The Zimbabwe Gender Commission(ZGC) is an important institution in Zimbabwe‰۪s gender architecture given its mandate to investigate possible violations of rights related to gender; (these may emanate from elections related activities and campaigns) and to receive and consider complaints from the public and to take such action regarding the complaints as it considers appropriate. To operationalize this mandate in this election, it has established a Platform of independent constitutional commissions which is a mechanism for gathering evidence and documenting women‰۪s experiences throughout the electoral cycle. Its membership includes other independent Commissions (Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, National Peace and Reconciliation Commission and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) security sector actors, civil society organizations, women‰۪s organizations, academia, and representatives of women‰۪s peace committees in identified areas.
Within this framework UN Women in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Gender Commission is organizing a three-day BRIDGE (Building Resources in Democracy, Governance & Elections) training on Gender and Elections for the members of the platform of independent commissions and selected CSOs and relevant government departments. This training program is a modular professional development program on electoral processes designed to be used as a tool within a broader capacity development framework. BRIDGE comprises of modules on all aspects of election administration and one of these modules is dedicated to ‰ÛÏGender & Elections‰۝.

Facilitators – Revai Makanje Aalbaek and Rindai Chipfunde Vava