By Correspondent
Only 3 female councilors have the chance to return to Zaka Rural District Council from 7 in the passing term.
This follows the loss of 4 female councilors in the ZANU PF primary elections.
In 2018, Zaka had set the pace as one of the leading Rural Councils in Masvingo province to elect women as councilors.
Then, the RDC had 7 female councilors from the district’s 34 wards.
However, ZANU PF which historically dominates the RDC’s seats, will now have only 3 female councillors seeking re-election.
The other 4 fell by the wayside in the just ended internal party polls.
No other new female candidates from the district managed to come through the primaries.
Lost Status
The RDC Chief Executive Officer David Majaura aknowledged the importance of gender equality in council.
“Female councilors always made debates lively in council.
“Whenever there was a policy or developmental issues that needed to be addressed they made sure that the matter should be gender sensitive.
“It was our hope that the incoming council will witness more women coming on board and contribute to the development of the district,” he said.
Zimbabwe, remains deeply conservative and few women have participated as candidates in elections since independence in 1980.
This is despite women constituting more than half of the electorate and of the total country’s population.
Women rights groups cite sexual exploitation and violence as some of the stumbling blocks for women to assume political positions.