Harare (New Ziana) -The government will continue to examine existing policies to identify gaps in advancing gender-responsive climate change action plans, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said this at the Inaugural Gender and Climate Change Symposium and Launch of the National Gender and Climate Change Task Force in the capital on Thursday.
“As the Government, we remain committed to advancing gender-responsive climate policies. We will continue to look at those policies to see how effective they are, to see where the gaps are so that they apply,” she said.
“Do not suffer in silence, reach out to the next person for help. Our Constitution is good that even your neighbor when you watch a child who is being abused or married off at a tender age, you as a neighbor you can go and report.”
Mutsvangwa said drought causes a lot of problems including job loss, marriage crises, gender-based violence, early marriages, and increased number of school drop-outs, especially girls.
She said when youths have nothing to do because there are no jobs, they start taking drugs and other substances, and the nation ends up losing generations.
Climate change, she explained, is a matter of social justice and human rights whose impacts are felt disproportionately by the most vulnerablemembers of society, particularly women and girls.
Mutsvangwa said the most vulnerable groups face unique challenges arising from climate change, such as increased workload, limited access to resources, and heightened risks to their health and safety.
“Indeed, women are not just victims of climate change; they are powerful agents of change, and they play a vital role in climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience-building efforts. They are the custodians of natural resources, the primary providers of food and water, and the caretakers of their families’ well-being.”
“We have the responsibility to harness all these potentials through, among other things, ensuring that women have equal access to resources, information, and opportunities, enabling them to actively participate in shaping climate change strategies and actions.”
She said the government is implementing programs to enhance women’s access to climate finance, technology, and capacity-building opportunities.
She said her Ministry, in collaboration with that of Environment and Climate Change, has developed and is implementing the Climate Change Gender Action Plan.
The Action Plan is aimed at facilitating the integration of gender issues into policies, programs, and strategies related to climate change, adaptation, mitigation, and building women and community resilience to climate change.
Women from the country’s 10 provinces, representatives of development partners, civil society organizations, the private sector, and other international partners attended the symposium and launch.
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