Women have been hailed as being at the core of families, communities and societies at large, given the role they play in bringing up families.

It is against that background that a call has been made for the emancipation of women to be prioritized despite their religious identity and affiliation.

These sentiments were expressed during a seminar jointly organized by the Cultural Centre of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Women’s University in Africa (WUA) to mark International Women’s day, (8^th March 2023). The well attended seminar was held at Women’s University in Africa in Harare, where leading women academics, top government officials, students, women activists, women government statutory bodies and Muslim women met to brainstorm on how best women could be empowered against the imposing role of religion.

Officially opening the seminar, Zimbabwe’s minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Dr Stembiso Nyoni, in a speech delivered on her behalf by the director of Strategic Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in her ministry, Mrs V. Mashangwa, minister Nyoni said her ministry works with women from various religions and have come to appreciate that religious beliefs and practices can either enhance or hinder women’s holistic progress and development.

She said that in most contexts, women have neither been accorded equal rights within the society nor equal rights within religious communities.

Dr Nyoni said that it is documented that most world religions developed amid patriarchal societies in which women are treated as objects rather than persons and it is high time that women are accorded the dignity they deserve.

Dr Nyoni commended the Cultural Centre of the Embassy of Iran for partnering the Women’s University in Africa in organizing the all-important seminar.

In his remarks, the Cultural Counsellor of the Embassy of Iran, Mr. Hamid Bakhtiyar, gave a detailed account of how the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to fully empower women in all the sectors of the country’s socio, political and economic sectors.

He noted that Iranian women are now adequately represented in all the sectors as Iran moves towards the complete emancipation and empowerment of its women, who now happen to be at the core of the Iranian society.

Mr Bakhtiyar also gave some highlights of the excellent diplomatic relations existing between Iran and Zimbabwe.

The Vice Chancellor of Women’s University in Africa, professor Sunungurai Chingarande said that the time was now ripe for women to be freed from the shackles of religious induced repression and to be fully empowered to play their part for the realization of their full personal potential.

She said women have been historically prejudiced and now was the time for them to take their place in society as useful and productive members of society who are on equal terms with their male counterparts.

Dr Zohre Nosrat Kharazmi from Tehran University, while presenting a special paper on the ‘Role of women in society: An Islamic perspective’, said the coming into being of the Islamic Republic of Iran ushered in a new era in how women in Iran were empowered. She said there has been a phenomenal growth in women empowerment programmes in Iran, a development that has seen more women occupying positions of authority in almost all institutions in the country.

Dr Kharazmi gave a very vivid narration and interpretation of how women are supposed to play their roles under the Islamic teachings and doctrines.

Her presentation was warmly welcomed by the women academic staff at WUA, who said their students will greatly benefit from the presentation as it opened a new dimension on the negative perceptions that were being purveyed on Islam as a religion. They said the presentation will demystify certain stereotypes and perceptions that had been attached to Islam.  

She said according to the teachings of the Holy Quran, women are expected to take centre stage in most spheres of human life, with the core being that of upholding the family, societal and cultural virtues.

Mrs Hajjar Maakwinja, the Director of Fatima Zahra Women’s Organization in Harare gave an account of how her organization is working with Muslim women in initiating empowerment programmes that are benefitting Muslim communities.

She said that as Muslims in Zimbabwe, they have always been reaching out to their Christian sisters through interfaith dialogue forums that are meant to build and consolidate mutual understanding between the followers of the two religions. Through these forums, she said, women can fully empower themselves through working together.

Ms Yeukai Mukaira, a lecturer at Women’s University in Africa noted that some religions like the African Traditional Religion (ATR) recognizes the role of women as protectors of society and in being role models in society. She cited the case of the Mbuya Nehanda spirit medium in Zimbabwe who is highly revered by the nation, and had a statue erected and mounted in Harare as a gesture of honour for her heroic deeds during the first Chimurenga in the 1890s.

Commissioner Nyepudzai Nyangulu from the Zimbabwe Gender Commission noted that her Commission is working on eradicating societal issues that impinges on the rights of women in Zimbabwe through the use of the country’s legal instruments like the courts of law.