THE United Nations Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls has concluded its mission to Zimbabwe, during which it explored the country’s progress on gender equality.
The mission, held from July 28 to August 8, 2025, was conducted at the invitation of the Government of Zimbabwe and included field visits to Harare, Mutare, Masvingo and Bulawayo.
Chairperson of the working group, Laura Nyirinkindi, delivered a preliminary statement outlining key findings and acknowledging the strides Zimbabwe has made.
“Zimbabwe has enshrined gender equality in its Constitution and has taken important steps in recent years to protect and promote the rights of women and girls. These include the enactment of the Marriages Act, the Domestic Violence Act and several other crucial laws. Maternal mortality has reduced significantly, and gender mainstreaming and budgeting are practised across ministries, departments and agencies,” she said.
“We commend the government for these initiatives and various other good practices and strategies we noted throughout the country visit, and for the vibrant partnerships we observed between national authorities, development partners, communities, and civil society organisations.
“We especially note the government’s commitment to gender-responsive budgeting as a key tool to operationalise equality and transparency across sectors. Ensuring that public resources are allocated in ways that address the specific needs and priorities of women and girls is essential to advancing substantive gender equality and inclusive development.”
The officials met a wide spectrum of national and local authorities, civil society organisations, United Nations entities, as well as face-to-face interaction with women and girls.
Nyirinkindi noted the Zimbabwean government’s commitment to gender equality, highlighting significant legal reforms including the Marriages Act and Domestic Violence Act as well as the embedding of gender-responsive budgeting across government ministries.
She said this represents meaningful steps in aligning constitutional equality with actionable outcomes.
Some of the noted ‘Encouraging Trends’ include maternal mortality rates, which have seen a notable decline, gender equality priorities increasingly embedded in public budgeting and development planning, and strong cooperative ties were also observed within government bodies, civil society, and international partners.
The group, however, noted that pervasive gender norms and vices such as child sexual exploitation continue to hold back women and girls.
The working group will now integrate the preliminary findings into a full report scheduled for presentation at the UN Human Rights Council’s 62nd session in June 2026.
