International Women’s Day under the theme, #ChooseToChallenge, highlights the importance of challenging biases and misconceptions in the interest of fostering and promoting a more inclusive and gender-equal world.
Marked annually, this is a focal point in the women’s rights movement. Women from different backgrounds and cultures band together to fight for gender parity and women’s rights. The International Women’s Day celebration this year comes at a time where the nation and the world at large are grappling the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating effects hence the UN theme for International Women’s Day, 8 March 2021 (IWD 2021), “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world,” which celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. We lament the pandemic induced poverty surge and increase in violence against women and girls which has contributed to the loss of life and income by women thereby increasing inequality as well as their dignity.
This year’s theme is very important for GALZ and the LGBTIQ community as it focuses on challenging misconceptions, and the exclusion of the Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans and Queer (L,B,T,Q) community in the broader women’s movement.
Social exclusion, marginalisation and stigma due to non-normative sexual orientation, gender identity and expression impacts the life of LBTQ people in Zimbabwe. Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans, Queer persons and women who have sex with women (WSW) remain marginalised resulting in experiences of exclusion and limitations in the employment sector, social, political spaces and continued homophobia in families which hinders their entirety in social integration of the groups in the broader women’s movement. During this pandemic, there has been an increase in gender-based violence that also affects the LBTQ community within their families, their relationships and their communities, which has gone
unnoticed due to the exclusion that the LBTQ community faces.
GALZ appreciates work done by women as health care workers, caregivers, innovators, community organizers as some of the most exemplary and effective national leaders during the pandemic.
GALZ encourages the women’s movement to promote equal treatment and participation of LBTQ women in development and leadership. The world recognises that gender equality by 2030 requires urgent action to eliminate the many root causes of discrimination that still curtail women’s rights in private and public spheres. We call on the women’s sector in Zimbabwe to foster a conducive environment for organisations working on LBTQ rights to work without harassment and intimidation.
GALZ calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to criminalise, in particular, hate speech and other such practices that promote violence and discrimination towards women and prosecute those that incite all forms of violence towards women.
GALZ further calls on the Government to develop a fiscal stimulus package and a safety net programme that deliberately targets women in their diversity to achieve greater equality and social protection.
Let us Choose to Challenge discriminatory laws and legislation that undermines women in their diversity and encourage the Government to proactively advance equality.