HARARE – In a powerful address to legislators and gender equality advocates, Mashonaland East Senator Chief Ndicho has committed to championing parliamentary interventions that support women’s empowerment and address the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work carried out by women and girls across Zimbabwe.

The Senator made the declaration during a breakfast meeting on Unpaid Care and Domestic Work (UCDW) organized by the Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (WALPE), Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe, Padare/Enkundleni/Men’s Forum of Gender and Oxfam in Zimbabwe.

The meeting was held with the Womes Parliamentary Caucus and gender champions from the Senate (the Chiefs) at Crowne Plaza Monomotapa on Wednesday, 24 September 2025.

The discussion focused on how UCDW and Gender Based Violence (GBV) continue to limit women’s participation in leadership and decision-making and how female legislators and Chiefs can advocate for laws that promote the recognition, reduction and redistribution of UCDW in the country.

Chief ndicho invoked traditional proverbs to underscore and appreciate women’s foundational role in society.

“As traditional leaders, we value the role of women in society understanding that this is why women are placed at the centre of every family unit, value and society’s development and good moral values,” Chief Ndicho stated. “It is said ‘Musha mukadzi, kusina mai hakuendwe and rurimi rwaamai’ because women are important and they have a key role within society.”

The Senator emphasized that legislators had heard the concerns raised and would take concrete action. “As legislators from now henceforth as always doing our legislative and oversight roles, we have listened and we have heard,” he said. “When we go back to parliament, we will come up with interventions and policies that support the empowerment of women and in particular this agenda in totality. So to that end, we commit.”

Legislative Background and Proposed Bill

The parliamentary commitment comes as Zimbabwe’s legislature prepares to debate the groundbreaking Unpaid Care and Domestic Work (UCDW) Bill, a legislative initiative developed through collaboration between WALPE and the Zimbabwe Women’s Parliamentary Caucus .

The proposed law aims to formally recognize unpaid care and domestic work as legitimate labor and establish a national care policy to redistribute and reduce the burden currently carried primarily by women and girls . Parliament, through Clerk Kennedy Chokuda, has officially accepted the motion for debate, confirming it meets all procedural requirements and has significant potential to positively impact women’s lives in Zimbabwe .

Cross-Party Support for Gender Equality

WALPE Executive Director Sitabile Dewa expressed appreciation for the legislators’ support, emphasizing the critical importance of continuing to advance the women’s agenda through the parliamentary process .

The proposed legislation has garnered support beyond traditional gender advocacy circles. The Zimbabwe Women’s Parliamentary Caucus, led by Chairperson Maybe Mbohwa, has actively rallied both male and female MPs to support the bill once it is introduced in both parliamentary houses . This cross-party support signals growing recognition of unpaid care work as both a social justice and economic development issue.

Research and International Context

The push for legislative reform follows six years of sustained advocacy, research, and documentation by WALPE and its partners . National research conducted by the organization has highlighted how unpaid care and domestic work falls mainly on women’s shoulders, limiting their participation in the paid economy and in society .

International research initiatives have supported these findings. The #WeCareForHer Equality project, funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), has documented how women and girls in Zimbabwe shoulder a heavy load of unpaid care and domestic work that remains “undervalued and under-recognized” despite being vital to the economy and society .

Zimbabwe’s legislators have also looked to other African nations for policy inspiration. In 2024, a Zimbabwean delegation including parliamentarians, government ministries, and gender advocacy groups visited Kenya to study its National UCDW Policy, gaining valuable insights that could inform Zimbabwe’s approach to care policy reform .

A Path Forward

As the parliamentary debate on the Unpaid Care and Domestic Work Bill approaches, advocates express optimism that Zimbabwe stands at the threshold of transformative change for gender equality. The recognition of women’s invisible labor in national policy would represent a historic shift in how the country values women’s contributions to both family well-being and economic development .

With traditional leaders like Chief Ndicho now joining the call for reform, the movement to recognize, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care work appears to be gaining crucial momentum across different sectors of Zimbabwean society .