Zimbabwean Senate President Mabel Chinomona has urged women to unite and work together to achieve equal representation in decision-making bodies, arguing that unity is key to achieving progress.
Speaking to Sputnik Africa on the sidelines of the 4th Eurasian Women's Forum in St. Petersburg, Chinomona expressed her appreciation for the event's focus on empowering women and highlighted the importance of women's voices in shaping the future.
"Women may need to understand because the men are afraid of the women," Chinomona said. "But if they get too united, they will make sure they vote for each other, so the men take advantage of women because they can easily divide them."
The senior parliamentarian stressed the importance of women working alongside men while advocating for the potential of women's unity. "We may need some women to be also part of the development," she said. "If women agree that they will do this, they unite, it will not be easy for the men to conquer."
Chinomona also discussed the strong relationship between Zimbabwe and Russia, highlighting the signing of an MoU on the association of senators and the ongoing collaboration between the two countries.
"Russia is a senior brother to us […] Zimbabwe is a small economy. We still need the big brothers to hold us by hand so that we can move and help each other," she stated.
Regarding Western sanctions imposed on both Zimbabwe and Russia, Chinomona asserted that these measures have inadvertently strengthened both countries.
"The sanctions made Russia stronger," she said. "The same thing happened to Zimbabwe. The economy is growing, it is much better. So, because once you start to wake up, when you are under sanctions, you work much harder because you know it's you who will develop your own area. The more they introduce sanctions, the more enemies they make."