The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) joins the international community in celebrating the 2018 International Women’s Day which is being held under the theme #PressforProgress.
The day celebrates women’s achievements in the social, economic, political as well as cultural spheres and is also a call to accelerate efforts towards achieving gender parity.
On International Women’s Day, CHRA applauds efforts towards women empowerment in Zimbabwe. We however would like to implore the government to walk the talk and accelerate women empowerment in all spheres of life.
As CHRA, we have made deliberate efforts to ensure that women are actively involved in programmes aimed at engaging council and ultimately improving service delivery. Our voter mobilization campaigns have also mainly targeted women and youths who form a huge chunk of the country’s population.
As a residents’ association, CHRA notes with concern how women have been at the receiving end of poor service delivery in Greater Harare.
Women in Harare have had to bear the brunt of erratic water supplies and have to walk long distances or travel during the night in search of water.
Non-collection of refuse in residential areas is also another big problem that women have to grapple with on a daily basis among many other issues arising from poor service delivery.
CHRA further notes with concern, the non-consultation of residents by the Harare City Council when it comes to issues that affect residents, women included.
This lack of consultation by council has worsened the marginalization of women at local government level and CHRA implores the Harare City Council to prioritize consultation of residents.
On International Women’s Day, CHRA calls upon the Harare City Council to prioritize effective service delivery as the current situation in Harare has negatively impacted on women whose constitutional rights to clean, safe and portable water as well as a clean environment among other fundamental rights continue to be violated due to poor service delivery.
CHRA also notes with concern council’s brutality against vendors operating in the Central Business District (CBD).
We are appalled by the fact that women have mostly been the major victims of council’s brutality yet they are merely seeking to earn a living in a struggling economy.
CHRA urges the Harare City Council and other critical stakeholders to ensure that all forms of violence against women (in public and private places) are eliminated.
Source: Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)
