The Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU) has implored security companies to give women first priority to perform their duties during day time.
The call was made by ZFTU secretary-general, Kenias Shamuyarira while commenting on the case of a 31-year-old woman employed as a security guard in Bulawayo, who was recently raped while on night duty by her supervisor.
The female security guard’s supervisor allegedly visited her on the pretext that he was monitoring guards on duty and raped her.
Shamuyarira said that besides their vulnerability to abuse and harassment, women also had other responsibilities in the home as mothers, therefore they should work during the day. He said:
Let us not run away from the fact that women have got other extra responsibilities of looking after children at home, making sure that they are cooked for and bathed.
So, we need to make sure that such duties give leverage, and give leeway for a woman who is in the security industry to perform such other duties because they are needed, whether we like it or not.
I think it is dependent on the security industry workers union and their National Employment Council (NEC) to make sure that they seek and strive to balance the recent case and make sure that the security women are given priority to perform their duties during day time up until we have a conducive environment here in Zimbabwe.
Shamuyarira also argued that men were also more suited for night shifts since most violent crimes like robberies and break-ins were committed at that time, and men were better able to handle such criminals.
