"Gender inequality is natural and reversible" An analysis of Gender by M. Miriro

The issue of gender draw a lot of attention around the globe .The thesis that gender inequality  is natural and irreversible raised a lot of debate .Applying  the theory of gender socialisation which refers to the learning of behaviour and attitudes considered appropriate for a given sex(Horton Cooley 1996) ,it is this papers view that gender inequality is not natural and it is reversible .The gist of this paper is to critically analyse gender socialisation theory in a bid to prove that gender inequality is not natural and can be reversible .The paper will start by defining important terms in the question and then explore the thesis using variety of example.

Gender refers to the social, psychological and cultural attributes of masculinity and femininity, many of which are based on biological distinctions. Gender includes peoples self image and expectations for behaviour among other things .Gender describes societal attitudes and behaviours expected of and associated with the two sexes .Gender are human traits, linked by culture to sex (Haralambos and Holborn 2004).Walter and Manion (1996) n maintain that gender is the difference that sex makes within a society ,guiding ,how we are to think of ourselves, how we interact with others, the social opportunities, occupations, family roles and prestige allowed males and females .This definition by Manion indicate that gender is biological but the fact that he said ‘prestige allowed males and females’ means gender inequality is not natural and can be reversible.

Gender inequality means that women and men are not enjoying the same status and conditions and have no equal opportunity for realizing their potential to contribute to the political, economic, social and cultural development of their countries. They are also not benefiting equally from the results of development.(Horton Cooley 1992) This means that there is a set up which is  binding equality and that cannot be said natural and irreversible.

Gender socialisation ‘refers to the means whereby social expectations regarding gender-appropriate characteristics are conveyed to the child .These expectations are often based on stereotyped beliefs .It has a dual significance for these children, that is, it provides them with models for present behaviour and it prepares them for adult life(Dokker and Lemmer) .Gender socialisation refers to the learning of behaviour and attitudes considered appropriate for a given sex(Horton Cooley 1996).Socialisation is the means by which human infants begin to acquire the skills necessary to perform as functional members of their society. The process of learning one’s culture and how to live within it .Sociologist, anthropologist, political scientist and educationalist describe socialisation to the lifelong process of inheriting and disseminating norms, customs and ideologies, providing an individual with the skills and habits necessary for participating within his or her own society. Socialisation is thus the means by which social and cultural continuity is attained. Socialisation is the most influential learning process one can experience. Gender socialisation believes that behaviour of human beings are not biologically set as other species, human  need social experiences to learn their culture and to survive. Therefore basing on this assumption it is of more great value to say that gender inequality is not natural and is irreversible.

The looking –glass self concept created by Charles Horton Cooley (1902) believes that a person’s self grows out of society’s interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of others. Therefore this concept states that if a boy taught masculine and girl taught feminine therefore those interactions are not inborn and not biological hence they can be reversible and are not natural but nurtured in humans. The assumption refers to people shaping themselves based on other people’s perception, which leads people to reinforce other perceptions on themselves .People shape themselves based on what other people perceive and confirm other people’s opinion on themselves. This Horton Cooley assumption indicates that gender inequality is not natural and it can be reversible since it is the society, parents or extended families which can also nature change into a boy child or boy child to achieve gender equality.

George Herbert Mead claimed that the self is not there at birth, rather it is developed with social experience which means it is not natural but nurtured in children as they grow up. These are sex roles nurtured into children as they grow up and this can be reversible .Unlike biological determinism and psycho-analytic theories which believes that gender inequality is natural and biological ,gender socialisation believes that a human being is born blank and filled in as the chid develops. This indicate that a child can be filled with anything to shape his or her self being therefore gender inequality can be reversible if that blank child filled with equality and nurtured in a way of equality .Sex roles can be changed if a male child is nurtured with an type of a job and the sense of equality can also be nurtured, the issue of superiority can also be removed, a girl child can also be nurtured superiority which means gender inequality is not natural and can be reversible.

Group socialisation is the theory that individuals ,peer groups ,rather than parental figures ,influences his or her personality and behaviour in adulthood .Adolescents spend more time with peers than with parents .Therefore, peer groups have stronger correlation with personality development than parental figures do .For example ,twin brothers, whose  genetic makeup are identical, will differ in personality because they have different groups of friends ,not necessarily because their parents raised them differently .This indicate that since twin brothers can have different characters due to different groups of socialisation, gender inequality cannot be natural but nurtured and it can also be reversible for example if these twins nurtured by the same group, same people etc.(Henslin 1999)

Henslin (1999) contends that “an important part of socialisation is the learning of culturally defined gender roles” .The word “learning” means things are not fixed or biological but learned through time. This content clearly shows that gender inequality is not natural but learned  and a learnable thing can be reversible .Henslin goes on to say that gender socialisation refers to the learning of behaviour and attitudes considered appropriate for a given sex .This means that gender inequality is reversible if the things taught to a given sex are being considered therefore this considerations can be equalised and the inequality being reversible .He says “Boys learn to be boys and girls learn to be girls”. This learning happens by many means of different agents of socialisation .For example family is certainly important in reinforcing gender roles as well as friends, school ,work, and mass media .If there are agents for socialisation, they can also play the same role reversing the issue of superiority about masculine and feminine. They can play awareness of gender equality  for example mass media adverts can use girls to advertise engineering products and even construction and use boys to advertise in salons and catering thereby reversing the issue of superiority about masculine and feminine.

Gender socialisation states that behaviour is determined by the environment. This means the change of environment brings also change to the people therefore change in inequality and the situation can be reversible .Gender socialisation is the process of educating and instructing males and females as to the norms, behaviours, values, and beliefs of group membership as men or women .If it is a “process” and “instruction” which means it is not natural and can be reversible .Instructions can be changed and are reversible.

Murdock in Haralambos and Holborn (2004) says that family is the Child’s first window to the world and no other gender socialisation institutions rivals it in gender socialisation .This means the family is the gold producer of either gender inequality or equality. The case therefore can be reversible if there is an early change in family bringing gender equality A girl child can be nurtured to be masculine and do an sex role as well as a boy child which means gender inequality is not natural.

Murdock goes on to say that primary and secondary forces create, reinforce and perpetuate gender differences but the primary forces are the chief creators ,while the secondary forces are the chief maintainers ,reinforces and perpetuators .Therefore according to this assumption equality can also be nurtured by the family and maintained by secondary socialisation hence reversing gender inequality. It is the family which gives a child toys, assign the roles, position the child within the family and even give a child a name therefore inequalities are nurtured and not natural and can be reversible if families correct biases over a boy or girl child .Equal positioning of a child and even equal sharing of any duties reverse gender inequality.

Gordon (1995) says that teachers may not explicitly each gender, but gender emerges on its own in the perspectives teachers bring to school form have and importantly in the curriculum. This shapes what the schools pupils eyes see, what their ears hear and what their minds in turn believe in through the ways teachers talk, organise and treat the pupils even subject allocation .However this cannot guarantee that gender inequalities is natural and irreversible .These secondary socialisation can also be sensitised and change in expectations and attitudes thereby reversing the inequality since it is not natural but attitudes and expectations.

Verbal appellations, manipulations, limitation are way of gender socialisation which can be said natural (Gordon 1995) .However since these activities are human constructed it certainly means that they are not natural and anything not natural can be reversible .Gender socialisation justifies patriarchal oppression of women through the socialisation process and ignore the issue that these are human man things and not biological like sex organs which cannot be changed. It ignores the fact that every human being hands are equally flexible for equal work and opportunities.

Gender socialisation includes psychoanalytic, social learning and cognitive development .Freud’s(1997) psychoanalytic theory focuses on children’s observations about their genitals(for example contraction, anxiety, penis, envy).It has not marshalled much empirical support since there is a sense of nature .Social learning theories are behaviourists that rely on reinforcement and makes people do things .Those theories once they mention environment there is a sense of change then .Environment do change which means behaviour change from place to place meaning it is not natural and it is also reversible.

Cognitive developmental theories posit that “children learn gender(and stereotypes)through their mental efforts to organise their social world .One problem with some variants of this perspective is the assumption that children learn gender because it is a natural facet of the world ,rather than that it is an important facet of the social word .Research shows that the importance children placed on gender varies by class, race, family structure, sexuality of parents .This means that it can be revisable and the issue is  not natural.

Bem and Coltrare views gender acquisition as a self-fulfilling prophecy. The most important insight from research on gender socialisation is that because boys and girls are treated differently and put into learning environments, they develop different learning environments, they develop different need; wants, desires, skills, and temperance, in short they become different types of people .Men and women then hardly question why they are different or they are ended up that way. The question will be if needs, wants, desires and skills develop due to how boys and girls nurtured therefore the thing is not natural but it can develop .If it develops it can also be revisable during the early stage of its development.

The essence of the self-fulfilling prophecy, people think boys and girls are supposed to be different, they treat them differently and give them different opportunities for development .This differential treatment promotes certain behaviours and self images  that recreates the  preconceived cultural stereotypes about gender .Coltrade alluded that the process repeats itself over and over in an unending spiral across the generations so that although gender stereotypes are being constantly re-created and modified, they seem natural and impervisious to change .The question will be if it is the “people who think” as she propounded then the issue of naturalist will be greatly questioned .She said it is a repeating process and constantly recreated which means there is an opportunity for reversibility. Gender equality can also be ‘thinked”,”repeatedly done “and “constantly created” which means it is reversible and not natural.

Coltrane said children learn about gender and how to “do gender’ because it is central to the way we organise society .Children learn culturally appropriate ways of thinking and being as they follow routine rituals and respond to the everyday demands of the world in which they live .The fact that she gave a room to “we organise society” which means societies are organised by people who are gender biased and if those people became gender sensitised and want equality the case is reversible since it is not inborn or natural. The fact that Coltrane admits that gender socialisation turns children into “cultural natives” who know their cultures reality without realising that other realities are possible which means it is not natural. “Other realities are possible simply provides a room for change which means gender inequality is not natural and can be reversible.

The theory of gender socialisation based its thesis on culture which is hard to change and gives a room to natural and that gender inequality is reversible .However due to both social ,economic and political changes around the world and the issue of globalisation it will be of more importance to note that culture is no longer that constant and things do change therefore the situation of gender inequality is not natural it can be reversible also.

In Lesotho gender inequalities are said to be reinforced by socio-cultural beliefs and practices (socialisation).The government put a National policy in 2003 to address the challenges and the participation of women is slightly improving. These indicate that though it took time the issue is not natural because it can be changed and by time the issue will soon be reversible if not yet starting to reverse itself.

One can postulate that gender inequality is not natural and irreversible basing on the issue that it’s not biological as postulated by biological determinism. Gender socialisation theory believes that society create inequalities which are natural. The theory forgets that there is no naturality in human creation but Godly made things. Therefore to say that gender inequality is natural and irreversible is an overstatement and abortion of historical justices. Socialisation is dynamic and culture is not constant which means gender inequality is not natural and can be reversible. Henslin (1999) come up with the view that there are many socialisation agencies which are very important in promoting inequality but that does not mean that gender inequality can be natural and irreversible.

Conclusively the claim that gender inequality is natural and reversible applying the socialisation theory is not valid to a greater summation .Since it is not biological but human constructed the claim become of less value .Due to measures which are taken by various African countries in a bid to attain gender equality, it simply mean that gender inequality is not natural and can be reversible .The only solution needed is to effectively implement the issue of equality through socialisation so that the next generation will attain gender equality.

Bibliography

Bem and Coltrane, A Social constructionist approach, Longman ,London

 Dokker and Lemmer in Heslin J M,(1999) Sociology: Down to approach, Boston, Allen and Unwin.

 Freud Sigmant,id2cego.2c and super-ego, http//en,Wikipedia.org/.

 George Herbert Mead, Theories of Socialisation .http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki george Herbert mead

Henslin (1999), Sociology: A down to Earth Approach, core concepts, Boston, Allen and Unwin.

Gordon (1995), Sociology, Oxford, Polity Press.

Horton Cooley (1996),Socialisation theories, http//en.wikipedia.org/charlse Horton cooley.

Haralambos and Holborn (2004) Sociology: Themes and perspectives, London, Collins Educational

Horton Cooley (1992) in Haralambos and Holborn (2004) Sociology :Themes and perspectives, London. Collins Educational.

 http://en,wikipedia.org/wiki/piaget %27s theory of cognitive development.

 ILO/SEAPAT online Gender learning and information module (12/08/2013)   

Murdock in Haralambos and Holborn (2004),Sociology :Themes and Perspectives, London ,Collins Educational.

.UNDP Lesotho country office; Lesotho gender national policy 2003,www.undp.org/gender.

Walter and Manion (1996) Society the Basics, Oxford. Politics Press

Types of Gender Socialisation in brief

There are many types of gender socialisation. Oakley in Haralambos and Holborn (2004) talks about the types discussed below.

 Canalisation

 Canalisation is gender socialization through interaction with toys and objects. Toys align children to play along the lines of behavior expected of them when they graduate to be men and women and again through interacting with these toys children develop different sets of aptitudes and attitudes.

 Verbal Appellations

These are the differential use of descriptions and labels among boys and girls like, what a “good boy!” or “nice girl!” or reprimands like, ‘oh! Boys don’t cry.’ This makes the children want to keep up gender appearances as the children internalize the label(s) and start to act and operate according to it.

 Manipulation

Manipulation is the differential attention and valuing given boys and girls like, mothers paying attention to girls’ hair. Soon boys and girls learn that different things are expected of them through the different treatment accorded them and engrave a deep sense of what it is to be a boy or girl (that is, a deep sense of their self concept.)

 Imitation

Imitation is when children observe their parents or other elders and try to be like them. They, thus, learn how family governance operates through observing adults at work.

Gender Notes :Socialization

The social construction of gender is therefore the social making of gender through the process of gender socialization. The social institutions that are responsible for gender construction are called socialisation forces like the family, the school, the media, language, music religion among others. The people who carry out the socialization are socialisation agents like the parents, the teachers, pastors, peers and many others. Some institutions like the family are primary socialization institutions in the sense that they are the first that any child comes into contact with. Murdock in Haralambos and Holborn  says the family is the child’s first window to the world and no other gender socialisation institution rivals it in gender socialisation. Such prime gender socialisation institutions are called primary socialisation forces, while those institutions that the child comes in contact with after primary socialisation are called secondary socialisation forces like the school, the peer group, and others. Both the primary and secondary forces create, reinforce, maintain and perpetuate gender differences but the primary forces are the chief creators, while the secondary forces are the chief maintainers, reinforcers and perpetuators.

The Family

The family constructs gender through the way family members:

·       interact with and treat the child

·       talk to the child

·       dress the child,

·       the types of toys they give to the child

·       assignment of roles and the roles they give

·       accord the child benefits and opportunities and the type of benefits and opportunities they accord

·       position the child within the family

·       give the child the name and the name given and even the other pseudo names given

As can be gleaned from the above data, adults provide infants with clothes of appropriate colors and styling, according to whether they are a boy or a girl. They also equip them with an appropriate stock of toys. Such adults also act as role models and children imitate their behavior. The children are also encouraged to conform to roles and behavior appropriate to their sex through a system of rewards and punishments operated by adults eg, girls are praised for being clean, for wearing a pretty dress and their house keeping diligence and yet they are discouraged from playing soccer or participating in tyre-changing even for a bicycle. Boys are also praised for so-called masculine tasks but are regarded as odd if they like housework or playing with dolls.

In the process, children themselves begin to internalize appropriate behavioral norms and characteristics and thereby unconsciously regulate their own behavior in line with the masculine and feminine roles into which they are socialized.

Secondary socialization

1.    The School

This is a secondary socializing force and the teachers are the chief socialising agents. The school operates on two levels, that is, the intentional and official and the unintentional and none official both of which are gender differentiated (Dekker and Lemmer 2003.)Gordon (1995) says that teachers may not explicitly teach gender, but gender emerges on its own in the perspectives teachers bring to school from home and importantly in the curriculum. This shapes what the school pupils’ eyes see, what their ears hear and what their minds in turn believe in through:

·       the school management structure

·       the ways teachers talk ,organize and treat the pupils

·       the portrayal of men and women in the texts and reading books or the learning media

·       the subject allocations

·       the teachers’ teaching methodologies

·       the teachers’ attitudes and expectations

·       The extra curricula activities and the sort of carrier guidance offered among other things, imparts a gender social code on the pupils.

Therefore you see that, the exclamations ‘it’s a boy! Or it’s a girl!’ upon delivery sets a course of action that from that moment on, influences multiple facets of a person’s life. The answer ‘boy or girl’ carries significance in the child’s entire life in terms of the individual’s:

·       opportunities

·       associations and relationships

·       benefits

·       societal roles and responsibilities

·       value in society

·       social identity

·       expected behavior

The Peer Group

On reaching school age, children begin to interact more intensively outside the family, especially with others of their age (the peer group).Within the peer group, the male and female worlds are further developed.

Children’s games provide important cultural lessons. Lever cited in Macionis (1989) concluded that the peer group activities of boys and girls differ considerably, providing in each case a distinctive type of socialization. Lever found out that boys engage in team sports that involve many roles and complex rules, and clear objectives like scoring a goal. These games are almost always competitive, producing winners and losers. Such activity among boys reinforces the characteristics of masculinity, notably aggression, competition, and remaining in control.

Lever postulates that girls on the other hand, tend to play games such as jump rope in small groups, or simply sing or dance together. Such activity tends to be spontaneous, involving few simple rules. Just as important, since these games rarely have ‘victory’ as their ultimate goal, girls rarely oppose one another. However, female peer groups do serve to teach the interpersonal skills of communication and cooperation that are the basis for life within the family.

Gilligan cited in Giddens (2004), noted that boys and girls learn to use distinctive patterns of moral reasoning. Boys tend to reason according to rules and principles, that ‘rightness’ is largely a matter of ‘playing by the rules’. Girls however, understand morality more in terms of responsibility to other human beings, so that ‘rightness’ lies in maintaining close relationships with others. Clearly then, these distinctive patterns of moral reasoning are encouraged by the different kinds of peer group activity common   to boys and girls.

The Mass Media

Mass media are channels of communication directed to vast audiences within a society (Macionis, 1989).The mass media include both electronic and print media such as the television, radio, newspapers and magazines. All of these constantly present us with information of all kinds and, as a result, have an enormous effect on our attitudes and behaviour. The mass media are a powerful force in the socialization process. Films, magazines, literature and especially the television, have a significant effect on the ways we think and act.

Gender Controversy in Zimbabwe [By Tapiwa M Gudza]

Despite the fact that women constitute 52.4% of the population in Zimbabwe; women remain under represented in most sectors of the economy, social and political arena. Zimstat (2013:18)  In a bid to achieve equity and equality Zimbabwe has signed a plethora of regional and international treaties such as Development Community’s Declaration to Gender and Development and its addendum on the Prevention and Eradication of Violence Against Women and Children, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ECOSOCO) Convention on the Minimum Age of Marriage and Registration of Marriages (Gudhlanga etal : 2012). To achieve equality and equity the National Gender Policy was drafted and implemented since 2004 and currently the second National Gender Policy has been drafted by the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development. The new constitution has called for propositional representation in parliament for the senators and a quota system to ensure 50:50 representations for both man and women. Despite this fare and pomp gender disparities are still evident in Zimbabwe, this paper tries to explain why this is so.

Primary socialization of children at a tender age is one of the factors that have seen Zimbabwe being ranked number 130 in terms of gender equality and equity. (Human Development Report 2007/2008). Parson (1954) defined primary socialization as a stage when a child is developing personality characteristics, beliefs and values based on their upbringing and these are shaped by the family and parents. Most families have entrenched the patriarchal system by differential treatment of boys and girls during childhood. Different types of toys are prescribed for different sexes for examples girls are given dolls which prepares them for caring, domestic and parental duties while boys are showered with cars, guns and building toys which psychologically prepares them for productive work and the public sphere. Sharma observed that although young women are increasingly choosing typically ` male’ professions, they remain over-represented in traditionally female jobs, such as secretaries, nurses, and under-represented in jobs with responsibility and the professions. (www.yesweb.org/op.inequality.doc.) The Ministry of Health Child Welfare has of late introduced gender insensitive baby cards. These cards are distinguished by colors thus pink resembles baby girl and blue for a baby boy. This mentality creates a conducive environment for the perpetuation of inequality in Zimbabwe. Legislations and treaties do not address issues grassroots issues such as socialization of children at home by their families. Primary socialisation is thus left in the hands of the parents.

Another reason why women occupy less space in the socio- economic and political arena can be ascribed to secondary socialization. Gender bias is perpetuated by communications in multiple media such as print, electronic and broadcast. The media shapes perceptions and attitudes of societies. The negative portrayal of women encourages and entrenches social injustices. Constant reportage and broadcasting of gender insensitive material which depicts woman as sex symbols and ‘instruments’ for male satisfaction, heightens gender inequality. The media in some cases has portrayed modern women as ‘Sara Baartman’ of this age. Sara Baartman was a South African khoi khoi slave woman who was taken to Europe and exhibited for her exotic origin and large buttocks, European men would pay to see and sleep with her. (www.wikipedia/ sarabaartman.com). In Zimbabwe, Zoey Sifelani and Beverly Sibanda are portrayed in a similar fashion just like Sara Baartman . The media has shown graphical pictures of their nudity in the press. Below are images of how Sarah Baartman was exhibited and how the pole dancers of Zimbabwe are depicted in the press.  

Sara Baartman                                                                                     Zoey and Beverly

International and locally women nudity are wantonly shown on print, electronic and digital media. Hollyhood artists such  Jay Z, Eminem and Rick Ross show women dancing naked in their videos, for example in the video Superman by Eminen, Here I am by Rick Ross and That booty by Dupri. Similarly in Zimbabwe the Late Tongai Moyo was using a woman with big buttocks to dance to the ‘Selle dance’. Young artists like Winky D, Stunner and Sniper have used half dressed women in their videos for example Stunner in his vedio called Sele Mama and Sniper’s ‘Mambo ndi mambo’.  Women are portrayed negatively in some music videos and movies. As long as children are also subjected to these videos they are unconsciously molded to accept male domination and female inferiority in the society.

Education is widely recognized as the gateway to economic security and opportunity- particularly for girls and women. World figures in literacy relate a sorry tale. Of the 130 million 6-11 year-old children are not in school - a majority - 60 percent are girls. www.yesweb.org/op.inequality.doc. The figures only go to show how in most regions of the world, specially the developing societies, gender bias impinges on girls' education. In Zimbabwe enrollment of female students compared to males in education shows an unfair disposition. While Zimbabwe boosts of 91.3% literacy rate. Disintegrated data points to the fact that males have 94.4 % of literacy rate, while females have 88.7%. (Zimstat: Poverty Income Consumption and Expenditure Survey 2011/12 Report).

 Source: Zimstat : Poverty Income Consumption and Expenditure Survey 2011/12 Report).

The statistics above show that women have the highest illiteracy rate and this disadvantage them in getting public offices and participation in administrative roles. This might explain why men still dominate the public sphere. Comparing these statistics with those of 2002 census the number of women illiteracy rate has increased. The gap between the illiteracy rate of men women and has widened by at least 4.7 %. It can be concluded that the economic meltdown of 2007 and 2008 impacted negatively of the girl child rather than the boy child. The explanation might be that parents resorted to educating the boy child than the girl child during the economic turmoil of 2007 and 2008. According to Sharma, the foremost factor limiting female education is poverty. Economics plays a key role when it comes to coping with directs costs such as tuition fees, cost of textbooks, uniforms, transportation and other expenses. Wherever, especially in families with many children, these costs exceed the income of the family, girls are the first to be denied schooling. www.yesweb.org/op.inequality.doc. The idea behind this is that the boy child if educated will fend for his family directly while the girl child once married would contribute to her new family (husband’s family).Gender inequality in India in some cases reflects that of Zimbabwe though India is in the extremes, Sharma observed that access to education for girls is limited by the gender roles such cleaning the house, preparing the food, looking after their siblings, the elderly and the sick, grazing the cattle and collecting firewood. In addition physical safety of the girls, especially when they have to travel a long distance to school and fear of sexual harassment are other reasons that impede girls' education. www.yesweb.org/op.inequality.doc.

Expulsions of the girl child from schools due to pregnancies are some of the factors affect their employability in the formal sector. Female students make the majority in Ordinary level dropouts. In some cases in formal education the girl child is expelled due to pregnancy while in most cases the boy child is usually left to attend school. The legislation has tried addressing this by allowing girls how fall pregnant due to rape to take maternity leave and continue with their studies after giving birth. However most girls are shy to attend school after falling pregnant due to stigmatisation and discrimination they are likely to face at school from their peers. Poor performance of the girl child in secondary schools in some cases is greatly compromised by male teachers who abuse their authority by engaging into illicit love affairs with female students. Most child headed families comprises of the girl child, they drop out of school to look after families, the sick and the elderly. This scenario might explain why the public sphere is dominated by males than women. Makota (2003) concluded that female dropouts were more in numbers at Ordinary level than their counterparts. Below is a table from the study by Makota of causes of dropouts in Gokwe South West Circuit.

 Drop outs in Gokwe West Circuit 2001

Form (2001)	Males	%	Females	%
1	45	4.3	42	3.7
2	24	2.3	24	2.1
3	22	2.1	23	2
4	11	1.3	20	1.7
Total	105	10	109	9.5

Source: (Makota 2003, p. 31)

From the table shown above it can be concluded that female students are more vulnerable in completing their education than males as pointed out in the above argument. Females drop out of school more than males hence it affects their employability in the public sphere.

The curriculum in some instances is gender biased thus it contribute to perpetration of gender inequality. The history subject presents gender stereotyping, according to Gudhlanga, the curriculum is gender exclusive it is dominated by patriarchal system, in history males is given prominence than females. Gudhlanga (2012: 4539) states;

Pre-colonial history focuses on powerful men like Lobengula, Chaminuka and Mapondera among others. The only female who is given prominence is Mbuya Nehanda and other women are never mentioned as playing significant roles in Zimbabwean history.

 In addition an icon like Queen Lozikey’s role is glossed over in the syllabus especially in History. Queen Lozikey was Lobengula’s wife who took over when he went into hiding in 1893 after the Ndebele War (Gudhlanga 2012). During the Second Chimurenga , Joshua Nkomo, Ndabaningi Sithole,Robert Mugabe, Leopold Takawira, Josiah Tongogara and Jason Moyo roles are given prominence than that of women. It is in this context the education system is responsible for socializing women to accept male domination. The historians need to objectively narrate accounts of both men and women in their roles in history. Highlighting roles of heroines in history will create role models. The case as it stands is that there are more heros than heroines. However, Early Children Development books have tried to address gender stereotypes.

Christine King cited that there is difference between access and control of resources. She stated that it is also important to differentiate between access (such as being able to farm on someone else’s land) and control (owning that land, being able to decide how that land is used). (www.regional.org.au ). Having women control the means of production or the decision making process is key to bringing about change. In Zimbabwe women have access rather than control of the land due to cultural practices that dictates that men are owners of the land. Household names are referred by the name of the husband e.g. Pamusha pava Gudza or Pava Mudereka (translated homestead that belongs to Mr. Gudza or Mr. Mudeka). Zimbabwe has failed to rise about cultural practices that perpetrate gender inequality and hinder equitable distribution of resources. Below is a graph which shows the direct beneficiaries of the land reform.

Source : Second National Gender Policy February Draft 2013,p 9 .

According to Second Gender Policy only 18 % of the land beneficiaries under A1 were women and 12 % were given A2 farms. Custodians of land in rural areas are chiefs. In Zimbabwe there are only 6 female chiefs compared to more than 200 male chiefs. According to Chief Charumbira “Vakadzi vanoda humambo asi havapihwe mukana, (Women want chieftaincy but they are not afforded the chance”. (Sunday News 10 March 2012). Most chiefs are conservative to the traditions and most of them adamant and immune to change, they still give land ownership to men and do not recognize women control of land. In some cases widowed women are forcibly removed from their husband’s land by relatives. (Gender Based Violence Gokwe South Case Book 2013).  It is in this case the traditional chiefs and their traditional customs are at variance with what they regard as western ideologies of gender equality. According to Matavire (2012: 218) chiefs in Shona culture are the custodian of the traditional beliefs and values. In this context chiefs defend the patriarchal system. An old adage states that whoever holds the piper calls the tune, henceforth those who have control of resources determines policies and decisions.

Since most women do not have ownership of land their access to credit facilities is limited. Banks require collateral security as a prerequisite to give loans and more often than not women do not have property to pledge. According Zimstat (2013:42) 17% of women population access credit facilities compared to 68% of male population. Microfinance institutions such as Women Development Savings and Credit Union (WDSCU) have tried to address women’s access to credit facilities in particular by giving them soft loans. Group guarantee method was used in place of collateral security; it entailed that women would pledge to guarantee each other and in cases of defaulting payment group members would take the burden. However, WDSCU is on a verge of collapse due to corruption and mismanagement. It is another reason why gender inequality continues, due to the absence of funds to empower women economically.

Religion such as Christianity and the Moslem can be attributed to the inequality between men and women in Zimbabwe. The irony is that churches preach of equality in the eyes of the God and paradoxically they emphasis that women should be submissive to man. The biblical story of creation is used as basis of gender imbalances. Adam was created before Eve and man is viewed as the ultimate creation and women are regarded as an ‘after thought’ and mere helpers of men. Ephesians 5 verse 23 is also quoted “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.” (King James Version). It is in this context men are given higher positions to administrate while women play supportive roles. In Zimbabwe, there might be only a single church that has been founded by a woman alone. Mai Chaza is one of the female who rose above gender stereotypes to establish Guta RaJehova church. According Lillian Dube in the article Mai Chaza: an African Christian Story of Gender, healing and power,

(Mai Chaza) emerges as a prominent woman who transcends the socio-cultural hierarchy, defying the imposed status of “perpetual minor” to become an elder, commanding respect and occupying a position of power and prestige in the very community that shamed, humiliated and ostracised her as an ordinary wife and mother of six….

Mainstream Christian churches like Methodist, Anglican and United Methodist Church urge married women and girls who are ready for marriage join Ruwadzano, a female composed committee aimed at molding submissive mothers. The concept of Ruwadzo encourages women to be champions of the domestic sphere.

In the Islamic religion a woman’s space is in the private sphere of the home, and a man’s is in the public life. Women are supposed to fulfill marital and maternal responsibilities whereas men are financial and administrative stewards of their families. However the Quran does not segregate males or females or give gender roles. According to the Quran Chapter 49 verse 13 states that Allah created males and females that they may procreate. Despite this in Friday prayers men lead prayers and women and children stand behind the men. (Wikipedia: Gender roles in Islam

In the political arena women do not get full participation due to a plethora of reasons such as political violence, family responsibilities especially in poor rural areas such as child care and agricultural responsibilities, and inadequate education and knowledge of the administration. These factors reinforce the political marginality of women and down play their role in public decision making. According to Witness Org, an estimation of 2000 women were targeted in 2008 political violence, raped was used as weapon of torture to activists by state agents, Zimbabwe National Union Patriotic Front ZANU PF or (Movement for Democratic Change ) MDC supporters. (www.witness.org). Hear Us: Women Affected by political Violence in Zimbabwe Speak Out is a documentary which featured Memory a MDC political activist who was abducted and raped on 11 June 2008. She claims that her and other women were raped and others had their private parts burnt with hot a coal. According to video clip 500 reports of assaults and 700 cases of political intimidation were reported by the Zimbabwe NGO Forum between January and July. Fear of such treatment makes it difficult for women to become political activists in the male dominated sphere. In Bolivia political violence extents to elected women and is perpetuated by male colleagues and most women end up resigning. (Felicity Manson-Visram, Luca Jacopo Uberti etal: “Gender – Based Political Violence in Bolivia: A Barrier to Women’s Political Participation 2010”).

Women, family responsibilities such nursing of children and agricultural practices makes it difficult for rural women to participate into politics. When poverty struck women are hard hit henceforth they would rather be in their gardens than get involved in politics to provide for the family. These point can be collaborated by Zimstat which observed that, women are responsible of doing 61.0% of communal or resettlement farming while men does 39.0%. (Zimstat :2013 p 42). On the other hand women have to walk long distances to attend political meetings. According, to a Local Councillor,Belén, Potosi of Bolivia

“It is very difficult to organise meetings as villages are spread out and transport is very poor. We have to walk 3–4 hours sometimes to get to a road where we can get a lift. This is why more men are involved in politics.” (Mendoza 2010:8)

This scenario also reflects the situation in Zimbabwe in most rural areas for example in Gokwe South a single ward cover large tracks of land and people walk more than 25km to attend ward meetings which usually held at the ward centers. The common mode of transport in rural areas is foot hence women are discouraged by such conditions to participate in active politics.

According to Virginia Muwanigwa , the chairperson for Women Coalition in Zimbabwe in an interview held by 1^st TV on 10 September 2013 , women politicians are unlikely to succeed in politics due to lack of financial resources needed to campaign during elections. Most women are disadvantaged by the fact that the men that they compete with have the financial resources needed to campaign. Using Zimstat 2011/12 survey it can be observed that women have the large percentage of the economic inactive. However when it comes to those in enrolled in schools females has the least percentage. (See graph below). The explanation being that most women are not enrolled in schools hence this disempowers women when faced with educated politicians.  Jessie Majome ( former Deputy Minister of Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development ) in the same interview cited above pointed out that the media negatively covered female politicians and scantly covered gender issues as well trivialized women issues. Attack on personalities like what the females look like and how they dressed was grossly evident during the 2013 elections for Member of Parliaments and this discourages women active role into politics. Furthermore families were not supportive women getting into politics especially married women (1st  TV Interview : Jessie Majome).

                                                Economic Inactive %

Source; Zimstat: Poverty Income Consumption and Survey 2011/12 Report

The existence of habitulized gender routines and lack of egalitarian marriages perpetuate inequality and gender discrimination of women. The marriage culture in Zimbabwe accepts polygamy under the Customary Marriage Act 5.07 however the law glossed over instances where a women can have many husbands. (Customary Marriages Act 5.07). The Marriage Act reinforces the payment of bride price. According to M. Matavire, “Inferior decision making power of women arises from the subordinate position that is created the moment bride price is paid. The husband remains the undisputed head of the household.” (Matavire, 2012) Bride price has a way of reducing women power in decision making in their household. In addition bride price has led to marital rape in most instances. A woman who is abused at home might find it difficult to express her views in public. The missionary sex position also known as the man on top position which is commonly practised transcend to the public sphere.

The contradictions in Zimbabwe constitution encourages reverse discrimination of females. Gender balance is one the founding principles of the constitution. The Constitution Section 3 (f) and (g) recognize equality of all human beings. However Section 48 (c) of the Constitution cites that the death penalty must not be imposed on women. Matavire( 2012) noted that at traditional courts women are regarded as weaker sex hence they are given lighter sentences than man. Reverse discrimination according to Chapman (1991) is where compensation is granted to unjustly treated persons on the basis of morally irrelevant characteristics such as being a woman. This kind of discrimination makes women inferior to men because of this preferential treatment. The contradictions make gender equality ambiguous.

Implementation of women economic empowering programs is flawed due to the absence of funds, personnel and transport for officers in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development. The Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development is mandated to promote equality and equity. The Ministry which is supposed to look at gender disparities is the least funded ministry compared to all the ministries.(1^st TV interview of Jessie Majome) Since 2010 the Ministry has been funding women under the Women Development Fund a revolving fund which is meant to achieve economic empowerment through giving them low interests loans at 10% per annum. In Gokwe South only 13 groups composed of at least an average of five women per group have been funded. However only 5 groups have managed to repay the loan and the other groups have died natural deaths. Some of the reasons for the demise of these groups can be attributed to the Ministry’s failure to provide transport for monitoring of the projects to Community Development officers. In addition the burden of monitoring lies on Ward Development Officers who are already short staffed. In Gokwe South out of 39 wards only 18 ward development coordinators are available. (MWAGCD Gokwe South Report July 2013) It is in this context monitoring of women projects is crippled hence the impact of the fund is minimal. This scenario is reflective of what is in Zimbabwe, none of the district offices have transport even motor cycles to monitor the projects. This has led to the demise of women led projects negatively impacting on the emancipation of women.

Gender stereotyping is one of the many factors that perpetuate gender inequality. The research made by Owence Chabaya, Symphorosa Rembe and Newman Wadesango  to find the factors that impede female teachers advancement to leadership positions in Primary Schools revealed that gender stereotyping was one the reason that accounted for inequality. The influence of gender role stereotypes was found to manifest in the form of low self esteem; lack of confidence; women’s perception that their role in the family overrides all other roles; and lack of support from the home and the workplace. (Chabaya etal 2009, p235.) Chabaya’s research made the following conclusions

1)      Women prioritised family roles at the expense of their career ; thus women were not willing to be promoted and posted away from their husbands would have other spouses during their absence hence contract HIV and AIDS.

2)      Low self esteem and lack of confidence: from the focus group discussion women highlighted that women believed that their upbringing and social background modelled them to accept being led by men easily

3)      Lack of Support; Men were not supportive of women taking leadership especially earning more than them, further more allowing them to work non working hours which was associated with the headship position. 

The above conclusions can also explain why males dominate the socio and economic spheres. In Gokwe South there are only 5 female heads and 13 deputy heads mistresses out of 133 primary registered  schools in the District and 1 head and 1 deputy head out 46 secondary schools. In the Midlands Province there is only 1 female who is acting as District Education Officer. (Interview Gokwe South DEO). 

In conclusion Zimbabwe still has a lot to do to achieve gender parity in socio –economic and polical shpheres. This assignment has explained that primary socialization , secondary socialization plays important roles in creating gender disaparities. Unequal treatment of children by denying education to the girl child also explains the domination of males in most sectors. Political violence and gender roles, lack of family support are some of the reasons that affect women representation in the public sphere. The flawed implementation of women projects due to lack of resources and monitoring mechanisms and by the ill funded Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development poses a major blow to women emancipation and development. Religious doctrines also play an important role in enhancing a patriarchal society.  In addition reverse discrimination is also inherent in the new constitution which perpetuates stereotyping of women as ‘weak’.

Bibliography

Dube, L. ‘Mai Chaza: An African Christian Story of Gender, healing and power’ in Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, Volume XXIV, April 2008.

Gudhlanga , E. and Chirimuuta C. etal , ‘Towards a Gender Inclusive Curriculum in Zimbabwe’s Education System: Opportunities and Challenges,’ in  Gender & Behaviour,10(1), June 2012.

King ,C. ‘Gender and rural community development III: tools and frameworks for gender analysis’ www.regional.org.au, accessed 11/9/2013.

 King James Version, Ephesians 5 verse 23

Human Development Report 2007/2008, www.hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2007-2008 , accessed  11/9/2013.

 Makota,  S. (2003), ‘An investigation into causes of pupils dropouts in secondary schools in Gokwe South District ; A case study of Gokwe South West Circuit’ an BED Dissertation , ZOU.

Matavire, M (2012), ‘Interrogating the Zimbabwean Traditional Jurisprudence and the Position of Women in Conflict Resolution. A Case of the Shona Tribes in Muzarabani District.’ in International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Vol. 2 No. 3, February 2012, pp218 -223.

Ministry of Women Affairs , Gender and Community Development, Second Gender Policy February 2013 Draft.

Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, ‘Gender Based Violence Gokwe South Case Book 2013’.

Sharma, G.  ‘Gender inequality in education and employment’,www.yesweb.org/op.inequality.doc.,  accessed 11/9/2013.

Sunday News Reporter, ‘ Zimbabwe has only 6 female chiefs’ in  Sunday News, 10 March 2012.

Visram, T. and Uberti L. etal,- ‘Gender-based Political Violence in Bolivia A Barrier to Women’s Political Participation’ in Action Brief ,3 M arch 2010, pp1-20.

Zimstat, Poverty and Poverty datum Line Analysis in Zimbabwe 2011/12, April 2013, Harare

Zimstat, Poverty Income Consumption and Expenditure Survey 2011/12,  April 2013, Harare.

Documentaries

Memory (performer), Rau and Witness org (producers), (2008) ‘Hear US; Women Affected by political Violence in Zimbabwe Speak out’(Vedio Recording).

Ist TV interview Jessie Majome and Virginia  Muwanigwa, 10/9/2013