'Zimbabwe must have a female army general'

The First Lady Grace Mugabe has called on Zimbabwean women to stop waiting for other people to do things for them but instead stand up and take their rightful place in contributing to economic empowerment and national development.

Mugabe was addressing people at the launch of this year's International Women's Day celebrations at the Harare International Conference Centre on Friday.

The adoption of a new constitution in Zimbabwe and other improvements by the government since 1980 have what it takes to help women climb high up into positions of power in the corporate and political ladders.

This is the message delivered by the First Lady, who is also Zanu-PF Secretary for Women Affairs while launching the celebrations. Mugabe implored women to empower themselves through education saying there is no reason why the country should not have females leading national defence and security arms of the state.

"Break gender stereotypes and enroll into male-dominated fields such as engineering, and others.

"Give women opportunities to lead even companies' boards of directors, believe in women, they can deliver," said Mugabe.

The First Lady spoke of the need to start a special fund for the funding of women's projects saying she is confident women can be trusted to payback loans while history has proven that most men abuse loans and in most cases are reluctant to pay back.

Mugabe condemned violence against women citing the recent incident where a woman was undressed by touts on the streets of Harare as unacceptable.

She said children must be given the chance to wear what they want taking into account their age and status in society.

"Ungade here kuona mwana wako achibvarurirwa hembe mu street?…….hatidi hunhu hwakadaro. (Would you be happy to see your child being undressed in the streets? We condemn such behaviour). "Vanepfungwa dzekubvisa madzimai ma mini- skirt ndinoti stop it. (Those with such kind of thoughts of stripping women of their preferred clothes I say to them stop it)," said Mugabe.

The First Lady paid tribute to some churches that are empowering women by ordaining them into higher positions such as pastors and bishops. She hailed the teaching fraternity which plays a huge role in the moulding and bringing up of society, questioning why they are not adequately remunerated.

She noted that the ZIM ASSET economic blue print clearly emphasizes the need for gender mainstreaming.

Mugabe reiterated that the police to stop arresting and confiscating vendors' commodities for sale as they are seeking to earn a living. "Police should not confiscate vendors' goods in the streets. They should rather engage the vendors if they are selling at undesignated places," she said.

Mugabe urged government to ensure a conducive environment is created for women to participate fully in all sectors of the economy, adding that women are co-drivers of the economy together with their male counterparts.

This year's International Women's Day celebrations are being held under the theme: "Beijing Plus 20 – The Journey Towards Women Empowerment in Zimbabwe – Successes and Challenges".