Women organisation launches initiative to create safer and inclusive digital space for young women leaders

HARARE – The Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (WALPE), with support from Oxfam, has launched a new initiative aimed at creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces for aspiring young women leaders.

In a statement, WALPE said the #TechForEquality campaign promotes safe online participation, advocates for full implementation of the Cyber and Data Protection Act (2021), and calls for the development of a gender‑responsive Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulation in Zimbabwe.

“The initiative comes at a time when online violence and technology‑facilitated gender‑based violence continue to undermine women’s political participation, leadership journeys and digital freedoms,” read the statement.

The programme places legal and policy reform at the centre of digital safety, ensuring that both incumbent and emerging women leaders are protected from online abuse. It includes three major components:

• An online capacity‑building programme for young women on AI and digital safety.• A documentary exposing the harms of online violence against women leaders.• A digital advocacy campaign calling for safer online environments for young women in leadership.

WALPE said the training equips participants with practical skills in AI and strategies to prevent technology‑facilitated gender‑based violence.

“Young women will learn the foundations of AI, how it works, its everyday applications in leadership and activism, emerging opportunities in AI fields and the ethical and gendered implications of AI systems,” it noted.

With support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) through Oxfam, WALPE also hosted an online TV programme titled The Cost of Silence, examining the social, economic and psychological consequences of sexual violence on women, girls and communities.

Speakers highlighted how sexual violence damages confidence, limits opportunities and burdens survivors with medical bills, counselling costs and lost income. They also raised concerns about trauma, anxiety and depression, urging stronger support systems and education to challenge harmful norms.

WALPE further convened a Multi‑Political Parties Forum with 30 young men and women in district‑level leadership from Harare and surrounding areas. The forum discussed barriers to women’s participation in politics, including limited financial resources, cultural conditioning and Zimbabwe’s violent political culture.

Participants pledged to support young women’s leadership development, challenge exploitative practices such as demands for sexual favours, and advocate for proportional representation within party structures ahead of the 2028 elections.

By the end of the session, the young leaders expressed strong belief that meaningful political change is both necessary and achievable.