Monica Ndlovu (32) from Nhwali in Gwanda South in Matabeleland South Province says there is need for government to recognise the empowerment of women through the provision of adult literacy education and other forms of enriching women academically.
By Moses Mugugunyeki
Ndlovu, who got married at the age of 15, said most women of her age are illiterate and have problems when it comes to reading newspapers, pamphlets and the Bible.
“We are receiving gifts from our loved ones in the form of cellphones, radios and television sets and the gadgets are gathering dust because we cannot operate them,” Ndlovu told The Standard Style during a recent media tour in the area.
“I feel that most women lag behind our male counterparts when it comes to the current technological advancement and I challenge government to promote the progression of women educationally.”
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)’s flagship, the State of the World Population Report 2017, which was released recently, inequalities in sexual and reproductive health and rights, while often given limited attention, have implications that run from individuals to entire nations.
The report entitled, Worlds Apart: Reproductive Health and Rights in an Age of Inequality, added that intersections with other forms of inequality mean that a poor, uneducated woman in a rural area who cannot make choices about pregnancy will be unlikely to gain an education or join the paid labour force.
Women have played second fiddle to their male counterparts when it comes to education, training and technology. When it comes to employment, women are found more in the formal economy, in vulnerable employment, part-time work and are still on average paid less than men for work of equal value.
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In the past, women faced discrimination because of the perception that as soon as they marry and have children they will be less productive or will leave their jobs. Many young women, especially those from the rural areas, wonder whether academic achievement actually leads to access to employment commensurate with their qualifications.
However, in Zimbabwe women are slowly penetrating into professions traditionally dominated by men. Improved access to desegregated training opportunities has helped increase the employability of young women and it ameliorates their future earnings and socio-economic conditions.
“Efforts should be supplemented by vocational guidance better suited to their capabilities and needs, as well as by gender-sensitive counselling and placement services to enable young women to fulfil their potential,” said social commentator Yotamu Chirwa.
Ndlovu said her parents failed to raise money for her to go to secondary school, which left her with no choice but to get married. She believes there is more the government can do to help the girl child get an education.
“Government must avail education facilities to the girl child as this is when the basis of a future is created. Most Zimbabweans cannot afford the standard school fees, compromising the education of the girl child,” she said.
Ndlovu, a mother of three daughters, said a woman does not need a learned man to add value to her life.
“A learned woman can stand on her own. Give her that chance,” she said
Educating girls in particular paves way for wider changes in families, societies and work places.
According to Unicef, among girls and boys who enrol in secondary education, only a fraction complete upper secondary schooling. In the least developed countries, for example, 20% of boys finish upper secondary education, compared with only 15% of girls. Those who leave school early lack skills and knowledge needed to acquire higher-paying jobs.
Zimbabwe, like any other developing country, is struggling to give the girl child better education. The Basic Education Assistance Module (Beam), which was seen as a panacea to the school fees woes is struggling because government is failing to fund the programme.
Corruption and misuse of offices by authorities have not spared some school assistance programmes that are advocated for by some non-governmental organisations and church organisations, thereby leaving a myriad of children, including the girl child, in a quandary.
Child rights activist and director of Tag a Life International Trust, Nyari Mashayamombe said her organisation was addressing negative religious and cultural norms that exclude the girl child from opportunities such as education.
“We have trained girls and boys, men and women in the Midlands Province to educate communities on the importance of girls’ education and all other rights. We have also assisted girls who go through the unfortunate experience of rape or gender-based violence with psycho social support to ensure that they get the help to start their healing process so that they get back to school. Some of the girls have been assisted with reintegration or alternative shelter and homes to ensure they continue with their education,” she said.
Mashayamombe said there was a huge gap between girls and boys who were not accessing education.
“The current policy on education protects only those in school since it says the child can be sent back for failing to pay school fees. Policy needs to change to allow children an education and protect them from vulnerabilities such as child marriages also according to the provisions of Chapter 27 of our Constitution that guarantees free basic education,” she said.
Among strategies adopted by the National Gender Policy are the elimination of all forms of discrimination against boys and girls in education and skills training, which includes science and technology as well as the promotion and encouragement of girls to take on science, mathematics and technology at all levels of education.
The strategies were adopted in line with the Sadc Protocol on Gender and Development Article 14:2, which states that; “States Parties shall by 2015 adopt and implement gender-sensitive educational policies and programmes addressing gender stereotypes in education and gender-based violence among others”.
Zimbabwe has scored a first in promoting and encouraging girls to take on science, mathematics and technology at tertiary education level, thanks to the Stem programme. Today, hordes of tertiary institutions have adopted a policy where girls with moderate passes are enrolled in science, mathematics and technology courses.
While significant strides have been made to empower the girl child in the urban centres, little has been done for the poor rural child whose parents are still in the dark with regards to empowering the girl child.
Ndlovu believes that while the Constitution and a number of conventions on gender-sensitivity ratified by Zimbabwe recognise the right to educate the girl child, she feels government should make gender equality a core development issue.
