UN Women has urged media practitioners in Zimbabwe to ensure that commitments to gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action.
Development Diaries reports that in order to help media practitioners achieve this, UN Women Zimbabwe partnered with Lower Guruve Development Association (LGDA) in training them on how to report on gender (women, men, boys, and girls).
UN Women Zimbabwe’s Communication Officer, Innocent Katsande, said the aim was to sensitise, acknowledge and advance the crucial role of media in achieving gender equality in all domains.
It is understood that this would be done by creating gender-sensitive and gender-transformative content and breaking gender stereotypes in the media.
Katsande argued that the media hugely influences perceptions and ideas about the role of girls and women in society.
‘Unfortunately until now, the media tend to perpetuate gender inequality using its influence. In all contexts, society is influenced by gender stereotypes that the media presents using various channels’, Katsande added.
‘Regardless of the progress made in response and addressing gender inequalities, there is still more that needs to be done to change the narrative’.
The UN Women further emphasised the need for social behaviour change communication strategy by media practitioners to demystify harmful and religious and cultural practices that perpetuate gender inequalities.
According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), despite progressive laws and treaties in support of gender equality in Zimbabwe, the biggest challenge has been the implementation of these formal rights and their translation into tangible gains for women and girls.
UNICEF data shows that women and girls constitute 52 percent of the Zimbabwe population, but they still lag behind across key sectors in the country.
There is a greater need for strengthening the capacity of civil society to implement male and youth participation programmes to reduce the marginalisation of women.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has also noted that women and girls are more vulnerable to gender-based violence during a humanitarian crisis.
This, it said, is because violence and discrimination related to the emergency have also aggravated pre-existing, persistent, gender and social inequalities, as well as traditional harmful socio-cultural practices.
Development Diaries urges the government of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Women Affairs, to intensify support for the promotion of gender equality across all government programmes.
Source: UN Zimbabwe
Photo source: UN Women
