Zimbabwe: Women in parliament 1995-2002

Updated February 2002

In Zimbabwe 52% of the population is female while the other 48% is male. However, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), in the aftermath of the 1995 parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe, there were only 22 women MPs in Parliament, for a corresponding 14.7 percent of the total seats of the single chamber Assembly.

In the period 1996-1999, the US Department of State said that there were 20 women in the 150-member Zimbabwean Parliament, including the Deputy Speaker.

There were a further three cabinet ministers with portfolios, three ministers of state, and three deputy ministers who were women.

Sources

ELECTORAL COMMISSIONS FORUM OF SADC COUNTRIES 2002, Zimbabwe Elections Observer Mission Report.

INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION 1998, "Women in African Parliaments: Situation as of 15 June 1998".

INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION 2001, "Women in African Parliaments: Situation as of 5 December 2001".

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE 2000, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (1996-1999), Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour.

WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT SUPPORT UNIT 2001, Baseline Survey July 2001.