By Brighton Chiseva
BIKITA – Women in Bikita are demanding a seat at the chief’s table as part of the advisory council to represent their interests and break down the barriers that have historically excluded them from decision-making processes.
Women who spoke to TellZim News during the International Human Rights Day Commemorations held at Chikuku Vocational Training Center on December 11, organized by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) in partnership with the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), and the Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC), said women had already proven that they are good judges, as many of them were magistrates, judges, and lawyers, and could also be judges and advisors at traditional leaders’ courts.
Pauline Pasipanodya, who stays in Chief Mukanganwi’s area, said it was not fair for women to stand trial in front of an all-male panel of judges from the chief’s advisory council and that the inclusion of women would make the court more accommodative.
“Imagine you are a woman and you stand before 10 or more men, each one asking questions. It’s so intimidating and not fair for women. We urge traditional leaders from the village head level to include women as judges because they would understand fellow women more than men do,” said Pasipanodya.
She said they were in the process of submitting their call to the chiefs in the district and hoped they would implement it as a matter of urgency.
Pasipanodya praised CCJP for enlightening the community on conflict resolution and human rights, saying they were now aware of their rights and that had reduced the number of human rights violations in the area.
Another local woman, Chipo Muteiwa, said through interventions by organizations like CCJP, they were aware of their rights and no longer felt inferior as women.
“We no longer feel inferior; we now know that we can play equal roles with men. Some time ago, fellow women would label anyone who wants to lead as someone of loose morals, but now they know, we even compete for posts at various levels with men.
“So, the area which is still lacking is that of traditional courts; men still feel we cannot take positions there, but I want to assure them that we can, and it’s good for us as women,” said Muteiwa.
Respinda Shindi from Ward 31 said women constituted a larger number compared to men, so it was unfair to leave them out of any sphere of society. She argued that traditional leaders’ courts needed female representation, as women understood the challenges faced by fellow women better than men.
