Report of the 2015 International Women’s Day Stakeholder Commemorations Edutainment at the seminar was provided by a poet, Gift Chiota who recited 3 poems in between the speeches. The poems highlighted various issues affecting women in society as well as their aspirations. g) Presentations by Panelists Four (4) Panellists drawn from Government (from Ministries of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development and Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs) and Civil Society (Padare Men’s Forum on Gender and Women in Politics Support Unit (WIPSU) delivered presentations on the specific thematic topics. Two Commissioners in charge of the ZHRC Thematic Working Group on Gender Equality and Women’s Rights guided the plenary discussions (as Moderators). The discussions then fed into recommendations for actions needed to advance and recognise women as equal rights holders in Zimbabwe. The topics that were discussed are the following: a) Socio-Economic Rights for Women in Zimbabwe; b) Women in Politics and Decision Making in Zimbabwe; c) International and Regional Human Rights Instruments in ZimbabweRatification, Domestication and Implementation and d) Violence against Women and Girls in Zimbabwe. The topics were derived from the Beijing Platform for Action’s 12 critical areas of concern. After the presentations the audience were given an opportunity to give input on the different topics. i) Socio-Economic Rights for Women :The State of Women Empowerment in Zimbabwe The resource person for the topic on Socio – Economic Rights for women was Redah Manga, an Officer with the Ministry of Gender, Women’s Affairs and Community Development. She reported that government continues to prioritise women’s economic empowerment through a number of initiatives such as the establishment of the Women’s Development Fund (WDF) in 2010 which is Page 11 of 17