A JEWEL IN THE GWERU CITY COUNCIL


Date: May 28, 2014
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During the outreach programme on Constitution making process I was involved in consultations and collecting peopleâ € ™s views. This was in 2010 when our country was drafting our Zimbabwe Constitution. I had sent my application and was one of the few recognised women chosen to be in the Constitution making process. I was one of the 210 rappoteurs. Those days the situation in the country was tense. We were working hand in hand with other political parties and organisations. I felt it was going to be a challenging horrible time. I wondered how I was going to cope up with strange people, but thank God, He made this possible. The first day we met at Gweru Polytechnical College. In my team we were only three women and the rest were men, During these first days at work we could not trust each other. Even to mix with other counterparts you would feel like you were going to be killed. As days went on we got used to each other, but with little trust. We were going to work for the next 3 months in that situation. During the second week dust started to settle down. As women we started sharing food with our male counterparts. We could organise for a drink or braai after work. This made us familiar with each other. We became a family. As a group, the fears and political differences were not displayed during working hours. As time went on everything stabilised. However, there were some people who remained impossible. They would come and provoke some of the individuals from the other political parties to do bad things or use unethical language just to cause commotion. There were men who scolded me as a woman, saying â € ˜women should be busy at home preparing meals for your husbands and childrenâ € ™. My response was â € ˜no job is meant to be men and womenâ € ™s domainâ € ™. What I learnt during this process was that as women we are sometimes enemies of our own destiny. We have different perceptions against women who fight for our rights. The pull her down syndrome is common. I fought for equality during my presence. I could defend myself and cause and at last these men were saying you are not a woman but a man. This was because I could bring to the table issues pertaining women and take men head on in defending them. It also built confidence and trust since these women can participate in critical issues such as keeping confidential issues and are not corrupt. I also travelled different areas meeting different people with different cultures, thus boosting my interactive skills.


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