Our Women and Youth Inclusion for Equality (WYI4E) project, launched in January 2022, came to an end this last June. Its aim was to empower women and youth to participate in accountability and decision-making processes in Zimbabwe and create tangible change within their spheres of influence.
To mark its achievements, we held a close-out meeting with our partners – Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ), Gender Links and the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust (Yett) – and rightsholders to reflect on the impact WYI4E had on people’s lives.
Through my work with the project, I rediscovered my voice and became a leader in my community.
Tackling dangers to local communities
One of the participants was Tinashe Matika, the District Programs Manager of Hwange Youth Empowerment Initiative (HYEI), an advocacy organization that worked with our partners in Hwange. While in Hwange, a coal mining town in the west of Zimbabwe, Tinashe accompanied a group including Hivos project staff, a representative of the European Union delegation to Zimbabwe, and some HYEI members across town in a mini-bus. Along the way, he pointed out smoke-filled sections of Hwange’s rough and dark terrain. “That is smoke from underground fires,” he told them. “It’s been a challenge for a number of years, but we’ve managed to put up warning signs in the areas that are dangerous for the community.”
This may not seem like much at first glance, but the women and young people in Hwange had to go up against a highly politicized environment to make just this difference.
Celebrating 30 months of change
The reflection meeting celebrated 30 months of this type of grassroots action made possible by of amplifying women’s and youth voices in political and civic spaces. Young people and women from Gutu, Hwange, and Seke came to connect with our partners and share their experiences.
Tshembiso Mboze, from Ward 30 in Mutema Village, Gutu, shared a powerful story about how WYI4E helped her regain confidence after the loss of her husband.
“Through my work with the project, I rediscovered my voice and became a leader in my community,” she said. “As I’d been trained on how to advocate for issues in my community, I learnt how to speak to the authorities, mobilize support and stand out. After recognizing the lack of resources for pregnant women and children with disabilities in my community, I joined forces with fellow women and youth in our ward and together we built a waiting area and accessible toilets for pregnant women. Right now, we’re nearing completion of accessible toilets for children living with disabilities, but our efforts do not end there.”
Breaking gender barriers
Another project participant, Councilor Tungamirai Dube, shared how the project broadened her perspective on what it means to be a woman. She had been raised in a highly patriarchal environment where gendered roles and beliefs excluded women from any serious conversations or decision-making.
“Going to school was a huge step in my life, making me view the world differently,” explained Councilor Dube. “This, coupled with the leadership training I later received from the WYI4E project, made me realize that as a woman, I am capable of taking responsibility and participating in the future of my community.”
Councilor Dube believes the interaction with likeminded women through the project reshaped her outlook on life and widened her understanding on what she could do and become as a woman.
“As African women let’s embrace education and leadership opportunities and break out of the systematic stagnation that we have all experienced. We need to be able to contribute significantly to social change and economic development across our communities.”
A future for women and youth
In the newsletter below, you can read many more of WYI4E’s stories of increased participation of women and youth at all levels of political and civic life in Zimbabwe.
The project made a huge difference in the lives of many women and young people and created and maintained spaces where individuals could learn, grow and make a meaningful change in their respective communities.
