Access to land ownership and gender in the light of African Indigenous Religion in Zimbabwe amongst the Shona in Chiredzi District, Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe (original) (raw)

Abstract

This chapter is based on a study on women's access to land ownership in the Chingwizi Resettlement area of Chiredzi District, Zimbabwe. Specifically, the study examined the extent to which women enjoy land ownership rights and the challenges they encounter. The investigation was a qualitative, empirical study. It involved a purposefully selected sample of twenty participants of whom 14 were female and 6 were male. Of the 14 females, seven, including two from polygamous marriage unions, had independent land ownership while seven, who were in monogamous marriages, did not. All six males were married and had land allocated to them and registered in their names. Data were collected using face to face and telephone interviews. The study established that land (Zvokuomba & Batisai, 2020:151) allocation in the Chingwizi area was not based on gender but on age, and whether one had been accredited, from the previous place of residence in Chivi or Masvingo District, to get a piece of land. While married women in monogamous unions did not have independent land ownership-that is, land allocated to them and registered in their names-those in polygamous unions had pieces of land registered in their names. It was concluded that while the allocation of land in Chingwizi showed gender sensitivity and was in keeping with the spirit of the Zimbabwean Constitution (2013), with its firm commitment to gender equality, gender inequality was evident as married women in monogamous unions were not allocated pieces of land. It was recommended that land redistribution be revisited in such a way that married women also get pieces of land registered in their names.

Loading...

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

References (16)

  1. Chigbu, U.E., Paradza, G. & Dachaga, W. 2019. Differentiations in Women's Land Tenure Experiences: Implications for women's Access and Tenure in Sub-Saharan Africa. Land, 8(22):1-21. https://doi.org/10.3390/land8020022
  2. Cox, M. & Magel, H. 2002. Gender and Access to Land. Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Land Tenure Studies. Rome: FAO.
  3. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). 2017. National Gender Profile of Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods - Zimbabwe. Harare: Country Gender Assessment Series.
  4. Gaidzanwa, R.B. 2011. Women and Land in Zimbabwe. Paper Presented at the Conference 'Why Women matter in Agriculture', 4-8 April. [Online]. Available: https://bit.ly/3ybsTRA
  5. Gudhlanga, E.S. 2016. Gender and Land ownership in Zimbabwean Literature: A Critical Appraisal in Selected Fiction. PhD Dissertation. South Africa: University of South Africa.
  6. Landman, C. & Shumba, S. 2020. Religion and Gender Policy Implementation in Zimbabwe: Women's Access to Land ownership in Gwanda District. Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, 46(2):1-15. https://doi. org/10.25159/2412-4265/7246
  7. Lebaka-Ketsabile, L.S. 1999. African Women as Moral Agents: The Moral Implications ofthe Status and Role of Women in their Communities. MTh. Dissertation. South Africa: University of South Africa.
  8. Masaka, D. & Chemhuru, M. 2011. Moral Dimensions of Some Shona Taboos (Zviera). Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, 13(3):132-148.
  9. Mutopo, P. 2012. Gendered Dimensions of Land and Rural Livelihoods: The Case of New Settler Farmer Displacement at Nuanetsi Ranch, Mwenezi District, Zimbabwe. Brighton, UK: The Land Deal Politics Initiative.
  10. Pindiriri, C. 2021. Land Inequality, Gender Land Disparity and Poverty in Rural Zimbabwe. Policy Brief. African Economic Research Consortium. [Online]. Available: https://bit. ly/3yaxwLQ [https://doi.org/10.2139/ ssrn.3926081]
  11. Shewamene, Z., Dune, T. & Smith, C.A. 2017. The Use of Traditional Medicine in Maternity Care among African Women in Africa and the Diaspora: A Systematic Review. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 17(382):1-16. https://doi. org/10.1186/s12906-017-1886-x
  12. Suda, C. 1996. The Centrality of Women in the Moral Teaching in African Society. Nordic Journal of African Studies, 5(2):71-82.
  13. Thobejane, T.D. & Murisa, C.T. 2015. Challenges to Women's Entitlement to Land: A Case of the Nyadgori Farm in Zimbabwe. International Journal of Sustainable Development. [Online]. Available: https://bit.ly/3soHvt2
  14. Toro, B. 2016. Rural Women and the Land Question in Zimbabwe: The Case of the Mutasa District. International Journal of African Development, 4(1):77-89.
  15. Wan, M., Colfer, C.J.P. & Powell, B. 2011. Forests, Women, and Health: Opportunities and Challenges for Conservation. International Forestry Review, 13(3):369-387. https://doi. org/10.1505/146554811798293854
  16. Zvokuomba, K. & Batisai, K. 2020. Veracity of Women's Land ownership in the Aftermath of Land Redistribution in Zimbabwe: The Limits of Western Feminism. Agenda, 34(1):151-158. https://doi.org/10.108 0/10130950.2019.1690310