GROUP 4

Charmaine R. Makumbe W160879

Kundai T. Nyikadzinashe W160635
Vandrieta Z.Mutsata W160890
Walter P. Madimutsa W171509
Dakarai A. Guti W171621
QUESTION

Gender mainstreaming remains a myth in developing countries. Discuss

QUESTION INTEPRETATION

Gender mainstreaming remains a generalised belief in developing countries

whereby the Question seeks for us to understand that is the gender imbalances
just a belief or its reality looking at how it is viewed in developing countries.

Gender mainstreaming is not practical in 3rd world countries

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 DEFINATION OF TERMS
Gender refers to the characteristics of women,men,girls and boys that are socially constructed.
This includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with being a woman,man,girl or boy as
well as relationships with each other.
Gender mainstreaming is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any
planned action, policy or programme, in all areas and at all levels before any decisions are
made and throughout the whole process. It is a strategy for making woman’s as well as men’s
concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design implementation, monitoring and
evaluation of policies and programmes so that both women and men benefit and inequality is
not perpetuated. Gender mainstreaming is not a goal in itself but an approach for promoting
gender equality.
Gender mainstreaming is a strategy for addressing the inequalities, in most developing
countries are designed in a patriarchal way, in the sense that women are expected to grow food,
prepare and serve it. Generally women are then associated with reproductive roles and men are
more likely to be linked with productive roles especially paid work and market production.
According to Oxford Dictionary a Myth is a widely held but false belief or idea.
Attempts of gender mainstreaming have been superficial (appearing to be true or real only
until examined more closely) and patchy (existing or happening in few areas) which is an
outcome of policy evaporation whereby policies are watered down in bureaucracy and its
implementation stage.
Developing countries are countries/nations that have low living standards, undeveloped
industrial base and low human index or countries which are economically and socially trying
towards betterment by economic and social maintenances and proper policy implementation.

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 INTRODUCTION

Gender mainstreaming means integrating a gender equality perspective at all stages

and levels of policies, programmes and projects.
Women and men have different needs and living conditions and circumstances,
including unequal access to and control over power, resources, human rights and
institutions, including the justice system. The situations of women and men also
differ according to country, region, age, ethnic or social origin, or other factors.
The aim of gender mainstreaming is to take into account these differences when
designing, implementing and evaluating policies, programmes and projects, so that
they benefit both women and men and do not increase inequality but enhance gender
equality. Gender mainstreaming aims to solve – sometimes hidden- gender
inequalities. It is therefore a tool for achieving gender equality.
Gender mainstreaming is meant to be strategy for promoting empowerment to
women by enabling women to critically assess their own situation, gain skills, build
confidence, move to decision-making roles and organise with others to effect
change. Also is an ongoing process of gender equality and proposed certain
structures that promote gender equality.

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REASONS WHY GENDER MAINSTREAMING REMAINS
A MYTH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Gender mainstreaming is relatively , experience in implementing it is still limited.
Below are the reasons why gender mainstreaming remains a myth in developing
countries
A first difficulty might be the misunderstanding of the concept of gender
mainstreaming and the way in which it relates to specific gender equality policies.
A further difficulty has to do with the need for a broader concept of equality. Gender
equality is often misunderstood.
Lack of national and local ownership – gender mainstreaming is a borrowed concept
so it may not be locally applicable and will remain a myth in developing countries
as they do not understand what it is all about.
Culture, for example, defines women and men’s participation in meetings where
women are passive and find it hard to express themselves in the presence of men.
From a cultural perspective, women believe that their views do not hold the same
weight as those of men. In fact, some women prefer to air their views through men
which negatively affects their contribution to research and development
In order to conform to cultural beliefs and tendencies they prefer to give responses
that are biased, hence it is difficult to divine the truth about issues. If women’s views
and needs are not effectively communicated and interpreted this hinders their
effective empowerment and development of appropriate technology.

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 … CONTINUATION

Cultural processes maintain gender differences which act as barriers

preventing an increase in the education of girls and women and ultimately
reducing the number of women in positions of power, thus leading to a
small scale of gender equality in a male-dominated society.
Children spend most of their lives in classrooms and the study presumes
that education environments are also the incubation hubs where girls and
women can be equally educated and eventually take on their rightful place
in society.
It has been demonstrated time and again that young girls remain excluded
from society, alienated in some cultures because they are female or even
unwanted, and can even be murdered because a woman is a liability to her
father unlike a male.

GROUP 4
 … CONTINUATION

Culture insensitive. it does not take into consideration belief and norms. It is believed that
women do their household chores and men heavy duties. Culture can be a barrier in a
patriarchal society. Its difficult to change gender roles of women or vice versa
The impact and influence of patriarchy on gender mainstreaming is wide-ranging in
developing countries. The culture of violence against women and its normalization has
rendered women being in persistent fear of rape, sexual violence. The culture of
machismo in society also reinforces acceptance of sexual violence and domestic violence
as a means amongst others, to control women and resolve conflicts.’
Two thirds of illiterate adults are women; this impacts on the lives of families and
children because many mothers are the caretakers of the family. From a young age, many
women are taught to be submissive, subordinate and obedient to their male counterparts;
and they are less valued than men. This level of consciousness which reinforces cultural
norms and expectations ensures the continuous cycle of male patriarchy.
Families are infused with patriarchal norms. As long as men’s conjugal mastery over
women can be rationalized as rooted in tradition and culture, the right to maintain and
enforce this mastery through discrimination in the family will remain unquestioned.
This includes mastery over decision-making, responsibility over housework, resource
ownership, asset control, guardianship and custody of children, unequal rights to enter
and exit as well as during marriage.

GROUP 4
 … CONTINUATION

Religion-in many religious sects the roles of elders overseers are mainly considered
male roles and women usually occupy passive roles which side-line them when it
comes to decision making. The polygamy issue is particularly important given that
one-third of Zimbabwe’s population is Apostolic, a Christian-based sect that
practices polygamy (DFID, 2011). Women do not have the same decision-making.
In johane marange, freedom of choice is denied to sisters of a woman in a childless
marriage who are expected to become surrogate wives of their brothers-in-law.

GROUP 4
Gender gaps create barriers to effective sustainable development and livelihoods by
limiting or restricting women’s access to resources and decision-making
opportunities. In some cases, violence can be used against women as a means of
control over resources and opportunities, reinforcing power imbalances and gender
inequality.
In many communities, cultural norms and time-intensive household care duties
often impede women’s abilities to participate in community consultations and
decision-making processes about sustainable management initiatives.
This means that when it comes to natural resources and ecosystem management,
women’s needs, priorities and knowledge are often ignored or overlooked,
impacting their empowerment and agency and undermining the effectiveness of
sustainable management solutions.

GROUP 4
In developing countries the persistence of male dominated social structures and
socialization processes seriously impede women’s meaningful participation in
political and decision making processes.
Party politics and electoral systems are generally biased against women. Women
continue to be assigned traditional domestic roles confined to the household, and
models of political leadership and participation continue to privilege masculine traits
while feminine qualities are deemed unsuitable for political leadership
According to Paradza and Matovu (2012) majority of omen including those with
leadership capabilities have little access to financial resources to support any gender
mainstreaming initiatives like training and development programmes and
workshops. According to UNDP (2015) there is still a skewed gender representation
in most public sector organisations in Zimbabwe where men still dominate
leadership positions and a cause to this might be inadequate resources by
organisations to promote gender mainstreaming by raising awareness and
conducting workshops.
.According to Paradza and Matovu (2012) many women do not feel comfortable to
venture into an arena perceived to be of men and sometimes they do not have
support from the family, community or even political parties when it comes to
elections. This means that the opportunities for mainstreaming gender become
wasted and gender gaps will continue to exist.

GROUP 4
In developing countries like Zimbabwe women have major roles using land
for food security, income and household resources, due to culture barriers
they do not have land rights including rights to sell, manage or control the
economic output from their land.
Insecure land rights are a huge barrier for women in participating in or
leading sustainable management efforts, as they may not have decision-
making power over how land is used and managed if they do not own it.
Furthermore, while women that manage land may want to adopt sustainable
management approaches, if they do not have their name on the land title,
they may not able to access loans to invest in technology and inputs.

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However in as much as gender mainstreaming is concerned Zimbabwe like
most developing countries is still in the process of improving its forces on
fighting gender imbalances which continue to exist in modern day society
Women have reserved seat in parliament as 50/50
High rate of women's enrolment. decentralised university education for
example women's university
Both women and men own their farm and also get inheritance.
They are now response to domestic violence
The creation of a national framework for addressing gender equality e.g.
The NATIONAL GENDER POLICY
The increased women's to productive resource through land reform and
indigenisation programme
In the month of October on the 11th every year the nation is now
commemorate Girl Child day to amplify their voice and stand up for their
right.
The enactment of several laws in the period under review related to gender
equality and women empowerment.

GROUP 4
 CONCLUSION

We still live in a patriarchal society so it is difficult to influence and

implement fully gender mainstreaming, due to the stereotype towards
women such that they believe women cannot do such but men can.
Patriarchal systems, cultural norms and tradition play a huge role in gender
dynamics that shape the status of women in Zimbabwe. There is a need to
create a great mind and a society where both sexes have equal opportunities
to fulfil their potentials.
The Government of Zimbabwe recognizes that gender equality is a
prerequisite for poverty reduction, food and nutrition security and
sustainable development. The absence of readily available statistics on
women and agriculture has hindered the progress of effective interventions
aimed at women’s empowerment and gender equality.
Lack of national and local ownership – gender mainstreaming is a
borrowed concept so it may not be locally applicable and will remain a
myth in developing countries as they do not understand what it is all about.

GROUP 4
 REFERENCES

Bacchi, C. And Eveline, J. 1999. Gender Mainstreaming or diversity mainstreaming?

The politics of “doing”. NORA Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research

Birgitta, A, 1997. Mainstreaming of Gender Equality. Presentation at the Seminar of

"Mainstreaming of gender equality - indispensable condition of development and
strengthening of democracy", Warsaw (Poland).

Butaumocho, R, 2016. Gender Equality: Local Authorities Walk the Talk. The Herald,
31 July 2016.

Ushewokunze, T. E. 2012. An Investigation into the Egalitarian Assumptions of Aid

Providers in Women Empowerment Projects and Lived Experiences of Women within
Patriarchal Societies. A case of Zimbabwe. University of Gothenburg.

Zvobgo, E. F. 2004. Gender policy implementation in the promotion of women

leadership in universities: A case of Midlands State University Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe
journals of science and technology.

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