Gender roles are not only changing within the household but within the wider community and in leadership positions in the ruling party, ZANU-PF. Many women in our sample across sites hold leadership positions in the church, the party or any other development organisation. Partly this is due to the proliferation of roles and the establishment of dedicated ‘women’s sections, as well as the problems of recruitment, as men may be absent, but it also represents a shift in roles and the greater acceptance of women in leadership roles, even if men take the most important positions. Taking up such roles comes with some benefits, but these are limited, perhaps to access to seeds and fertilisers.
However, being seen to be in leading positions gives credibility and ultimately may be important for political leverage if there are problems. ZANU-PF is attentive to grassroots structures to support the party’s programmes and recognises the power of women during elections, who can mobilise on behalf of the party in exchange for only limited patronage. Leadership roles, though, take time, so those with young children, for example, said they no longer signed up. Others with other routes to influence, such as being a war veteran, sometimes retire from such roles, as MM from Mvurwi explained, “there was too much travel, too many meetings.” Others with commitments at home or husbands who do not like their wives travelling do not join. As SF from Masvingo noted:
I don’t have any leadership positions; it’s not something I’m interested in, partly because of my chicken project. Leadership positions require a lot of travelling, as such, it will mean neglecting my chickens, and I cannot do that. On top of that, my husband has issues with my travelling; he assumes people are asking me out whenever he sees me talking to a man. He always complains instead of going out to buy me a gift.
Nevertheless, as Mrs M from Masvingo district observed, there are certainly many more women in leadership positions today:
These days, women hold more leadership positions than in the past. You can see that most houses have women, and you saw it when you came here, it’s all women… Mai M is the vice chairperson, and TM also has a leadership role. Men have no problem with independent women or those in leadership positions; it’s not the same as it was in the past. In addition, some women were leading in the land invasions, so it’s nothing new to see women leading.
Mai N from Gutu commented on the spread of leadership roles occupied by women, even in ‘traditional’ leadership roles, in the past strictly the preserve of men, “The role of women in our community has changed over the past years, now women have positions, the village chairperson is a woman and I am the vice chairperson, men and women share leadership positions equally.” Mai M from Masvingo district commented, “There is a change in leadership, women are taking leadership roles in school committees and even in communities, we even have women village l heads.” Mrs C, also from the Masvingo district, observed, “Few women were in leadership positions in the past, even in government, but now things have changed. Women are now police officers and teachers. They hold leadership positions in different places. I also lead the church, as I have already said; they respect me in church. Men have no say in my leadership position because I am their leader, and I even tell them when they do something wrong.” Mrs M, a widow from Masvingo district, observed, “I have a leadership post at church; I go to a Pentecost church. I am also a member of the Central Committee of ZANU-PF. These days, there are a lot of women in leadership positions in the community.”
Political mobilisation by and for women is a common feature of contemporary political discourse, and ZANU-PF is very effective at this, with numerous initiatives often spearheaded by senior female political figures. FN from Mvurwi commented:
When I went to Glendale for a party meeting, I noticed that women now have power and are doing their own things. There was a woman who had hundreds of hectares of wheat, that’s where we had our meeting under the theme ‘Agric For She’. If we are given loans and capital, we can achieve whatever we want; the challenge is access to capital. ‘Agric For She’ is a women-led initiative that is connected to the First Lady, and she is coming here soon.
Sometimes, such roles allow lobbying on behalf of women who often lose out in the party-state’s patronage distribution. FG from Mvurwi explained her role, “My role as a member of the gender committee in ZANU-PF is to stand up for the needs of women and to ensure that they are fairly given their share in cases of inputs or aid available. I have been in this post for six years. I got this position through the ZANU-PF voting process.”
Young women in particular also are active participants in the ruling party (ZANU-PF) activities in exchange for access to different resources. JS from Mvurwi explained that, “In 2008, we were told to go to the base as youths and we went there. We campaigned for the party during that period, voted and won, then went back to our homes. Then we were told that the young people who had gone to the base for campaigns should be given a piece of land.”
Mrs C from Mvurwi commented that women now can challenge men directly for posts and not just rely on allocations just for women, “Women do have positions now in our community, but in most instances, men want to be in charge, but women now challenge them for posts.As Mrs M from Mvurwi observed, many are in positions that they do not know much about, but participating and being seen to do so is important:
These days, many women hold leadership positions, something we did not have in the past.
I have a position as a chairman at the village level, but I am not even sure what the position is called! To be honest, I did not pay attention to it. We were called for a meeting and told we are starting a village cell… There are people in the village in leadership positions, like S, F, and her mother; many women hold positions.
SZ argued that the education system has encouraged women to take on such roles. They are more confident and able to compete with men. “Women are taking up positions, even a girl child is studying up to the highest level of education, even in the party, they’re taking up positions, and in schools, female teachers are many.” This was the experience of Mai M from Gutu, who has several leadership roles, “I have a position in church as a deaconess; I am a committee member in ZANU-PF at the cell level. When you’re a female leader, you can face resistance from men, but in the end, they’re forced to listen to you because you will be doing your job.”
As Mai MC from Gutu district explained, the benefits that arise from women’s engagement in leadership positions can also benefit men, as patronage spoils are shared, or, indeed, sometimes captured. “We do have women also in leadership positions, we also attend party meetings, and we get opportunities or benefits that empower us. Men are supportive of women’s empowerment because it automatically means they also benefit from their wives’ benefits.”
NG from Gutu district argued that it was mostly older married women and widows in the leadership positions, with men no longer the dominant force:
Women do have leadership positions in the community; it’s the men who are no longer getting positions because women are harder working. Most women in leadership positions are married, and some are widows. Men have no issue with women in leadership positions, even in church; they encourage it by having women’s saving clubs and by showcasing the things they buy in church.
Gogo C from Masvingo district, comparing the past with now, puts the rise of women in leadership roles down to better education:
Yes, I think women now have more leadership positions. I had a position under Mugabe, and I used to travel to Harare and other places. I think now women are taking up more leadership positions. In the past, women were less educated; now they’re entering leadership positions because they’re educated.
Educated women, especially in their 40s to 50s, are influential in a range of leadership roles across our study sites, whether within the party, in churches, school committees or development projects, often being members of multiple organisations at the same time. These are no longer allocated ‘women’s roles’, but very often elected positions where men have been defeated. The costs of participation can be high, especially when travel is involved, and this presents constraints for many, but the benefits can be tangible. This includes the limited array of patronage offered in the form of programmes that hand out seeds and fertilisers, but, perhaps more importantly, in respect of ZANU-PF party roles, involves being ‘in the system’ and recognised as such. If problems arise, recourse to party officials is possible, even if the quid pro quo is many meetings and a lot of free work, especially during election periods.
This is the eighth and final 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. It was first published on Zimbabweland.