Women in Zimbabwe can drive change in their communities if they are given the skills, resources and space to lead, a charity director has said.
Ednah Bhala, who runs the Maranatha Orphans Care Trust, called for greater investment in women’s empowerment, governance participation and access to economic opportunities.
She was speaking on Wednesday at an outreach meeting in Bulawayo hosted by the Southern Western Region Gender Network (SWRGN), with which her organisation is partnering.
The network is running a three-year project, funded by the European Union, that aims to strengthen civil society and community groups working on justice, governance and citizens’ rights in marginalised areas.
It runs from 2025 to 2027.
Bhala said women had already shown they could influence governance when properly equipped.
“We believe women can have the agency and the voice if they are given the necessary skills, information and space,” she said. “We have seen women in our communities participating at council level during budgeting, raising issues that affect women so that councils can adopt gender-sensitive budgets.”
She cited cases in which women had challenged the misuse of school funds and intervened to stop child marriages.
In Ward 14 in Matobo district, she said, gender champions working with the Ministry of Women Affairs had halted a child marriage that had already been arranged.
In another community, women had confronted a head teacher accused of misusing school funds.
But Bhala warned that shifting long-held attitudes towards women would take sustained work at family, community and institutional levels.
“Issues start from the family, how does the family appreciate that a woman can also have a voice?” she said.
She also urged closer cooperation between government and civil society, saying the two were too often viewed as adversaries.
“We should not see each other as enemies. Our goal is the same, a resilient community that can sustain itself and enjoy its rights.”
Bhala questioned how Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), which covers social participation, infrastructure and financial development, would reach women in remote areas.
“How do we package that for the rural woman who is 200km from Bulawayo?” she asked. “How do we cascade what is working to those who are marginalised?”
She called for resources to be ring-fenced for women, young people and people with disabilities, warning that funds intended for the poor were too often captured by the elite.
“What about my grandmother in Tsholotsho?” she said.
She also urged a shift away from small-scale “cottage” enterprises towards larger ventures.
“Let us invest in big businesses for women, women in the transport business, not just women selling tomatoes,” she said. “We have vision, but we need access.”
SWRGN director Chele Nyathi said the project was also helping to close the digital divide in rural areas.
A Starlink satellite internet system had been installed at a youth hub in Ward 9 in Matobo, in partnership with the Matobo Youth Development Initiative (MYDI).
“This connectivity is transforming how communities access services and information,” Nyathi said. “Young people, in particular, are now using digital platforms to stay informed and engaged.”