By Evans Dakwa
The Alliance for Women and Girls (AFWAG) Zimbabwe chapter successfully held its first network meeting in collaboration with Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA), as it moves to consolidate the network’s status as a leading grouping of community-based organizations dealing with women and girls-related issues in Zimbabwe.
Under the leadership of the Country Level Advisor (CLA) Shumirai Celta Chakaora, the network was introduced to the board of people who will be working with the CLA for the next two years and had the opportunity to chart the way forward for the grouping.
WLSA Programs Coordinator, Patricia Muganhiri, had the opportunity to engage with various AFWAG Network member organizations and understand their scope of work to build possible synergies towards ensuring women and girls are given the opportunity and environment to thrive.
Programming priorities and scope for collaborations were also discussed after members of the network were immersed in an engaging session by WLSA communications officer Gift Samu on technical skills for advocacy and social media management. The impact of the session was significant, with some participants requesting that WLSA and the AFWAG Zimbabwe network organize another session on the subject.
AFWAG Zimbabwe CLA, Shumirai Celta Chakaora, hailed the meeting for setting the tone for action and collaborations with WLSA.
“The meeting was important for AFWAG because it enhanced collaboration between AFWAG Zimbabwe and WLSA, which brought about planning purposes for key commemorations such as 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence and International Day of the Girl Child between the two organizations. It strengthened the technical ability of women-led organizations in advocacy and improved understanding of ongoing efforts to prevent and end violence against women and girls (VAWG) in Zimbabwe,” she said.
Key takeaways from the meeting include a commitment to advancing the rights of women and girls through both organizations, further training to be done on developing evidence-based advocacy tools that speak to policymakers, addressing challenges hindering progress for network members, and understanding the programming of current projects to establish practical and sustainable development.
The partnership between AFWAG and WLSA presents a powerful opportunity to align advocacy efforts, amplify community voices, and build stronger, evidence-based strategies to influence law and policy. Such collaborations will not only help and strengthen the work and visibility of all participating groups but also create a long-term impact in the fight against gender-based violence and inequality. With WLSA being a seasoned women’s rights group and AFWAG Zimbabwe network made up of community-based organizations, the collaboration between the two has a positive outlook.
