Zimbabwe is the most violent country in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) region, with political violence singled out as the major impediment to the participation of women in politics in the country, a research as established. BY VENERANDA LANGA A study conducted by Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU), the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) and Gender Media Connect (GMC) has also proved that the lives of women in countries that have adopted the 50/50 gender representation in governance had greatly improved. The report was released in 2016, but was launched virtually last Friday with the support of the Swedish embassy at a time female MPs in Parliament recently demanded 50/50 gender representation in all sectors of the economy. “Politics in Zimbabwe is violent. Zimbabwe is the most violent country in Sadc when it comes to matters political as opposed to criminal,” the report read. Zimbabwe has witnessed mostly violent elections since 2000 when the opposition MDC emerged as a serious threat to Zanu PF political hegemony, with violence sidelining women from participating in politics. But the country introduced proportional representation (PR) in the 2013 Constitution to increase women representation in Parliament. The country is also a signatory to the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance which promotes gender balance in governance and development processes. According to the report, the PR system can guarantee real political power to Zimbabwean women if implemented together with the 50/50 gender representation principle provided for in the Constitution. “Quotas in their current form are unlikely to result in women having real power to make or veto policies; and PR is definitely more advantageous to women,” read the report. Around 83 countries throughout the world are said to practise the PR system. This has seen Sadc countries such as Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe reaching 30% women representation in Parliament, while Namibia and South Africa have more than 40% women representation. “Zimbabwe currently has an overall women’s percentage of 32%, which is obviously credible. In Zimbabwe, only 20% of the total number of women in Parliament is directly elected, and they are only 7% of the total. Increased representation has come in countries that have overcome structural, economic, social and cultural barriers; for example, the Nordic countries.” The RAU, WCoZ and GMC report shows that in countries that have achieved 50/50 gender representation, the status of women has changed positively. “In Zimbabwe, women’s representation is said to have doubled in the Eighth Parliament (2013 elections) as a result of the PR system. More women MPs attended Parliament than their male counterparts, while although few women contributed to debate in the august House, their performance was slightly better than men. The study also states that structural economic, social and cultural barriers affect the supply and demand relationship in fielding female candidates.