The selection of local leadership positions in most rural areas is currently taking place and WALPE is in the process of identifying and assisting women who want to run for School Development Committees (SDCs) and Health Centre Committees (HCCs) elections. Some of the schools that are conducting SDC elections in this first quarter of the year are St Columbus High School- Mutasa, Mukaro High School- Gutu, Zengeya Primary School- Gutu, Mushipe Secondary School- Gutu, Makotore Primary School- Bikita and Mushayabasa Secondary School in Mbire among others.
WALPE believes that for women to gain confidence in taking up leadership in higher public office they must first occupy the lower offices and gain experience. This realisation has informed WALPE to launch a nationwide program to support women to take up leadership positions as part of a grand plan to prepare them for the 2023 elections.
Politics is a science and like all sciences, practice makes perfect. We thus want to use the platforms of these local elections as launch pads for women leaders and also double the current representation of women in these local leadership structures. Throughout the year we shall be documenting and publicizing the campaigns of these women and what it means for their leadership quest.
More importantly, these campaigns will become platforms for women leaders to put into practice knowledge acquired from academic sessions from the WALPE political school thus creating a balance between theory and practice.
School Development Committees among other responsibilities manage schools through presiding over the school levy budget and school development in general. They also represent community views and interests on how the school should be run and what areas must be prioritised. Opportunities like these enable women to make crucial decisions that affect the wellbeing of children and the future of the school. WALPE believes that women need to continuously be exposed to leadership and decision making processes in order to gain confidence to handle and preside over high level responsibilities such as been MPs, Senators, Councillors or even Presidents.