Although Zimbabwe is a signatory to various regional and international conventions, treatises, declarations and protocols that seek to promote and create an environment conducive the attainment of gender equality, despite all these commitments, the Zimbabwean Government still lags behind in the area of political participation of women. This study was done to investigate gender equality and the level of participation in governmental decision making processes with specific reference to the cabinet of Zimbabwe. The subject for discussion was traced back to 1980 when Zimbabwe gained its independence and the researcher aimed to ascertain whether there was any significant improvement in terms of women’s participation in governmental decision-making processes and structures. The study also unravelled reasons why women have been at the peripherals of decision- making in cabinet. The study also brought out and evaluated the strategies used by the government of Zimbabwe in managing a gender-sensitive working environment and the legislation that has been put in place to guide the process. At the same time an evaluation was done among the respondents to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies identified. Political parties were also included in the process since women who find their way into parliament do so using the tickets of their respective political parties. The political parties have a role to play since they have their respective constitutions in gender sensitive issues and it remains to be seen if they are implementing this which would result in identifying the numbers of women who are in the cabinet. The study is of significance to the Zimbabwean situation at the moment as the country is in the process of drafting a new constitution. The current Constitution in its Section 23 which provides for “protection from discrimination on the grounds of race, tribe, political opinion or physical disability of the persons concerned it is not clear as to what form of representation or position women should occupy in politics and decision-making positions. Given the above research analysis it is possible to conclude that indeed women have an impact on decision making in cabinet. The findings show the impact of considering the value of women in decision-making bodies as they spearheading development in their respective wards and the nation at large. Women were also viewed as decision makers who would contribute in the development of the nation just as much as men are assumed to do. The empowerment of women legislators and the aspiring candidates is a process that has a long way to go to ensure gender equality in governmental decision making processes but it is a necessary process.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Developmental initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa emphasise participatory citizenship as the means through which poor women can assert and claim their citizenship rights. Although citizenship and agency are crucial elements in this narrative, little is known about the citizenship process for African women. Furthermore, there is no analytic framework to guide an empirical analysis of agency. This dissertation aims to address these gaps by examining how marginalised Black African women understand themselves as citizens, navigate their structural barriers and develop strategies to negotiate their membership in and relationship with their states. This dissertation uses a deviant case analysis of women living in Zimbabwean and South African townships, who identify as members of the isiNdebele and isiZulu ethnic groups respectively, to Western theories of agency. Data was collected through the use of in-depth interviews and analysed using content and relational analysis. Results indicate that the women use a range of everyday resistance strategies to negotiate their relationship with their states. These strategies are mapped onto an innovative analytic framework that synthesizes feminist, androcentric and subaltern theories of citizenship agency, in order to highlight the non-conventional ways that marginalised African women exercise their agency as citizens. Interestingly, both sets of women emphasise the obligation to vote, work and support oneself without recourse to the state, rather than a reciprocal and participatory relationship. The internalisation of citizenship as an obligation without a corollary emphasis on rights and participation is problematic given that both governments suffer from legitimacy, corruption and governance issues. The main policy implication arising from the study is that there is a need for civic education in schools as well as a feature of women‟s empowerment and community development programs so that marginalised African women are encouraged to expand their participatory skills to collectively challenge, contest and improve the substance of existing citizenship rights. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ontwikkelinginisiatiewe in Afrika beklemtoon deelnemende burgerskap as ʼn manier hoe arm vroue hul regte kan eis. Hoewel burgerskap en die agentskap (agency) belangrik in hierdie verhaal is, weet ons baie min oor hoe swart vroue burgerskap ervaar. Verder is daar geen analitiese raamwerk om 'n empiriese ontleding van hul agentskap te lei nie. Die proefskrif spreek hierdie gapings aan deur ʼn ondersoek oor hoe arm swart vroue in Afrika hulself as burgers verstaan, hoe hul strukturele hindernisse navigeer en strategieë ontwikkel om hul lidmaatskap van en verhouding tot die staat te onderhandel. Hierdie proefskrif gebruik ʼn vergelykende gevallestudie benadering wat vroue wat in Zimbabwe en Suid-Afrika in “townships” woon en wat hulself as isiNdebele en isiZulu identifiseer na te vors. Data is verkry deur die gebruik van in-diepte onderhoude, inhouds- en verwantskapsanalise. Die resultate dui aan dat vroue ʼn reeks strategieë gebruik vir “daaglikse weerstand” om hul verhouding met die staat te onderhandel. Hierdie strategieë word gekarteer op die innoverende analitiese raamwerk, wat ʼn sintese is van feministiese, androsentriese en subalterne teorieë van burgerskap, om sodoende die nie-konvensionele maniere waarop swart vroue hul agentskap uitoefen te beklemtoon. Beide groepe vroue beklemtoon die verpligting om te stem, werk en om jouself te onderhou sonder hulp van die staat, eerder as om ʼn wederkerige en deelnemende verhouding met die staat te beoefen. Die internalisering van burgerskap as ʼn verpligting sonder die wederkerige nadruk op regte en deelname is problematies. Dit kan gekoppel word aan die feit dat albei regerings gebuk gaan onder legitimiteitsprobleme, korrupsie en probleme rondom regeerkunde, wat vrae genereer oor hoe om hierdie regerings verantwoordbaar te hou. Die hoof beleidsimplikasie van hierdie studie is die daarstelling van burgerlike onderwys in skole, sowel as vroue se bemagtiging in ontwikkelingsprogramme. Dit sal bydra daartoe dat gemarginaliseerde swart vroue aangemoedig word om hul vaardighede rondom deelname te ontwikkel en die substansie van hul bestaande burgerskap kollektief uit te daag en te verbeter.

From the year 2000, land became the key signifier for tackling the unfinished business of the decolonisation process in Zimbabwe, notably by rectifying the racially-based land injustices of the past through land redistribution. This took the form of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP). However, the racialised character and focus of the FTLRP tended to mask or at least downplay important gender dimensions to land in Zimbabwe. Colonial and post-colonial Zimbabwe (up to 2000) had instigated, propagated and reproduced land ownership, control and access along a distinctively patriarchal basis which left women either totally excluded or incorporated in an oppressive manner. This patriarchal structuring of the land question was rooted in institutions, practices and discourses. Although a burgeoning number of studies have been undertaken on the FTLRP, few have had a distinctively gender focus in seeking to identify, examine and assess the effect of the programme on patriarchal relations and the socio-economic livelihoods of rural women. This thesis makes a contribution to filling this lacuna by offering an empirically-rich study of land redistribution in one particular district in Zimbabwe, namely, Goromonzi District. This entails a focus on women on A1 resettlement farms in the district (and specifically women who came from nearby customary areas) and on women who continue to live in customary areas in the district. My thesis concludes that the FTLRP is seriously flawed in terms of addressing and tackling the patriarchal structures that underpin the Zimbabwean land question.

My mini-dissertation gives the autobiography of Talent Nyathi, who was born in rural Zimbabwe in 1961. Talent was unwillingly conscripted into the Zimbabwean Liberation Struggle. On her return to Zimbabwe, she has worked tirelessly for the education of her compatriots. Talent's story casts light on subject-formation in conditions of difficulty, suffering and victimization. Doubly oppressed by her race and gender, Talent has nevertheless shown a remarkable capacity for self-empowerment and the empowerment of others. Her story needs to be heard because it will inspire other women and other S/subjects and because it is a corrective to both the notions of a heroic Struggle and the `victim' stereotype of Africa. Together with Talent's autobiography, my mini-dissertation offers extensive notes that situate her life story in the context of contemporary postcolonial, literary and gender theory and further draws out the significance of her individual `history-from-below'. / English Studies / M.A.

The study investigated Zimbabwean Christian and Muslim women who had experienced domestic violence with a view to finding out the extent to which these women used provisions of the Domestic Violence Act of 2006. The study was conducted in urban Masvingo and its surroundings. The methodology applied to the empirical investigation was qualitative and was informed by the phenomenological, feminist and pragmatic theoretical frameworks. Data was collected, by means of in-depth semi-structured interviews, from 30 participants, 22 Christian and 8 Muslim, who were selected using purposive sampling and snowball sampling techniques. In investigating the women’s experiences, some questions guided the study. These include: Where and to what extent does a select group of Christian and Muslim women who fall victim to domestic violence normally seek help? How do religious and cultural beliefs and practices influence the response to domestic violence by the abused as well as those to whom they report? To what extent do religious communities prevent selected victims of domestic violence from seeking legal assistance? Data was analysed by coding responses according to themes. The study revealed that the participants perceived domestic violence as having diverse causes and most of them saw their religion as crucial in addressing their plight. It emerged that a majority of the participants sought help from their religious communities as well as relatives and friends. Mixed responses emanated from these sources of help. The most common response, based largely on religious and cultural beliefs, was to encourage participants to avoid reporting to authorities. It also emerged that most of the participants were not willing to seek help from the police, courts or legal practitioners to seek redress because of the advice they received as well as their own internalised beliefs. Religious, social, and economic factors prevented most participants from appealing to provisions of the Domestic Violence Act.It was concluded that the Zimbabwean Domestic Violence Act had limited usefulness for participants because of religious, social and economic factors. It was recommended that if relevant stakeholders could jointly work together, domestic violence would be alleviated. Recommendations for further research were also made. / Religious Studies & Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

My mini-dissertation gives the autobiography of Talent Nyathi, who was born in rural Zimbabwe in 1961. Talent was unwillingly conscripted into the Zimbabwean Liberation Struggle. On her return to Zimbabwe, she has worked tirelessly for the education of her compatriots. Talent's story casts light on subject-formation in conditions of difficulty, suffering and victimization. Doubly oppressed by her race and gender, Talent has nevertheless shown a remarkable capacity for self-empowerment and the empowerment of others. Her story needs to be heard because it will inspire other women and other S/subjects and because it is a corrective to both the notions of a heroic Struggle and the `victim' stereotype of Africa. Together with Talent's autobiography, my mini-dissertation offers extensive notes that situate her life story in the context of contemporary postcolonial, literary and gender theory and further draws out the significance of her individual `history-from-below'. / English Studies / M.A.

The study investigated Zimbabwean Christian and Muslim women who had experienced domestic violence with a view to finding out the extent to which these women used provisions of the Domestic Violence Act of 2006. The study was conducted in urban Masvingo and its surroundings. The methodology applied to the empirical investigation was qualitative and was informed by the phenomenological, feminist and pragmatic theoretical frameworks. Data was collected, by means of in-depth semi-structured interviews, from 30 participants, 22 Christian and 8 Muslim, who were selected using purposive sampling and snowball sampling techniques. In investigating the women’s experiences, some questions guided the study. These include: Where and to what extent does a select group of Christian and Muslim women who fall victim to domestic violence normally seek help? How do religious and cultural beliefs and practices influence the response to domestic violence by the abused as well as those to whom they report? To what extent do religious communities prevent selected victims of domestic violence from seeking legal assistance? Data was analysed by coding responses according to themes. The study revealed that the participants perceived domestic violence as having diverse causes and most of them saw their religion as crucial in addressing their plight. It emerged that a majority of the participants sought help from their religious communities as well as relatives and friends. Mixed responses emanated from these sources of help. The most common response, based largely on religious and cultural beliefs, was to encourage participants to avoid reporting to authorities. It also emerged that most of the participants were not willing to seek help from the police, courts or legal practitioners to seek redress because of the advice they received as well as their own internalised beliefs. Religious, social, and economic factors prevented most participants from appealing to provisions of the Domestic Violence Act.It was concluded that the Zimbabwean Domestic Violence Act had limited usefulness for participants because of religious, social and economic factors. It was recommended that if relevant stakeholders could jointly work together, domestic violence would be alleviated. Recommendations for further research were also made. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-131) / This study investigates the place of the Shona-Karanga women as reflected in Shona proverbs concerning women. Reviewed literature covers the world, African and Zimbabwean perspectives on women. It discusses and examines changes in the role and status of Shona –Karanga women in the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods. The study examines men’s attitude towards women, women’s attitude towards themselves and women’s responsibilities in Shona-Karanga communities in relation to Shona proverbs. Proverbial statements discussed were from participants and other sources. Government’s effort in improving the women’s status was examined. The study uses mixed research methods of data generation and presentation. Research findings show that women lost their glory during the colonial period but the blame is levelled against Karanga culture which actually holds women with high esteem. The study established that most participants were ignorant of proverbs concerning women. The research was an eye opener to women about the tremendous potential they have / African Languages / M.A. (African languages)

Women throughout the world are suffering the brunt of HIV/AIDS. They carry the unenviable tag of being the suffering group who are at risk. Women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS is a subject that has not received adequate attention to date. This empirical study examines the socio-cultural factors and practices that impede upon behavioural change of Zimbabwean women in an era of HIV/AIDS. Firstly, a sample of 1002 women respondents is purposefully drawn from the six major Zimbabwean ethnic groups to participate in this research study. A survey questionnaire is administered to respondents in the age group 18 to 59 years to quantify the levels and magnitude of the HIV/AIDS problem among women. Secondly, fifty in-depth interviews with key informants are conducted to assess the nature of the problem confronting and impeding upon women's quest to attain good reproductive health. Thirdly, six focus group discussions for each of the respective six ethnic groups are conducted with forty-eight mature women to understand broadly the concepts of the study. This study employs a combination of mainly qualitative and some quantitative methods of data collection and analysis, which is called triangulation. Underlying the methodology of this study is an overarching functionalist theoretical perspective, also referring to gender development theory which serves as the basis for data analyses. The main findings of this study include the view that power dynamics, gender roles and cultural practices have impacted negatively on women's quest to attain safe sexual behaviour. The problem of HIV/AIDS remains a complicated and awesome one among Zimbabwe's ethnic groups. For Zimbabwean women the HIV/AIDS problem begins with a total lack of control over sexual lives and behaviour of their husbands especially outside marriage. The women have noted that the majority stay faithful to their husbands and partners according to cultural prescriptions and roles, while their husbands do not comply. Women noted that cultural prescriptions in their various ethnic settings condone male infidelity but expect women to stay faithful to their partners. As a result it is found that women sometimes contract HIV/AIDS straight on their matrimonial beds. / SOCIOLOGY / Thesis (D. Phil. (Sociology))

Girls in rural areas face a number of challenges in their pursuit of basic education, empowerment and gender equality. This thesis explores the extent to which gender equality and empowerment of women have been achieved in education in ward 33 of Mt Darwin. At the centre is what Zimbabwean government and civil society organisations such as Campaign for female education (Camfed) have done to implement strategies addressing challenges affecting implementation and achievement of MDG 3. A multi-method research strategy, including focus group discussions, questionnaires administration and interviews, was used in the data collection process. The findings of the study show reciprocal linkage between education, empowerment and gender equality. Ward 33 requires integration in approach from assisting agencies and the general populace if Millennium Development Goal 3 is to be achieved. Results showed the multiple barriers girls face in the process of accessing education within the homes, along the way to school and within the school system itself. Camfed and government’s interventions have been pointed out to contributing to the achievement of MDG 3 in the ward. Women’s quest for equality is evident. Specific actions recommended after this research include the need for MOESAC to strategically post qualified teachers in rural areas, sensitization and empowerment programmes targeting men, civil society organisations and government ministries working with women to intensify advocacy, capacity building and leadership trainings for women. Overall recommendation is that there is need to implement MDG 3 beyond 2015 if rural women are to be integrated into the MDG 3 empowerment and gender equality agenda. / Development Studies / M. Admin. (Development Studies)