https://docdro.id/oMdmFss

Institute for Young Women Development (IYWD) facilitated a safe space to immerse in feminist leadership conversations for 40 young women from different political backgrounds aspiring to run for Local Government and Parliament positions in 2018 from 24 to 25 October 2017. Ten political and civic leaders also engaged in intergenerational conversations where they shared their perspectives, experiences and strategies on young women Voting, Running and Leading in political leadership and decision making processes. 

More than fifty young women sat facing each other. The young women set out to honestly reflect on the work and journey they had travelled since 2009 when Institute for Young Women Development (IYWD) was formed. This was a commitment to remind themselves of their roles and purposes in life, challenges they continue to face, the progress they championed and call to document their experiences and push the dialogue further.  

It is powerful to see young women between the ages of 15 - 35 progressively showing interest in political participation and gravitating from being mere spectators to actually declaring their aspirations to run for political positions at local government and national level. That’s not all; currently young women in Zimbabwe are collectively standing up and supporting each in their quests to occupy political positions and transforming their communities. 

From the womb, women face gender based stereotypes and prejudices however they continue to defy odds stark against them by claiming their rights from the right to vote to sitting at the table making decisions that affect them. They have broken the glass ceilings and successfully navigated through the violence, sexism, stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination by leading and succeeding in the male dominated fields.

Usually when we talk about the stories of marginalised women and girls in marginalised communities of Africa the narratives include those who are perceived as nonentities, the undermined, disadvantaged, oppressed, silenced, unrecognized, disrespected and minorities.