Cynthia Muchanyara Mukamuri (CM), the general-secretary of Young Women Christian Association (YWCA), a private voluntary organisation which deals with women empowerment, says patriarchy is a major obstacle in achieving gender equality. She speaks to NewsDay senior reporter Miriam Mangwaya (ND) about fighting gender-based-violence (GBV). ND: What is the role of the Young Women Christian Association in promoting the rights of women? CM: YWCA is a feminist movement founded during the First World War by Sweden, Great Britain, Norway and USA with the aim of empowering women, particularly young wives whose husbands had gone to war. The idea was to help them to cope spiritually, socially and economically in the absence of their husbands, the breadwinners. It later on spread to many countries and in Zimbabwe, it was established in 1957. YWCA exists to fight social and economic injustices that prevail within our society disadvantaging women and girls in most cases. It seeks to empower women to stand up for their rights and claim their entitlements. It also fights poverty by economically empowering women and girls with life skills including young women who fail to complete formal education. ND: Why is it important to empower women and girls? CM: Traditional patriarchal societies believed that women’s roles were bearing children and safe keeping of men’s homes. As a result, women have been continuously dependent on men and have not been able to stand on their own, thus enduring abusive relationships. Empowering women with skills, therefore, is aimed at killing the dependency syndrome so that they no longer depend on men for their upkeep. Government policies and voluntary work interventions in empowering women are meant to fight GBV and to break the silence as well as barriers that exist in our society against female development. As this year’s theme on 16 Days of Activism Against GBV entails — women can be promoted into entrepreneurship, helped to get employment or be educated so that they can fend for themselves and stop depending on men or husbands for upkeep. If they are self-reliant, they can stand on their own and speak for themselves on issues affecting them. If you educate a woman, you educate a nation, the saying goes. However, the major challenge is that key leadership posts which can enhance women’s success are dominated by men. ND: With your experience in fighting for the promotion of women’s rights and in your own opinion, how far has the government gone in promoting gender equality? CM: Zimbabwe has done very well in formulating policies that address gender imbalances but still lacks in implementing them. The Constitution has provisions that seek to promote women’s full participation in political, social and economic processes. The government also created the Women Affairs ministry, which promotes female participation in governance. Zimbabwe is also a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Such efforts show that government recognises and appreciates that