies. Too often, women are brought into discussions as a formality, not as key stakeholders with agency and lived experiences to inform decisions.
The exclusion of women from policy-making leads to policies that fail to address structural gender inequalities, from access to land and finance to social protection and political participation.
Many women’s groups and community-based organisations report limited consultation by duty bearers, especially on issues directly impacting women, such as reproductive health, education, gender-based violence, and economic empowerment.
Yet, there are frameworks Zimbabwe can lean into. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which Zimbabwe endorsed in 1995, explicitly calls for women’s full participation in power structures and decision-making.
The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) also demands the promotion of gender parity in public institutions and political representation.
Locally, Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) outline ambitions to create an inclusive society—but these goals will remain unmet without deliberate efforts to amplify women’s voices in shaping them. Likewise, Agenda 2063, the African Union’s strategic framework, envisions a continent where women play equal roles in political and public life.
Zimbabwe must align its implementation of these blueprints with the reality on the ground—where rural women, young women, and women with disabilities are often invisible in the policy arena.
The Women’s Democracy Network (WDN) believes that inclusion is not charity—it is necessity. When women are involved in policymaking, policies become more responsive, equitable, and sustainable. Inclusion must go beyond numbers and tokenism. It must be about influence, voice, and shared power.
As Zimbabwe continues to shape its development path, we call on government ministries, Parliament, political parties, and civil society to create space and support for genuine, systematic engagement of women in policymaking processes. We also urge women across sectors to organise, speak out, and claim their rightful place in shaping Zimbabwe’s future.
The time for inclusion is not tomorrow, it is now.
