HARARE, ZIMBABWE – Gender ministers from across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have renewed calls for coordinated action to close gender gaps, strengthen women’s rights, and end Gender-Based Violence (GBV) across the region.
The high-level ministerial meeting, held in Harare on Saturday, June 29, followed two days of consultations by senior officials responsible for gender affairs. The gathering reviewed regional progress and adopted new frameworks targeting equality in leadership, governance, and economic empowerment for women.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Women Affairs, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa, who chaired the session, told delegates that while there has been progress, no African country has met its full gender equality goals. She called for increased political will, financial support, and practical interventions to remove systemic barriers preventing women and girls from reaching their potential.
Among the top concerns raised were high rates of GBV, limited access to leadership positions, economic marginalisation, and the disproportionate impact of HIV on young women and girls. The ministers approved the new SADC Framework on Achieving Gender Parity in Politics and Decision-Making 2025–2035 and adopted the Mid-Term Review Report of the GBV Strategy (2018–2030).
SADC Deputy Executive Secretary for Corporate Affairs, Dr. Judith Kateera, said gender equality must be implemented as a lived reality and not remain on paper. She encouraged stronger funding and monitoring systems to support national GBV prevention programmes and women’s entrepreneurship initiatives.
The ministers also agreed to push member states to ratify the African Union Convention on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls, and to advance the Women, Peace and Security agenda in national plans.
Civil society organisations, UN agencies, lawmakers, diplomats and development partners were also present at the meeting.
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