Combined Harare Residents Association has called on responsible authorities to urgently address the deteriorating situation which has seen women being the biggest victims of poor service delivery.
In a statement released to commemorate the International Women’s Day, CHRA noted that women empowerment is critical in enabling them to meaningfully contribute in social, economic and political development of the country.
According to CHRA, the 2017 edition of the International Women’s Day, commemorated under the theme #BeBoldForChange comes at a time when research has shown that the impact of poor service delivery is felt more by women who needs public services to meet their household needs.
“In line with the 2017 theme, CHRA reiterates the importance of women empowerment to enable them to contribute towards social, economic as well as political development in societies.
“On this important day, CHRA notes with concern how the deteriorating situation in Harare, (including other cities in Zimbabwe as well) which has come as a result of poor service delivery, is impacting negatively on the lives of women,” noted CHRA in its statement released to the media on Tuesday.
CHRA further noted that in Harare, it is women who bear the brunt of poor service delivery in the form of erratic water supplies as well as non-collection of refuse in residential areas.
“As the world celebrates International Women’s Day, CHRA calls upon responsible authorities to urgently address the deteriorating situation in Harare which has seen women being the biggest victims of the failure by authorities to offer effective service delivery.
“In keeping up with enhancing the capacity of women to contribute towards development in their communities, CHRA prioritizes the involvement of women in service delivery issues hence our continued effort to ensure women are at the center of our community programmes,” CHRA said.
The residents body called for an urgent address to some of the barriers to women empowerment in Zimbabwe including highly patriarchal societies, low political representation as well as women being exposed to violence in both private and public spaces.
