Gender roles are changing. Women have greater independence and can manage their own land and finances. This has implications for how farms are run, who can accumulate and the relationship between production and social production labour. While there have been wider societal shifts in gender roles towards greater equity linked to women’s empowerment, this is especially the case in land reform areas, where women have access to land, either independently or as part of a farm held with a husband. Across generations, changes in attitudes have led to shifting roles, with women taking on more activities. This has empowering effects, as many of our informants explained, but it can also mean more work for women, as working on the farm, managing the home, and caring for children, sick people and in-laws are all taken on. As Mai M from Masvingo district explained, a lot has changed:
A lot has changed in how women are; they are assertive and make decisions on matters that matter, unlike in the past, when men dominated. There’s a slight difference between women in the farms and those in villages; in the rural areas, there isn’t much work, unlike here, where you go beyond just working in the garden, you also have to make decisions to manage the farm. Here, there is competition to make money; it is work, unlike in rural areas, where the focus is on feeding yourself… The land reform empowered us to do what we wanted. Now, with solar and tanks, we have our own water and don’t need to go far to fetch it. We use gas and firewood for cooking… I always make sure that the children know that there are no gender roles; I teach them all jobs equally. If I don’t have someone to herd cattle, we do the community’s duties. When it’s my duty, I hire someone to do it.
Attitudes vary, and a lot can be attributed to education according to FG from Mvurwi, who argues that being single like herself means that you can be “married to the land”, without the need for men, some of whom have no ‘wisdom’:
There are men without wisdom who find having an independent woman to be dominating, while the educated ones see it as being progressive. Some men are very receptive to the changing role of women, for instance you will see a single woman/widow growing tobacco while a man is struggling, that can even motivate a wise man to also attempt to do it themselves. Some members of the community seem to be happy that women now have their own farms, while others view it as challenging man especially those who do not have land. People like me who do not have husbands, we stop worrying about getting married as a source of livelihood, but you will work in your farm for your livelihood. More women should get land because it empowers them, you become married to the land and won’t need a man.
Two wives in a polygamous family commented on the importance of having an independent income. They have observed that farms run by women independently can often look better, as they can respond flexibly to the situation, with rules being imposed by a husband.
Having our money as wives has liberated us….. Women with their own farms are better off, in most instances men put too many rules as the head of the family but when it is a woman heading their own place, they make decisions on their own and can get things moving. There is a visible difference in a household with a husband and the one led by a woman.
MM from Mvurwi agrees that control of money is vital, and men should have no right to that which has been earned independently:
My money is my own because I brought it with me as a war vet. If my husband had asked for that pension, I would have refused because it came from the work I did before I met him. A woman is important, with the mind I have, I would not allow a man to make me struggle,
Mrs C, also from Mvurwi, reflects on the diversity of attitudes of different husbands. Independence is far from guaranteed, she observes:
It’s a good thing for women to have their own farms… It helps you to do whatever you want. When you have your own space, you have the freedom to plant and grow whatever you want. The process of actually getting a personal plot/farm as a woman is very difficult, and if you’re married, some husbands wouldn’t understand why I would need a farm of my own. Some of the husbands do not even give their wives money; they work from one season to the next without any benefit coming to them. The husband will be spending time drinking in the bar, while the wife works hard in the field to support the children, but when it comes to money, the husband takes everything.
The attitudes of men towards single women were widely commented on. Mrs BN from Matobo had not experienced problems:
As a widow, I have not had any issues in the community; we live and work together peacefully, and they listen to my opinion as I listen to theirs. I do not get preferential treatment because I am a war vet, a war vet is a person like everyone else.,,, When we first came here, we agreed that we are all equal, whether you’re a man or woman, comrade or not. It is only difficult not having a husband when there are things you want, but you have no one to help you, but otherwise it is easy to make decisions when you’re on your own.
As Mrs BN from Matobo noted, gender roles have shifted to the extent that women may be the dominant income-earner, with men taking up domestic duties, “When women go out to look for money and jobs, men now remain looking after the household. It is no longer like the past, where women were condemned to the homestead.” SN, also from Matobo district, agreed. Hired domestic labour can take over certain social reproductive roles if women are working, while men will be involved in other labour in the home:
Discriminating against women in leadership posts is a thing of the past; we do not do that now. Now, women are people amongst people; there is equality between men and women. Women now have their own businesses and go out to raise money. Men can now look after the house when a woman is out job-hunting. Sometimes women hire a housekeeper to look after the house while their husbands do other chores around the homestead. My sons cook, fetch water, and find firewood; they are not like men in the past.
Changing work burdens due to technological change and investment
Work burdens have changed for women because of investments in technology, whether in boreholes or pumps for domestic water and irrigation, or in solar power for lighting and cooking. The purchase of carts for carrying firewood means that collection is now carried out by men, rather than women carrying firewood from the grazing areas. Mrs C from Mvurwi commented on how “life has generally become easier”:
One of the changes that have happened over the years is that we no longer go looking for water and carry with buckets, but now we have a borehole close. We also used to carry maize on our heads to the grinding mill, but now we have our own grinding mill. We also used to carry firewood on our heads, but now we use a scotch cart. So, life has generally become easier over the years.
JS, from Mvurwi, a young single mother living with her parents also highlighted that:
My father bought a scotch cart, hoes, plough and cattle, that helped with farming at home. This made our work easy; making a ridge made the farming easier. We also can afford to buy pesticide to protect the crops. We also managed to dig a well in the yard, now we can get water closer than before. We also have a tsotso stove which doesn’t need too much firewood. Farming using a tractor makes things easier, especially when it’s too wet on the ground. I do hire a tractor and also use my cattle to make ridges.
Daughter-in-law N from Gutu described that, “To make our work easier at the farm we drilled a borehole and dug a well. We bought a wheelbarrow and scotch cart that we use to go and gather firewood.”
The polygamous wives of Mr M are involved in intensive horticultural production where pumps and pipes have made the work much easier:
There are situations where the money might belong to our wives, but there is a need at the farm, we would give the money to our husbands to purchase whatever is needed. Having pipes made life easier; using buckets was a lot of work. We used to have hand pipes. Now we have a drip, so we just switch on the engine, and it waters on its own.
There are different arrangements across families for managing finances, but increasingly, women have independent finances that they use for their own ‘projects’. Families may agree on how funds are spent, with women often paying for children’s education and men focusing on farm production. This has changed over time, and with land reform, there is more land and more opportunity for independent activity by women, as Mrs M from Gutu explained:
When we worked our portions in the garden, my husband and I did not combine our finances. He would use his money to buy solar and pumps, we do not water the garden using buckets. We get water from the well that we fenced and put in a solar. When we first came here; we had to dig the well, we used to pull using our hands, but now we use pipes. He would also buy a radio and help develop the farm. My money mostly went to fees and food at home. His money is his, even when he does piece jobs, I do not even ask about it. These days, I do not struggle with money because my children work and I have my own projects.
Complex households, changing labour demands
Many households in the land reform areas have grown over time, as relatives have been attracted to these areas because they offer access to land, work, social protection, housing and food. Many households are complex combinations of immediate kin and wider relatives. Adopted children can be taken in if parents die, while others may come home following divorces. While additional household members may contribute labour on the farm or to social reproduction at home, the household head has to take on more responsibilities. JZ in Mvurwi explains her situation:
I stay with my 19-year-old son, my younger sister’s daughter who is 15, my daughter is 12, and my other younger sister’s daughter is also 12. So, I pay fees for three other children but the older one finished his ‘O’ level. My late sister’s daughter, who was once married, is also staying with me with her 2 children …. I am a single parent with children that I take care of. I cannot develop beyond where I am because of all the responsibilities I have.
Mrs G from Masvingo district discussed the challenges she faces having taken in her sister’s children:
The main problem is that money is hard to find because looking after all these children requires money. When it comes to responsibilities around the house and the farm, it falls on me and the boys here. I manage what the boys do around the farm. The boys are my sister’s children; my sister passed on, and we were married to the same husband.
When there are no other family members around to help, it can be equally challenging. Mai M from Masvingo district explains how she gets help from her daughter-in-law, who lives in the same compound. Managing both productive and social reproductive labour can be challenging:
Right now, I don’t have anyone to help me, but my daughter-in-law sometimes comes here to help. Some of my grandchildren are with their parents, but the one child I have here has parents who went to South Africa and never came back. I have then taken responsibility for the child; I don’t know if the mother will ever come back. The mother is not my biological child, but I consider her my child because she was born here. Otherwise, my biological children do send whatever they have to assist at home.
FZ from Mvurwi explains how ensuring children get education is essential, and agricultural labour in her case is focused on this to prevent them from becoming petty criminals, she says, “I do not want to depend on my oldest son in Harare; I want to fight to pay my children’s school fees so they can go to school. I can use tobacco money for fees, that way they won’t end up being thieves because they have nothing to do.“
Single women face particular challenges in managing labour as discrimination, and sometimes lack of security and violence, can undermine their capacity to manage a farm. SZ from Mvurwi explains:
Workers can even take advantage of the fact that I am a woman and charge a lot of money for working on a small thing, just because I cannot do it myself, I will have no option but to pay. Security is always an issue, as you see how big this place is, it’s hard to sleep properly because you will be thinking about your safety. People also cut down my trees without permission, and there’s nothing I can say because I am a woman.
Changing times
Many of our informants commented on how times have changed, and gender roles have shifted. SZ commented:
Times have changed, jobs that were previously done by men are now done by women. Women also get land now, something that was mostly reserved for men, we’re actually benefiting more as women. I hold leadership positions at the ward level; I am the security for Ward 30; and in the party, I am a ZANU PF district-level committee member. Women can also freely apply for loans in banks; you no longer get preference because you’re a man, we get equal opportunities.
Mai M from Gutu district agrees. The best route to gaining independence, she argues, is through the education of girls, “People are now judged by their skill and ability rather than their gender. . The best advice a mother can give her child is to value her education so she can be independent.” Mai N, also from Gutu, concurred, “The land reform was important because it empowered us as women; we also got education and seeds to help in the planting season.” EM, another informant from Gutu, emphasised the importance of education, and how in the land reform areas, this is really valued:
Women are now empowered; they can work and sell things to educate their children. At the village, women would rather just let their children not go to school instead of working for their fees. I educated my children with the money I got from brewing and selling beer, and I also went to schools to sell mangoes.
Mrs GN from Matobo goes as far as to say that “oppression from the past no longer exists”. Unlike some, she had a positive experience of living with her mother-in-law before she and her husband established their separate home. But, as she observed, it depends on the relationships within the household:
There has been a change in the role of women in society. Women no longer just sit at home and do nothing; the oppression from the past no longer exists. It also depends on the household you come from but if you understand each other the husband would appreciate a liberated woman. Living with my mother-in-law was good, we got along well, even though we did not have money, she took care of us. My husband started working in 2019. My husband assists with house chores like cooking, especially when I am not around but when I am around, I do the cooking.
RT from Masvingo district offered a counterexample from her experience where a controlling relationship and sustained emotional abuse had restricted her opportunities. She asserts that ‘empowerment’ has not been a feature of her life to date:
Personally, I have not been empowered since I came here. I am still struggling, but life will get better… I was told that here I cannot put or buy anything that is mine, if I think of buying anything then I should send it back to my family. He does not complain much about the chickens, but he used to plan to have them killed for eating.
Gender roles have undoubtedly shifted in the land reform households across our sites, but in what way, and with what results, depends on relationships within the households, the attitudes of men, and the number of other relatives living in the home who can share productive and social reproductive labour. Outcomes, therefore, vary, but changes in attitudes towards women, reduced discrimination and increasing empowerment are resulting in important changes, although this is far from universal.
This is the fourth blog in the series on social reproduction and land reform. This blog was written by Sandra Bhatasara and Ian Scoones, with inputs from Tapiwa Chatikobo and Felix Murimbarimba. The photo was taken by Alport Ndebele as part of the 2025 exchange visit. It was first published on Zimbabweland.