Embassy of Canada to Zimbabwe, Angola and Botswana

Published purpose

From its launch in November 2006 to its close in September 2010, the Zimbabwe Civil Society Fund (ZCSF) Phase I managed its contributions to Zimbabwe’s civil society through two “streams”: the Gender Equality stream and the Rights, Democracy and Governance stream. The resulting 59 sub-projects contributed to the improved capacity of Zimbabweans to exercise their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Change in Zimbabwe during the Fund’s life related to human rights, governance, democracy and gender equality. For example, legislative advocacy by ZCSF partners contributed to the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act of Zimbabwe in 2007 – thereby improving women’s rights through identification, reporting, prevention, mitigation and redress of violence against women. CIDA’s funding and technical assistance to selected civil society organizations enabled them to conduct countrywide human rights campaigns including child rights, and voter education from January 2007 to March 2008. Thereafter, civil society networks and ZCSF partners have noted that between June 2008 and May 2009 reported cases of child sexual abuse dropped by 25% to 30%. In addition, parallel tabulation by civic groups on the results of the March 2008 elections minimised opportunities for manipulation of the results, helping bring about the Global Political Agreement later that year, followed by the formation of a Government of National Unity (GNU) in February 2009. Relative peace and security for the people have emanated from the GNU. Gender equity among elected leaders has improved, in part due to the combined effects of voter education and increased awareness of women’s rights. In 2005, the percentage of elected women councillors in Local Government was 15% while males constituted 85%. Following the March 2008 Local Government elections, female councillors dramatically increased to 46% of the elected councillors. The 2010 Constitution consultation process saw remarkable public participation with good representation of youth and women, and improved access of the media to report on the outcomes of the consultation sessions. The relative success of these public consultations can be attributed to a healthy, active and engaged civil society; a result of CIDA's support through the ZCSF and a testament to the resilience of Zimbabwe’s civil society and their commitment to democracy.