(2017) 1 African Human Rights Yearbook 75 quota, and to effectively campaign and contest men during primary and national elections. The impact of such activities is both in short and long-term, as the imparted skills will even help in increasing women participation in future elections. However, civic organisations’ work to implement the African Women’s Rights Protocol has been fraught with challenges in Zimbabwe. Foremost amongst these is the limited state-civic cooperation in democratisation process. Civic organisations are often mistrusted in democratisation, and have often been labelled agents of regime change in independent Zimbabwe. Civil society has gone through a polarising and traumatic experience characterised by disruption of operations, harassment, and blanket banning of activities in the third quarter of 2008, and centrally fettered engagement with the government of Zimbabwe in the better part of the first decade of the 21st century. 80 These unfavourable relations imposed harsh restrictions on the freedoms of assembly and association, yet the operations of civic groups in ensuring women participation in politics hinges on these liberties. 4 PERSISTENT OBSTACLES TO WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION The previous section illustrated practices of implementing article 9 of the African Women’s Rights Protocol in Zimbabwe. In spite of these efforts, women are yet to enjoy equal participation and representation in politics and decision-making bodies. In most cases, statistics show that female representation stands at around 30 per cent, which is well below the African Women’s Rights Protocol desired level of 50-50 representation. These statistics speak volumes about the impediments that women continue to face in trying to effectively participate in public life. Poverty plays a central role in increasing the individual, societal and institutional barriers of women to political participation. Poverty manifests itself through various indicators indicative of women’s increased burden, including lack of education, information, employment, financial resources, health care, food and clothes. Available studies in Zimbabwe confirm that women comprise the bulk of poorer people, compared to men, in respect to access to income, justice, education, health, employment, civic involvement and social support.81 Women head 45 per cent of households, 72 per cent of which 80 K Chatiza ‘Opportunities and challenges in institutionalizing participatory development: the case of rural Zimbabwe’ unpublished PhD thesis, Swansea University (2008). 81 ZimStats & ICF International Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey 2010-11 (ZIMSTAT and ICF International Inc. Calverton 2012) http://measuredhs.com/whatwe-do/survey/survey-display-367.cfm (accessed 12 June 2017); ZimStats Zimbabwe 2011 Labour Force and Child Labour Survey 2011 www.zimstat.co.zw/dmdocuments/ Laborforce.pdf (accessed 12 June 2017).