Post Title: Consultant for Strategic Planning
Project Title: Strengthening women’s advocacy for accountable health governance in
Zimbabwe.
Contract Duration: 20 Days
Estimated Start Date: 23 September 2024
Deadline of bids submission: 06 September 2024
Background
Female Students Network Trust (FSNT) advocates for the rights of young women in Zimbabwe’s institutions of higher learning through leadership development and mentorship programs. These are done through various empowerment thematic areas that include: women’s participation in institutional governance bodies, women’s rights advocacy, policy advocacy, facilitating access to psycho-social support services to survivors of sexual gender- based violence and economic empowerment initiatives. FSNT’s vision is to become a centre of excellence, innovative and empowerment programs for female students in Zimbabwe. The Female Students Network (FSNT) in partnership with Women Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) and Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA) are implementing the SWAAGHZ project aimed at capacitating women and girls in Zimbabwe to advocate for accountable health governance in Zimbabwe.

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FSNT CAPACITATES CUZ STUDENT LEADERS

The Female Students Network Trust (FSNT) trained 30 Catholic University of Zimbabwe (CUZ) Student Representative Council (SRC) and Club leaders on effective leadership on Thursday 13 June, 2024. The training was upon request by the university’s authorities as they sought to build a formidable and results oriented students’ leaders whose leadership ethos doesn’t end at the university but goes beyond the circumference of education into the broader society.
The invitation was second this year after Morgan ZINTEC Teacher College invited the Network to train their incoming SRC members. It’s refreshing to note that many tertiary institutions are beginning to see value in the work we do as organization and the importance of capacitating student leaders before they commence their mandate. It then followed the review of the college Ordinance where FSNT has been tasked to assist.

The students were acquainted with knowledge and skills on effective transformative leadership, activism, qualities of a good leader, gender and sexual harassment, conflict resolution, grooming, deportment and etiquette among other themes relevant for the emancipation of a vibrant student leader. Most SRC leaders get into leadership through popularity vote without the requisite knowledge on what it means to be in student leadership, their primary mandate and how to execute such hence, it is prudent for Universities and Colleges to facilitate continuous trainings of student leaders for them to effectively deliver in their respective duties and roles even beyond the institution.
Speaking after the event, the Deputy Registrar in the student affairs department, expressed gratitude to FSNT for its invaluable support and emphasized on the need for continued collaboration through mentorship and coaching of student leaders. The essence and importance of student leadership is best drawn from the country’s national leadership that has many notable figures who were once at the epitome of the student leadership during their college days. This shows that student leadership is the grooming and breeding ground for main- stream politics hence, it has to be considered of paramount importance.