Abstract – The paper scrutinizes the role played by customs administrative systems in facilitating women’s cross-border trading activities. Customs and revenue collection authorities are mandated to extract taxes by implementing just and fair duty regimes. Developments in recent decades have emphasized a need to safeguard women’s rights and inclusion in economic systems. Despite all efforts in ensuring gender equality research has proven that women have remained marginalized. With World Customs organization (WCO) conventions which include the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) in place, it is the responsibility of the customs administration to align their laws, policies and procedures to ensure that women in Informal Cross Border Trade (ICBT) are also covered and their operations protected. Gender equality and diversity play an important role in the achievement of economic and social transformation and this has been reinforced by the inclusion of gender equality in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The article seeks to explore how customs administration can enhance intra-regional trade by managing and regulating informal cross-border trade activities in a gender-sensitive and responsive manner.
Keywords: customs administration, trade facilitation, women, cross border trading, WCO, regional integration
[Cite as: Chiukira, L. (2021). An Assessment of the Role of Customs Institutions in Facilitating Women’s Informal Cross-Border Trade Activities in Southern Africa: The case of Zimbabwe. Diverse Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Vol. 3, Issue 6, Pages 1-11.]
