Tradition hindering gender equality

By Hosia Beta

Zimbabwean women have for a very long time endured the pain of living under backward belief systems and traditions that only perpetuate gender based violence.

The challenges women face in accessing health care and education coupled with restrictions and the undermining of their political, economic, and social rights are some of the most damaging and egregious forms of direct and structural patriarchal violence.

Women and girls deserve to have their human rights recognized and enforced by communities to enable them to effectively participate in the development of the nation.

While global women’s movements have had some effect in confronting violence and reducing inequality, structural violence against women and girls remains stuck in Zimbabwean society.

Promotion of beliefs that perpetuate family name when a woman gets married has seen a situation where perpetrators of violence against women beget males who believe that they are more equal than girls.

Cultural and religious institutions perpetuate discrimination against girls through promoting beliefs that privilege males. For example when the father dies, many societies believe that the eldest son is the one who takes charge of the family.

Whenever they need a family representative for different functions like to appease the ancestors the eldest son will go ahead of other family members including the mother.

This gives men an upper hand in terms of preferences by societies who give them power to lead families and thus some end up abusing that power to sideline girls.

Traditional belief systems have had a negative impact on gender equality as men are believed to be the heads of families and women are expected to submit themselves to their husbands.

Women are taught to respect and not to challenge their husbands whether they are wrong or correct all in the name of saving the marriage.

Dowry payment in the past was used to create synergies between the family of the bride and the bridegroom but since the turn of the century things changed as families then began to use dowry payment for enrichment.

Some families go as far as marrying children to solve economic challenges. This is bad in that the girl is forced to submit to the husband and to endure their abuse in the marriage so that the family could continue to benefit from the husband.

If Zimbabwe is to achieve gender equality there is a need to address the traditional and backward systems that undermine the girl child.

The establishment of a specific ministry of women and gender development is a welcome development that needs to be complimented by establishing policies that do away with issues that perpetuate structural violence against girls and women to ensure that women are integrated and accepted as equal partners in societal development.

Gender inequality is deeply rooted in entrenched attitudes, societal institutions, and market forces and therefore political commitment at national level is essential to institute policies that can trigger social change and to allocate the resources necessary for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Education may be an important precondition to women’s empowerment, but it does not guarantee empowerment and gender equality. For education to be effective, society should create equal opportunities between men and women.

Equality means more than just parity in numbers. It means justice, equal opportunities, acceptance and tolerance in society. This should be supported by policies that promote general acceptance that women have a pivotal role to play in the development of the nation.