ARTUZ has joined the rest of the world in commemorating this year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence (GBV) which is running under the theme, ‘Gender-based Violence creating safe spaces for women’, whilst the UN theme is ‘Orange the World End Violence against Women Now’.
In a statement, ARTUZ said men should allow women to exercise their constitutional rights in fair labor practices.
“The spouses are forcing the females to report for duty fearing that they will lose their jobs, the spouses are denying forcing our female leaders to leave their leadership positions this is a barbaric anti-development and unconstitutional act which we strongly condemn.
“It is against this background that the ARTUZ Gender and social welfare desk wishes to advise and educate the males to let the women exercise their rights both at home and at work,” said ARTUZ.
In addition, ARTUZ said women in Zimbabwe have not yet been liberated from patriarchal rules. Males dominate women at the workplace as well as at home which leads to the distraction of many women’s careers.
“Today we live under the label that female trade unionists and activists generally are of loose morale due to male chauvinistic thinking, the 21st century aims to liberate women against such oppressive rulings, the women are made to choose between work and marriage.
“The teaching profession has seen an Exodus of male teachers leaving the profession with women who are left with no option but to remain in the profession for various reasons, as a union, we are against this treatment from the husbands who should be offering solidary to their spouses,” added ARTUZ.
According to the United Nations, women cases of GBV have continued to raise as seen during the Covid -19 pandemic and recent humanitarian crises, conflicts, and climate disasters, while pervasive, gender-based violence is not inevitable and can be prevented.
