Legal Framework That Guides The Commission
Legal Framework That Guides The Commission
In addition to the mandate outlined in Section 246 of the Constitution, the Commission is guided by the relevant gender equality provisions in the Constitution, reflected in the table below:
Provision | Content of the Provision | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Section 2(1) | It acknowledges the Constitution as the supreme law of Zimbabwe and any law, practice, custom or conduct inconsistent with it is invalid to the extent of the inconsistency. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Section 3 | Gender equality is listed as one of the founding values and principles of the Constitution. It also recognises the equality of all human beings. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Section 17 | It provides for the promotion of full gender balance in Zimbabwean society with the deliberate efforts to ensure the full participation of women in all spheres on the basis of equality with men. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Section 25 | It provides for the protection of the family, and prevention of domestic violence. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Section 56 | It provides for non-discrimination on the basis of culture, sex, gender, marital status, age, pregnancy, economic or social status among others. It also provides for the right to equal opportunities including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Section 80 | It provides that all laws, customs, traditions and cultural practices that infringe the rights of women conferred by the Constitution are void to the extent of the infringement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Section 214 (1)(b) | It provides for 60 reserved seats for women in the National Assembly (for the life of the first two Parliaments), and proportional representation in Senate. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In addition, the Commission is guided by the ZGC Act (10:31), which further elaborates its mandate and functions. For example, the Act is explicit on how the Commission should investigate genderrelated violations among other functions. The Act empowers the ZGC to investigate any systemic barriers prejudicial to gender equality, gender equity or gender mainstreaming in a specific named sphere of activity or named sector of the society or economy.
The work of the Commission is also guided by various international and regional human rights legal instruments that promote gender equality and women’s rights, which Zimbabwe is party to. These include: Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (1948); International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (1966); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)(1976); Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)(1979); Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (1995); SADC Protocol on Gender and Development (2008); and Sustainable Development Goals particularly Goal No. 5 on Gender Equality. Zimbabwe is party to the Paris Principles Relating to the Status of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. The Commission is one of the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) established by the Constitution with six criteria that it is expected to meet.
