“Are you married?” The frequent question for Fadzayi Mahere, a Zimbabwe opposition politician, isn’t from men trying their luck. Instead, people of all genders approach her with the concern that a woman - a single woman - aspires to lead them.
Ahead of Monday’s historic election in the largely conservative country, the few female candidates have faced insults such as “slut” and accusations of sleeping around.
Gender-based prejudices are still rife in the nation, where women traditionally have been cheerleaders for male politicians and the #MeToo movement has hardly registered.
But the female candidates are fighting back with wit, turning the abuse into political capital.
“Marriage, though often a beautiful thing, is not an achievement. It does not qualify one for public office,” Mahere said on Twitter.
“It will take a lot more than calling me childless or husbandless to shut me up,” said the 32-year-old lawyer who is pursuing a parliamentary seat in the capital, Harare. She has declared: “I am married to my campaign.”
Zimbabwe is seeing a new political openness in these elections, the first since long-time leader Robert Mugabe stepped down in November under military pressure amid concerns that his wife, Grace, was positioning herself to take over.
While this election has a record number of 23 presidential candidates, most are still men.