By Own Correspondent
The country’s largest student body has thrown its weight behind a female candidate for the University of Zimbabwe‘s Students Representative Council (SRC)and if she wins it will be historical.
Since independence there has never been a female SRCpresident at University of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) is ably supporting AbionaMataranyika , an Honours Degree student in French and Portuguese to land the top post for the first time .
Speaking to this publication, Midlands State University SRC vice president Liam Takura Kanhenga said Zinasu wants to lead in empowering women hence its pledge to support Mataranyikafor the UZ SRC president.
”ZINASU has taken the first lead in pursuit of the empowerment of females in tertiary institutions through fielding female candidates for executive posts.
“This is a step towards achieving a gender conscious and inclusive political system in institutions of higher learning and her victory will mark the beginning of the history of women leadership in both national and student politics in Zimbabwe,”said Kanhenga who is also the acting chairperson of ZINASU.
The students’ body will be looking forward to have another female student leader after successfully bidding for PriscaMutsikwi who was elected Secretary General at Chinhoyi University of Technology(CUT).
ZINASU’s UZ SRC presidential candidate Abiona Maborekewill battle it out against ZICOSU’s Enock Kagara , TariroTawodzera of YARD and Wilbert Muzarwetu in Tuesday’s elections.
In Zimbabwe students activism has been the launching pad of many politicians as evidenced in the career of MDC Alliance leaders Nelson Chamisa, Tendai Biti ,Welshman Ncube and former deputy prime minister Arthur Mutambara just to mention but a few.
Over the years, the two main political parties in Zimbabwe have been accused of dabbling in students politics hence the fiery rivalry between the ZINASU and ZICOSU which are purportedly proxies of MDC Alliance and ZANU PF.
