Young women speak out on poor participation
Young
women have expressed lack of interest in electoral processes, citing the
violent nature of Zimbabwean elections as the major reason for shunning them.
Speaking
to other young women during a study circle in Magwegwe, Agartha Mwasangwale said
that politics is usually a source of conflict in their area, with members of
different political parties perpetrating violence against each other
particularly towards elections.
“We
always see the way people turn against their own neighbours because of
political reasons and as a young woman I wouldn’t want to associate myself with
such violence and disorder,” she said.
In
a similar platform in Luveve, young women highlighted that their lives are
mainly confined to the private sphere and as such, national processes such as
elections have not been a priority to them.
“Elections
have not been a priority for us as most of us are not into politics. We hardly
make decisions even on issues at home we always depend on our parents to make
decisions for us. Today has been a learning curve for me because I know that
for things to go accordingly I have to participate in national processes and
choose leaders who will represent us effectively,” said Lieza Dube.
Even
their civic participation has been limited with the young women indicating that
the challenge is that most young women associate civic activities with
politics, something they want to distance themselves from given its violent
nature in Zimbabwe.
A
number of young women have often displayed lack of understanding on the
relevance of taking part in elections to their day to day lives. As a result of
the lack of information and a clear understanding of such key processes, there
has been limited participation by these young women.
However,
after various discussions, the young women indicated understanding of the
importance of actively participating in making decisions that affect their
lives. They also expressed interest in registering to exercise their right to
vote after sharing information during the discussions.
The NYDT started the young women’s study circles
as part of the initiatives that seek to increase young women’s participation
through creating safe spaces from them to interact without intimidation from
their male counterparts.
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