H-Metro
MARCH is a special month on the global calendar dedicated to women and the girl child’s worthy cause.
It’s a month both successful and less privileged women are celebrated for the major role they play in nation building.
Women play a major role in bringing sanity to our communities and families. On March 8, the world celebrates the International Women’s Day (IWD) under the theme “Embrace Equity”.
Under the theme, global women’s rights defenders and movements have noted that equity isn’t just a nice-to-have but a must-have.
These rights should be observed every day to ensure they become part of society’s DNA, according to women’s rights activists.
We should not only wait for March to start observing women’s rights, but honour them daily, especially for the critical role they play in raising children and maintaining the home.
As such, most countries – Zimbabwe included – have pronounced March as the women’s month.
This shows that women’s value is priceless and should never be allowed to depreciate. Those violating women’s rights should be punished.
Women go through a lot in raising new generations, fending for their families as well as giving hope to those in despair.
Their role should never be underestimated while their strength and resilience have made them heroines. However, their rights continue to be violated and trampled on by violent men every day.
This continued violation of women’s rights has stripped them of their dignity, pride and confidence.
Gender-based violence (GBV), child marriage, rape and ritual murders of women have left them hurting the most.
Victims of the aforementioned vices are advised to speak out and expose the perpetrators to make the world a better place. Their call for equal opportunities in every sector has been made loud and clear for them to take their rightful place in nation building.
Women should never be left out in programmes of national interest as they are capable of turning around our fortunes once accorded power.
With women constituting a large population, we can only underrate them at our own peril.
In Zimbabwe, President Mnangagwa and his government, has made giant strides to ensure that women occupy positions of authority.
In Parliament, there are also seats, which are being allocated under the women’s quota, an indication he values women and the girl child.
Over the years, March 8 has been celebrated as a global day for women, but the commemorations seem to have been taken to another level.
Women’s rights movements and pressure groups now dedicate the whole month of March to women.
Issues which most groups usually deliberate on comprise raising awareness on gender equality, reproductive rights, and no to violence and abuse against women.
The call for reproductive rights as well as the need for a provision of free sanitary pads. These are some of the issues which should be taken seriously since they have a bearing on women and the girl child.
We should celebrate our women every day as they are the glue that keep families together.
