Melinda Kusemachibi
Women candidates in Masvingo province who contested in the recently held local authority and national assembly by-elections suffered heavy defeats after losing to their male counter parts.
Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Ward 4 candidate Thokozile Muchuchuti got 284 votes while winner and party rival Aleck Tabe got 660 votes.
Zimbabwe Patriotic Front candidate Faith Chuma got 139 votes losing to Zanu-PF Zizhou Munyaradzi who got 6832 votes in Chivi South, while in ward 7 Masvingo Urban MDC-Alliance candidate Gertrude Chuma got 43 votes.
Everjoy Chidindi got 21 votes as she lost to CCC’s candidate Richard Musekiwa who got 3452 votes.
Muchuchuti said she was not happy with the results.
“I am not happy with the results because I expected better. As for 2023 elections, I do not know if I will contest because I believe in what people want, like last time I did not want to contest but I believed that people wanted me to contest that is why I contested,” said Muchuchuti.
Contacted for comment MDC-Alliance candidate for ward 7 Gertrude Chuma said that she does not have comment on her losing the elections.
“As for now, I do not have a comment. You can contact me some other time not any day soon,” said Chuma.
This was not however the same for Labour Economists and African Democrats (LEAD) candidate Everjoy Chidindi as she said that she is very much happy with the results.
LEAD president Linda Masarira in a statement issued on March 28, 2022 said as a way forward, they are going to revise their strategies and map the way forward.
“We have the zeal, power, the stamina, the eye, the ear, now we are changing our approach and focusing more on grassroots issues, women and youth empowerment and emancipation of the down trodden. We believe that we have what it takes to be the third voice in Zimbabwe political economy and the third force which will transform our political arena from politics of personalities to politics of ideology and from politics of patronage to politics of issues and development,” said Masarira.
Center for Gender and Community Development in Zimbabwe (CGCDZ) Programmes Manager Chidaushe Mudadi said that women face daily abuses in the political field.
“As CGCDZ we can say that women in politics face daily abuses as their male counter parts want to dominate the political industry. For instance, in ward 4 Thokozile Muchuchuti faced verbal abuses as she was abused by their male counter parts. We want to encourage women out there to continue venturing into politics. They should not fear but they have to stay strong,” said Mudadi.
During the by-elections campaigns, CCC’s Thokozile Muchuchuti who was eyeing Masvingo urban ward 4 was allegedly victimized and forced to withdraw her candidature, which she refused as she went on to contest.
Another case of women abuse occurred in ward 7, Masvingo Urban where LEAD candidate Everjoy Chidindi claimed to have been verbally abused by Zanu PF candidate Prosper Dohwai and his supporters.
