By Portia Muzorava
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by Zimbabwe’s debt burden, often bearing the hidden costs through increased unpaid care work, limited access to healthcare, water shortages and shrinking livelihood opportunities, participants heard during a Gender Justice and Debt Justice side session held on the sidelines of the 8th Zimbabwe Annual Debt Conference.
The side session was facilitated by the Economic Justice for Women Project (EJWP) with support from the Southern Africa Trust, bringing together different department stakeholders and women representatives from Goromonzi, Mberengwa, Zvishavane and Shurugwi to share their lived experiences and perspectives on how debt and economic policies affect women at community level.
Discussions centred on the need to place women at the heart of debt justice conversations, with participants arguing that debt sustainability should not be measured solely through economic indicators but also by its impact on people’s daily lives.
Speaking during the session, EJWP Executive Director Margaret Mutsamvi said debt justice and gender justice are inseparable.
“When governments are forced to prioritise debt servicing over social spending, women become the shock absorbers of the economy. They fill the gaps left by underfunded healthcare systems, inadequate water infrastructure and limited social protection programmes,” said Mutsamvi.
She noted that women often carry the burden of economic crises through unpaid labour that remains largely invisible in national economic planning.
“The conversation on debt must move beyond numbers and repayment schedules. We must ask who is paying the real cost of debt. In many cases, it is women and girls who are paying with their time, their labour and their lost opportunities,” she said.
Women representatives from the four districts highlighted common challenges facing their communities, including difficulties accessing clean water, rising costs of living, unemployment, inadequate healthcare services and increasing care responsibilities within households.
A representative from the group said women continue to shoulder the burden when public services become strained.
“When clinics do not have medicines, when water sources are far away, when livelihoods are affected by economic challenges, it is women who are expected to fill those gaps. Debt may seem like a national issue, but its effects are felt in our homes and communities every day,” she said.
Participants also reflected on how climate change, economic hardship and debt-related fiscal constraints intersect to deepen women’s vulnerabilities, particularly in rural communities where women rely heavily on agriculture, informal trading and natural resources for survival.
The session called for greater investment in health, education, water and sanitation services, social protection and women’s economic empowerment programmes as part of a people-centred approach to debt management.
Mutsamvi further urged policymakers to ensure that women are included in economic decision-making processes.
“Women are not merely beneficiaries of development; they are key stakeholders whose voices must shape debt policies and economic reforms. A just debt framework must recognise and address the gendered impacts of debt,” she said.
Participants also called for greater transparency and accountability in public borrowing and expenditure, arguing that communities should be able to see how public resources are being used to improve people’s lives.
The Gender Justice and Debt Justice side session formed part of broader discussions at the Zimbabwe Annual Debt Conference, organised by the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) under the theme: “Rethinking Sovereign Debt Management in Zimbabwe: Justice, Sovereignty and People-Centred Socio-Economic Development in a Global Polycrisis.”
As Zimbabwe continues efforts towards arrears clearance and debt resolution, participants stressed that debt justice must ultimately translate into better healthcare, quality education, access to clean water, decent livelihoods and reduced unpaid care burdens for women and girls across the country.
