We, the undersigned, Women's Coalition of Zimbabwe, together with the people of Zimbabwe, whose signatures support this cause, hereby present this petition noting the following:

1.   Section 17 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which is the Supreme law of the land, provides that the State must promote full gender balance in Zimbabwean society and in particular ensure full participation of women in all spheres of the Zimbabwean society on the basis of equality with men.

2.   Section 56(2) of the Constitution provides that women and men have the right to equal treatment in political spheres.

3.   Section 80 of the Constitution provides that every woman has full and equal dignity of the person with men and this includes equal opportunities in political, economic and social activities.

4.   Section 104(4) of the Constitution provides that in appointing Ministers, the President must always be guided by regional and gender balance

5.   HOWEVER, contrary to the above Constitutional provisions, women in Zimbabwe have largely remained under represented in the political sphere, particularly in the Cabinet appointments.

6.   According to the Zimbabwe SADC Gender Barometer 2017, statistics have shown that only 5 women were appointed into the Cabinet of the 8th Parliament, giving a total percentage of 15.4% 

 It is therefore in light of these sad developments that we make the following critical demands

1.   That His Excellency, demonstrates his respect and commitment to the founding values and principles of the Constitution by appointing a cabinet that reflects gender equality. In exercising his duty under Section 104 of the Constitution, we demand that the President appoints a Cabinet reflective of equal numbers of men and women.

2.   That His Excellency, in appointing cabinet ministers outside parliament in terms of Section 104(5) of the Constitution considers female technocrats who undoubtedly can contribute significantly to nation building; socially, economically and politically.

3.   That His Excellency appoints women in strategic portfolios such as Health, Education, Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministries.