The status of women at all levels of the mining sector can be improved by ensuring that gender issues are considered in legal and policy design through gender streaming, Zimbabwe Environment Law Association (ZELA) has said.
By Shantell Chisango
Speaking on its Twitter platform, ZELA said this task can be achieved if women are supported through awareness-raising activities around women’s property rights, access to finance and credit, access to local savings and loan schemes, and also involvement in land-use decisions.
Emphasising its support for women, ZELA mentioned that women face several existing economic challenges in artisanal mining, and these contribute to their limited participation within the sector.
Adding on, ZELA highlighted that there is potential to tackle obstacles that stand in the way of women in fully participating in mining.
“As we ponder on how we can re-imagine a feminist-responsive political economy and the future of mining-affected communities in the wake of Covid-19, we have the pleasure of launching a research that unpacks barriers to women’s full participation in mining.”
Gender-mainstreaming is quite critical, said ZELA.
Gender mainstreaming is an approach to policy-making that takes into account both women’s and men’s interests and concerns. The concept of gender mainstreaming was first introduced at the 1985 Nairobi World Conference on Women.