#WeCareForHer Equality Project

Zimbabwe’s devolution agenda, which involves transferring decision-making from central government to local authorities, provides an opportunity for the country to update its policies on unpaid care and domestic work. A coalition of women’s rights and civil society organizations is informing policymakers, conducting research and engaging citizens in law-making to support policy changes that prioritize the needs of women and girls. Over the past six years, this coalition has advocated for the recognition, reduction and redistribution of unpaid care work in Zimbabwe.

Women, girls and unpaid care work

Women and girls in Zimbabwe do most of the unpaid care and domestic work in both rural and urban settings. Little research and few laws or policies address this inequitable workload on women and girls. Devolution presents municipal governments with an opportunity to revise their policies and laws to take unpaid care work into consideration. Reliable water and green power infrastructure, affordable public transportation and improved healthcare, education and childcare systems are priority areas that municipal and federal governments could invest in to reduce the time women and girls spend on unpaid work.

Supporting gender-equitable policies

Building on past policy advocacy successes, the women’s coalition is educating policymakers on the importance of recognizing unpaid care work and involving citizens in drafting alternative laws and policies. This work targets the governments of Mutare, Masvingo and Harare, as well as national-level policymakers. The coalition is also conducting research to fill the evidence gap on the impacts of unpaid care and work on women and girls across Zimbabwe. Community members are involved through dialogues and awareness sessions, where testimonials about this unpaid work are shared to raise awareness with policymakers and society at large.