Zimbabwe: Nokwazi Phiri

Date: February 20, 2020

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Name	Nokwazi
Surname	Phiri
Country	Zimbabwe
Give a short history of the leader	Nokwazi Phiri grew up in a small town of Norton situated in Mashonaland West Province of Zimbabwe. I have always been in public speaking since a tender age of 8 when i was part of Public Speaking team at Dudley Hall Primary school. I started getting involved in gender work when I started my Advanced Level studies this is when I started studying Literature in English and read the prose writing The Uncertainty of Hope and Dancing in the Dust. Through the novel The Uncertainty of Hope it became clear to me that women where the marginalized group in Zimbabwe despite the fact that they make the majority of the population. I am happy to point out that in my current class they are 17 students and of those 17, 13 are women in an Information Technology field which is viewed as masculine.
Objectives	Inclusion of women in the country’s decision making process.
Key activities	I am a public speaker and a graduate trainee in Information Technology. My work in public speaking involves working with various organisations that need advocacy to reach target audiences such as youths. This involves taking part in seminars , public speaking and debating tournaments that includes such topical issues. In some instances it is a challenge to stand up and discuss such issues because as a woman your viewpoints can not be heard because after all you are woman. Roles of leadership are some times taken away from women because they are viewed as weaklings. In the Information Technology sector its a challenge because such engineering fields are viewed as all male environments. In previous years such fields had high number of women failing and this has added more to the existing stereotypes of the society. It is a challenge as most people see women who excel in such areas as sleeping their way through to success.After all the class of 2018 in Information Technology at my institution proved otherwise it had more women who excelled in their studies than men.
Key challenges	The existing cultural stereotypes see women as weak and feeble. Having to prove that is challenge because the opportunities sometimes are never even awarded to you in the first place to prove yourself.
Results
Change at the individual level	Growing up in all female environment, I never thought I could make a difference in someone else’s life but that the opposite is true. I now realize I can be anything that I want and can achieve anything that I want to. I used to be so negative about everything but right now I am very optimistic and see a bright future beyond me. My life changed through public speaking. I gained confidence to speak out and stand up for myself. My Family has been responsible for that change . They support me even when the world is against.
Evidence of change at the individual level	“…To say she wil be a mother is a true lie, she is a living legend, a role model…she is a tete Dorica, who knows, she is a counseller….A versatile woman of valour, hardworking like an ant, with a sharp vision like an eagle, Nokwazi Phiri, the living legend. Don’t quote me wrong, she is not myfriend, she is my legend. Female debaters have a sister, a big sister, a friend, a mother, what else…” Maxwell Hove Former Student Gweru Polytechnic College
Change at the household level	My sisters now see that they can make a change and a difference no matter how young they are. They both participated in the Goi Peace Foundation Kindness essay writing last year 2019. My other sister, Nobukhosi Phiri is now part of community projects in Norton. Andile Phiri at a young age of 7 is part of the Zimbabwe Cricket team scheduled to travel to South Africa this year. They both can now see that being a woman does not me you can not do anything even if it means exploring male dominated fields such as cricket
Evidence of change at the household level	” I want you and I believe you can be the most influential woman in Africa.” Embassy Phiri, Father Greatwits Technologies
Change at institutional level	“…To say she wil be a mother is a true lie, she is a living legend, a role model…she is a tete Dorica, who knows, she is a counseller….A versatile woman of valour, hardworking like an ant, with a sharp vision like an eagle, Nokwazi Phiri, the living legend. Don’t quote me wrong, she is not myfriend, she is my legend. Female debaters have a sister, a big sister, a friend, a mother, what else…” Maxwell Hove Former Student Gweru Polytechnic College
Evidence of change at institutional level	“…To say she wil be a mother is a true lie, she is a living legend, a role model…she is a tete Dorica, who knows, she is a counseller….A versatile woman of valour, hardworking like an ant, with a sharp vision like an eagle, Nokwazi Phiri, the living legend. Don’t quote me wrong, she is not myfriend, she is my legend. Female debaters have a sister, a big sister, a friend, a mother, what else…” Maxwell Hove Former Student Gweru Polytechnic College
Change at a policy level	Recognition of women. Women taking part in regional debate and public speaking competitions which previously where only limited to males. I was included in the Mastermind magazine and featured as an influential person in Norton.
Evidence of change at a policy level	I was featured in the Mastermind magazine that features influential people in Norton as well as Africa.
Capacity building	I attended the meeting Trafficking in Person held by the United States Embassy in Zimbabwe in 2019 which helped understand how to help and identify marginalized and abused people who need help. I was part of the Junior Council in Norton in the year 2012 where we addressed issues facing people in the community. In 2020, I worked with an organisation called ADRA under the World Food Programme which helps the less privileged people in the community
Lessons learned and shared	Patience and love. No matter how people are to love them unconditionally. In 2012 in the field work I would meet disabled people and had to help them.
Next Steps	Create an organisation that advocates for the representation of women in political, social and economic spheres without discrimination.