2.

Theoriesof Gender inequality

What is a theory?
-is a set of ideas which claim to explain how something works by providing a
logical explanation for why things happen the way they do.
a. Liberal feminist theory
Major tenets/principles of the theory.
 Individuals are born free and equal, inequality between men and women
comes through socialisation, gender stereotyping, prejudice and sexism
(sex based discrimination against a person).
 women suffer unjust discrimination as a result of the laws (social, legal
and cultural) that act as social constraints
 attitudes, stereotypes and biases against females constrain women
 confinement of women to the private sphere (home) and dependency on
men disadvantage women
Solutions offered
 there should be fairness,justice, equal opportunities and equal
participation in the managementof society
 women have mental capacities as their male counterparts and should fight
for their right to be given the same opportunities in political, economic
and social sphere
 Give women and men equal rights, opportunities to jobs and education
 seek women’s liberation through legal reforms
 mainstream gender in education and remove stereotypes and biases in
language, textbooks and the media
 diversify the curriculum to cater for the special needs of girls to improve
their social status, self- esteem and confidence
 Increase women’s participation in the public sphere by reorienting
women into crucial decision making positions to end discrimination and
build positive role models for women and young girls.
 empower women through education, training workshops and projects
Strategies
 Gender mainstreaming
 Participation
 Changing attitudes
 Legislation
 Empowerment
  Affirmative action
 Gender related Aid projects
Applicability of the liberal feminist theory in Zimbabwe
-liberal feminist thinking has greatly influenced many sectors in Zimbabwe,
such as:
Theeducation Sector
 In 1980, Education Act declared Education for all (EFA) despite
class,race, gender or ethnicity
 fought for a gender sensitive curriculum which lead to the removal of
stereotypes in textbooks and other teaching materials
 subjects and sports in the school curriculum are now open for both boys
and girls e.g. girls’soccer, boys are now doing H.E
 there have been changes in stereotypical language in the schools
e.g.Headmaster-School head, Choir master- Choir director, Sports
master- Sports director, Senior mistress /Senior master(senior teacher)
 called for gender sensitive teaching methods to afford pupils equal
treatment e.g. use of participatory methods
 there has been proportional representation in enrolments of males and
females at primary, secondary and tertiary institutions
 There has been proportional representation in the promotion of women to
positions of authority e.g. School heads, Education Officers
The economic Sector/Workplace
-In 1985, the labour relation Act was introduced and it had the following
provisions
 Equal pay for males and females doing the same job
 minimum wages for everyone
 equal treatment and access to male dominated occupations
 maternity leave benefits and recently paternity leave benefits
 elimination of discrimination on the grounds of sex in adverts in the
media
 Jobs must give depending on the level of education / qualification not
gender
-women can now access top positions as executive directors and ministers
-women can now own businesses
The political Sector
  Introduction of the quota system in Zimbabwe where 1/3 of
parliamentarians have to be women and the same ratio applies for the
presidium
 women now participate in electoral and legal reform processes
 women have rights to vote
 all individuals have right to freedom and autonomy
The legal Sphere
-acts were passed to protect and improve the social status of women and men.
These acts referred to as progressive laws because they try to close the gender
gap between males and females.
1) Labour Relations Amendment Act 2004
 non- discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sex, gender in
recruitment, promotion,training, retrenchment and other benefits
 98 days full paid maternity leave for both public and private sector
employed women unlike what used to be,whereby women had to resign
when they fell pregnant.
 prohibition of sexual harassment at the workplaces
(2) Legal Age of Majority Act (LAMA) 1982
 conferred on all persons of both sexes full legal capacity on attaining the
age of 18
 bestowed majority status on African women who were previously
considered perpetual minors
 women can now perform legal andjustice acts such as entering into
contracts without male guardians and have control over their sexuality
 women of 18 years and above can now sue for damage
 it reduced the age of majority from 21 to 18
(3) Maintenance Act
 -provides for maintenance claims for spouse and children or for children
born out of wedlock against a spouse or child ‘s parent who is obliged to
materially support dependents and has been failing to fulfil the obligation
and when he /she is financially capable of doing it
(4) Matrimonial Causes Act
 allows for equitable distribution of property between spouses and divorce
in a registered marriage
  law empowered the court to override customary law and to effect a
more equitable redistribution of matrimonial property upon dissolution of
marriage
 law takes intoaccount a woman’s economic or domestic contributions to
the well- being of her family and thus ensures equal distribution
(5)Minimum Wages Act
 -minimum wagesfor various unskilled occupations, the majority of whom
are women was set
 seasonal workers such as tea pickers were categorised as permanent for
purposes of pension benefits
(6) Sexual Offences Act
 Promotes protection from sexual abuse to all children not only the girl
child as was previously the case.
 protects women from non- consensual sexual intercourse within marriage
(maritalrape)
 spousal liability for wilful transmission of HIV
(7) Domestic Violence Act
 seeks to eliminate violence, be it physical, verbal economic in
relationships of domestic nature
 both males and females are capable of being perpetrators or victims of
domestic violence
 virginity testing, in-law infiltartion (chiramu), wife pledging (kuzvarira),
and wife substitution (chimutsamapfiwa) are outlawed by this act
(8) Administration of deceased’s Estate Amendment 6/97
 allow women now to inherit from their husband’s estate instead of sons
being heirs to their father’s property
 It has abolished male heirship and male beneficiary
 estates are now distributed to all beneficiaries including surviving spouse,
children both male and female
(9) Deeds Registries Act
 women can now register unmovable property in their own names
 long ago women were forbidden from registration of immovable property
in their own names
(10) Equal Pay Regulations Act (1980)
  provide for equal pay for work of equal value
 males used to be paid more than females but doing the same job
(11) Income Tax Amendment Act
 prior tothe amendment, married women’s income was taxed as part of
husband‘s income which resulted in women ending up with little money
because allowances such as children‘s allowances were credited to the
husband.With this amendment, spouses are now taxed separately
(1) Strengths of the theory
 does not disturb the existing order since it advocated for change within
existing structures It is non- discriminatory as it welcomed all members
including males
 It is committed and believes in the existing structure hence it pauses less
challenge to existing values hence it is easily accepted
 Its aims are moderate, not radical
Limitations / weaknesses
 It is elitist / classic /bourgeoisie in nature, catering for acertain groups by
not considering the social class and the race, thus it benefitted a few and
some bourgeoisie women exploited other women
 It is a middle class movement because it focused on the working class
movement leaving out the lower classes
 It failed to address the underlying causes of women’s oppression thus
leaving the structures of oppression untouched
 It is cosmetic /naive /reformist in making because it does not hammer on
the proper causes nor does it alter the power bases or shake the status quo
hence its changes were superficial because you cannot change the
superstructure without changing the base
 advocated for changing attitudes by passing of laws but laws cannot
change people’s attitudes without practical action
 It advocated for gradual change within existing structures hence it was
viewed as being slow in addressing the imbalances
 It does not take into consideration the power relations between men and
women (structural inequalities prevailing in society) but only focused on
corrective measures, thus ignoring the power struggle between men and
women
 Cause of oppression not clear – it failed to explain the cause’s women’s
oppression/subordination hence cannot offer solutions for an unknown
cause
  does not offer strategies to counter traditional norms and values that
constrain women
 calls for access to education, health, employment legal instruments
leaving out lower class women
(2) Marxist feminist theory
-blames capitalisation for the creation of gender inequalities because;
 .capitalism divides work into private (home) and public sphere
(workplace)
 it values men’s labour as men are viewed as breadwinners hence they are
given higher wages while it devalues that of women who are viewed as
appendages of men hence are given lower wages
 men are powerful because they own the means of production while
women do not own the means of production hence are a subordinate class
that is oppressed, exploited just like the proletariats
 The base (economic –means of production) determines relations between
men and women hence gender inequalities are rooted in capitalism and its
ownership of private property
 view women as a reserve army of labour i.e. they can be recruited
anytime to replace males at low cost hence women enter the wage labour
from a subordinate position
 women suffer double exploitation in that women produce in factories for
low cost and produce future labourers at no cost since their domestic
work in the private sphere is not remunerated
.makes women to be alienated (separated) from their production and
sexuality –women do not own and control what they produce even that
which relates to their sexuality (children and their bodies)
 Capitalism has made man producers of goods and women producers of
human beings.
 womenserves the interest of capitalism through the management of the
family, providing productive, psychological and social needs
Solutions Offered
 overthrow capitalist economic system and call for a socialist revolution
that would change the structure and ownership of the means of
production
 there must be an ideological change first in the consciousness of both
sexes
 women should free themselves from dependence and traditional gender
roles that confine them to the private sphere
 Participation of women in the public sphere is the key to their liberation
  men and women should struggle against capitalist oppressors
 class and gender struggles should take place at the same time
 abolish private property ownership and come with a communally owned
means of production
 Remunerate household work.
Strategies
 Awareness campaigns
 Empowerment
 Participation
Applicability of the theory to Zimbabwe
 Zimbabwe as a patriarchal society, we find that men own private property
more than women e.g. land, capital, houses
 most of the productive forces are registered on male names
 Domestic work in the home is either not paid for or low wages are given
to maids and garden boys
 women employed in the public sphere mostly do domestic work which
has been transferred from the private sphere to the public sphere e.g.
nursing(caring), teaching(socialisation),catering(serving) and secretary
for bosses who are mostly males
 children produced belong to the father in a Zimbabwean traditional
family
 what the woman produces from herlabour is controlled by the husband
Weaknesses/Limitations
 It is gender blind because it has nothing quite specific for women and
men, to them society does not possess men and women but people
 It failed to focus on power relations of females as independent from
social class
 it did not explain why men exploit and oppress women because women
were oppressed even in societies that predatecapitalism, hence it failed to
explain the subordinate position of women before the advent of
capitalism
 focused on capitalism failing to do Justice to the ways in which men hold
power over women , power that is not capitalist related because even
before the rise of capitalism women were oppressed
 liberals blame them saying they are going too far in challenging a system
which they believe does not need to be fundamental changed but only to
be fine turned to redress it
  socialist blame them for linking gender imbalances to economic
determinism saying that they are underestimating the strength of
patriarchy, can’t they see that men enjoy exploiting women because they
enjoy it, they ignore patriarchy and male control of women’s sexuality,
culture, patriarchy and male control of women.
 their suggestions are utopian (unreachable) because there is no society
that can be classless
 they are silent to the oppression of women because women remain
exploited even with a high economic status
 failed to separate gender inequalities from economic inequalities for
economic factories are not , enough in explaining gender inequalities,
other sources of inequalities are ignored
Radical Feminist Theory
 -break away from Marxist they argue that women’s oppression was there
before capitalism was there hence it is caused by patriarchy, socialisation,
reproduction and sexuality
 Patriarchy has tricked the women into thinking of the world in terms of
biases and opposites. The man is the one and the women is the other, man
is of civilization and the woman is the wilderness.
 Patriarchy sees a woman complete when attached to a man
 it is patriarchy which determines the number of children to have and the
spacing
 Heterosexual reproduction attaches the women more to the home than
the public
 Women do not know and control their sexuality. This reduction of
women to their sexuality fosters rape, violence and general contempt
 Socialisation reproduces patriarchal thinking
 socialisation makes women know very little about their body parts and
expected to be passive
 women’s oppression is the most basic / fundamental oppression at the
root of other isms and its universal and more than class, racial and
religious oppression
Solutions Offered
 women need to struggle on their own for their liberation against
oppressors (males)
 reject assistance by males because males are enemies of liberation and
they are blamed for being responsible for all the other problems of
women e.g. conflict, war, destruction of the environment and abuse
 reject gender roles and call for childcare facilities
  restructure society doing away with male domination to eliminate
women’s oppression
 strategies must focus on violence against women, rape, and sexual
harassment, incest, pornography and domestic violence
 challenge men’s control and monopoly over the production and use of
knowledge e.g. in mass media
 do away with patriarchal socialisation
 separate males and females to avoid heterosexual relation (believe in
sperm banks for artificial insemination)
 promote lesbianism and do away with the men
 create institutions for women only
 sensitise curriculum in schools
 call for women communities and networks
 replace patriarchy with matriarchy
 form conscious raising groups
Strategies
 legislation
 mobilization/networking
 awareness raising campaigns
 empowerment
 deconstruction of stereotypes in media
Applicability of the theory to Zimbabwe
 Formation of women’s pressure groups e.g. WAG- Women’s Action
Group,WOZA – Women of Zimbabwe Arise,AAG – Affirmative Action
Group
 Engendering the curriculum
 every subject can be done by any student
 subjects such as Maths, Science and Commercials that were stereotypical
regarded as a male domain have been made available to women
 Removal of cultural practices that were offensive and oppressive e.g.
female genital mutilation, circumcision, appeasement of spirits by giving
girls in marriage
 Formation of conscious raising groups e.g. Girl Chid Network, Victim
Friendly Courts for abused children organisations like Msasa Project have
been established to protect women and men experiencing gender
domestic violence.
 passing of the sexual offences Act, Domestic Violence
 lead to the use of gender inclusive language e.g. director of ceremonies,
school heads, first and second degrees
  establishment of single sex schools and women’s university, women’s
institute of Governance are all products of radical theory
 women have been made to access legal instruments that allow them to
abort under special circumstances e.g. rape, incest, mental health or
anything that endangers their health
 it has also influenced the setting up of childcare institution
 lead to the introduction of new reproductive technologies like donation of
sperms, artificial insemination, surrogate motherhood
 -women now have a wide choice of family planning methods that enable
them to control their bodies
Strengths of Radical Feminist Theory
 -has made the girl child visible on international, regional and national
level
 -has made classrooms more child centred and gender centred
 lead to the elimination of gender biases from textbooks and
reconstruction of language
 -lead to the promotion of alternative sports in the country e.g. women’s
soccer
Weaknesses/Limitations
 has an unwarranted hostility towards men who are also victims of
socialisation
 fails to realise that there are other women who oppress other women and
men and assumes that all women by natureare good and all men are bad
 they are less analytical in that they do not mention the source of male
power therefore it is unable to provide an adequate strategy for ending it
 they are separatist and their rejection of marriage and relationships with
males is anti-human development since it is against family-father-mother-
child relationship, it can lead to the end of the human race
 views women as passive victims rather than co makers of history thus
potentially undermining the gains of women’s movement
 fails to explain the origins of patriarchy and its power
 it overemphasizes sexual politics at the expense of political reform
 it emphasizes differences between men and women making peaceful
coexistence and cooperation impossible
 socialists strongly disagree with radical feminist position that the
oppression of women is fundamental to all forms of oppression they
uphold that the issues of race, class are as important or more important
than issues about gender (leaves out other factories like race, class and
ethnicity)
Socialist feminist theory
Tries to reconcile the radicals and the Marxist by arguing that:
 Inequality between men and women is caused by patriarchy and
capitalism.
 Capitalism is the main cause and capitalism the reinforcer.
 Domestic labour of the women makes capitalism tick through their
reproduction of human beings, socialisation of children as well as
maintenance of male labour as they look after the man psychologically
and physiologically.
 Women enter the labour market at a domestic level due to lack of skills
and are often viewed as appendages of men who are the bread winners
.This depresses their wages.
 Women are oppressed because of economic dependence on males; hence
male supremacy is embedded in economic structures that are
strengthened by patriarchal relations.
Suggested solutions
 A revolution is necessary to uproot capitalism and patriarchy.
 Women’s struggles should focus on conditions of production,
reproduction, reproductive rights, sexuality and new forms of family
organisation.
 Women should be united by their experience for a more political voice
despite race, class, ethnicity or religion.
 End all cultural and class forces of oppression in order to liberate women.
 Women should work side by side with men.
Strategies
 Mobilisation/networking
 Legislation
 Empowerment
 Gender mainstreaming
 Participation
 Affirmative action
Applicability of the theory to Zimbabwe
 Introduction of laws that enable women to access
property(L.A.M.A,administration of deceased’s estate, deeds registries
act, matrimonial causes act etc),access health and reproductive
rights(establishment of the national family planning council, choose
marriage types of their own choice)
  Crafting of the national gender policy which encourages participation of
both males and females in all spheres of life(access to land
,water,housing,health,education,training,political decision making and
natural resources)
Weaknesses
 Does not explain the origins of patriarchy and how it can be uprooted.
 Focuses on working middle class women leaving out peasants.
 Fails to recognise that patriarchy can work in other modes of production
besides capitalism e.g. precapitalist and socialist modes of production.
 Failed to recognise that patriarchy can be strengthened and supported by
other ideologies beside capitalism.e.g. Culture, religion and socialisation.
 Does not offer a theory of its own but only critique existing theories.

Third World political economy theory

Women are oppressed in 3rd world countries because of
 Their location in the globe-First world countries exploits third world
resources and labour and women are part of this exploitation and
subordination.
 Globalisation of the economy-developed nations extract raw material
from 3rd world countries, export and manufacture these only to return
them as furnished and expensive goods to the Africans. This makes 3rd
world people dependent on developed countries for manufactured goods,
technology and technological knowhow and women are part of this
dependency and exploitation by the 1st world.
 Class-women in a capitalist global economy like men are part of the
proletariats. Their labour is exploited for low wages. Women are
producers of raw material at the periphery but are alienated from what
they produce. They are exploited by both global capitalists and capitalist
elites in their nations.
 Race-women especially in 3rd world Africa are further subordinated as a
black race. They are subordinated by both white males and females of the
1st and 3rd world.
 Patriarchy-women in 3rd world countries are also subordinated and
exploited by males. In patriarchal societies males dominate ownership of
property. Women are exploited as labourers and child bearers and most
patriarchal cultures legitimate this male dominance.
  Age-older women subordinate younger women and dictate to them and
subject them to initiation ceremonies and cultural norms and values that
trap them in subordination.
 Ethnicity-women who belong to the lowest ethnic group are the most
subordinated. They are subordinated by males and females of other
superior ethnic groups and by their husbands. They are looked down upon
for ethnicity and gender.
 Gender –women in 3rd world countries are also subordinated and
exploited by their males
 Religion –almost all religions the world over subordinate women.
 They are rural women-majority of 3rd world countries are in rural areas.
They make the majority of illiterate women who lack access to
information, technology and technological knowhow, training and health
facilities.
Solutions offered
There is need for a multicultural or global feminism where all other differences
are looked into not just gender.
Strategies
 Gender mainstreaming
 Gender analysis
 Networking/mobilisation
Applicability of the theory to Zimbabwe
 During the colonial period most whites in Zimbabwe had black
women as their maids, nannies, garden boys and the situation has not
changed in the post colonial era
 As a patriarchal society the majority of women do not own immovable
property like houses and land
 Women are further subordinate by other women e.g. Vamwene and
muroora
 Elderly women subject young women to subordinatione.g.tetes would
advise their nieces to be quite about what happens in their marriages,
to persevere and allow the husband to access what he paid for (sex) at
whatever cost and circumstances.
 Most rural women are engaged in agriculture producing for both
subsistence and commercial consumption but few of these women
have access to credit facilities, technology, technological knowhow
and marketing facilities.
 Culture and patriarchy continues to maintain the status quo despite the
introduction of legal instruments and policies on access to resources
and opportunities.
Strengths
 It takes into consideration the fact that women are not a
homogeneous by recognising women of other creeds.
 Argues that homogenising women is colonising them denying them
their histories, cultures, identities and nationalities.
Weakness
 Tend to focus on capitalism and post colonialism losing sight of
patriarchal and cultural constraints before the advent of
capitalism
 It overemphasises women diversity thereby dividing them and
this is likely to weaken their struggles