Young people show tremendous willingness to participate in democratic processes

Zimbabwe: In Chitungwiza, 23 of the 30 youths trained on the Youth Voter Bus for Young Women in a joint session led by two Gender Champions (WELEAD Trust and Chitungwiza Residents Trust) were female.

As we approach Zimbabwe's elections in 2023, young people have shown a tremendous willingness to participate constructively in democratic processes.

Only one young woman was not registered to vote due to a lack of proper identification, but the other females were.

Instead of holding a walk-in campaign in just one of Chitungwiza's 25 wards, young women there expressed a strong desire to disseminate information encouraging young women to register to vote and run for public offices such as council and parliament.

They requested that 400 fliers be distributed evenly among these wards.

Youth in Chitungwiza requested a road show on the Youth Voter Bus for Young Women anytime before the close of voter registration to mobilise youth and young women for the upcoming election.

Female participants emphasised the importance of voting for other young women as Zimbabwe prepares for elections in 2023.

This is what young people had to say in post-event interviews.

"I learned that young people, especially young women," said Herbert Kudakwashe, "must participate in all aspects without fear or intimidation."

According to Nalynn Stephanoe of Zengeza 1, every young person in Zimbabwe must vote in the next elections.

"We have learned that in order to amplify youth voices in Zimbabwe, young people must go and run as candidates in the upcoming elections," she added.

She stated that as young women, we should encourage other young women to vote and support other women in order to speak for one another.

Yeukai Dzingai of Ward 17's Unit K stated, "As young people, we must take the lead. We should take the initiative so that we can address the issues that other young ladies are facing, such as the presence of sewerage everywhere, which has an impact on our children."

"We young women ought to be able to show off our strength and take an active part in everything," said Plaxedes Mudare of Ward 11.