Women have been urged to venture into politics and take up leadership positions for their voices to be heard.
The call was made by some female politicians during a round table discussion held by CITE, Tuesday, on the role of women in politics.
Deputy Secretary for Rural Mobilization Strategy and Penetration for the Chamisa-led Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Nonhlanhla Mlotshwa, said women have so much potential to hold leadership positions in politics but are afraid to do so.
Narrating about her journey in politics, Mlotshwa said she is passionate about bringing about positive change for women, especially those in rural areas.
“I worked my way to the top. I made myself visible from the grassroots, proved that I was the best person for the task and the party noticed my efforts. One thing about women in politics is that we have to prove ourselves three times more than we are capable of holding these political positions,” she said.
Mlotshwa said as a party that was going through a transition they were faced with a situation where they had to reintroduce themselves in communities and she stood up to the challenge.
Municipality of Gwanda Councilor for Ward 2 Nappy Moyo highlighted that another constraint faced by women is finance.
She said it is not easy for women to contest against male counterparts because men are usually more financially capacitated than they are.
Cllr Moyo also noted that patriarchy has kept women from politics because not all men would be supportive of their spouses, especially towards the election period where they have to travel a lot for campaigns.
