I also discover some of the barriers women face during participation or in response to gender mainstreaming. Some findings from this study concluded that women's response to gender mainstreaming efforts and their involvement, participation and commitment to community development projects designed for them are influenced by multiple factors ranging from structural, environmental and individual factors.
Introduction
The research also found that most women involved in gardening projects used their personal skills and talents. While these gender mainstreaming (gardening) projects are effective, another finding of the study concluded that there are some structural, environmental and individual barriers that women face.
A brief overview of research setting
Rushinga communities are rich in social resources that contribute to successful gender mainstreaming and community development projects. The significance of this study for the local communities is also to show the barriers to participation and provide a strategy to ensure the full participation of women in gender mainstreaming projects aimed at them.
Background of research problem
For example, during my internship in 2013, I witnessed the lack of participation of poor rural women in community development projects. This specifically led the researcher of this study to further investigate the lack of participation of some rural women in these gender mainstreaming community development projects.
Problem statement
Research aims objectives and findings
Key questions answered
The responses included the individual, environmental and structural issues as some of the barriers that prevent some women from participating in gender mainstreaming projects. Women, my research respondents, reported that the government projects are directly set for their participation, involvement, poverty reduction and community development, but they are denied access to leadership skills and positions.
The significance of the study
According to these women's responses, household tasks in many Rushinga families are gendered with women performing many female household tasks, including cooking, farming, fetching water, cleaning, gardening and caring for children and the elderly.
Dissertation structure
The chapter also provides some recommendations for future studies and development initiatives that can be implemented to encourage more women's participation in community development.
LITERATURE REVIEW: A GLOBAL SYNOPSIS OF GENDER AND
- Introduction
- An overview of gender mainstreaming
- Gender mainstreaming in Zimbabwe: National Gender Policy
- Community development
- Gender and community development
- Gender Issues in Zimbabwean communities
- Relevance of literature to the study
- Conclusion
The Ministry of Women's Affairs, Gender and Community Development (MWAGCD) established the Anti-Domestic Violence Council in 2007 to enforce laws, raise awareness about gender-based violence and support victims of domestic violence (NGP, 2013). In Rushinga district, women's responses to community development projects confirm the existence of gender inequality.
INTRODUCTION TO THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
- Introduction
- Gender and Development theory
- Structural Violence Approach
- Conclusion
In Rushinga, gender, religion and culture are the most important parts of society that I revisited in assessing women's participation in community development projects. Social structures of a society limit and disadvantage women's participation in community development projects that use individual skills of women.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
- Introduction
- Research Design
- Sampling
- Methods of Inquiry
- Data analysis
- Validity
- Reliability
- Ethical considerations
- Limitations of the study
- Conclusion
During the research period, the researcher made use of the available men involved in the same projects and interviewed them. Two focus group discussions were held with women and men participating in gardening projects in Wards A and B. Some of the female participants were included in one-on-one interviews using the same interview guide as the focus group discussions.
The reliability of the in-depth interview guide and focus group discussion guide cannot be determined because the participants' experience is influenced by different factors (Bless et al. 1995).
EMPIRICAL VERDICTS OF GARDENING PROJECTS AND THE SETTING OF
- Introduction
- Broader Scope of Research Community
- Economic setting
- Social Organisations
- Cultural and Religious organisation
- Women in gardening
In Rushinga communities, economic activities consist of agriculture (cultivation of crops and livestock production in both subsistence and commercial farming methods) which is the most important activity in the entire district. In Rushinga rural areas, people are employed within and outside the district in both the government and private sectors. At the top of the hierarchy is the national government which functions as the Ministry of Women's Affairs, Gender and Community Development (MWAGCD).
I developed the above figure in the presentation of the structure of gender integration projects in Rushinga.
ISSUES IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND GENDER MAINSTREAMING
Introduction
Barriers faced by women involved in nutritional gardening projects
Biographical profile of project participants
Caritas and the government work hand in hand, funding, monitoring and evaluating food gardening projects in these departments (National Gender Policy, 2013). These issues were reported as the main challenges or barriers faced by women in food gardening projects. 10CADEC stands for Catholic Development Committee and is a committee that focuses on the development and assistance of vulnerable Catholics, i.e. orphans, the poor, widows and the elderly.
CADEC gradually ceased operations and now operates under Caritas, which is also an international Catholic organization.
Theme 1: Structural Barriers
Some women reported that they do not own and control these projects because of a male chairman. From a theoretical point of view, the Gender and Development (GAD) approach states that gender mainstreaming and women's empowerment should promote women's leadership roles and control over their work (Hartwick and Peet, 2009). The allocation of leadership positions to men is contrary to the GAD theory. One of the women reported that these projects empower them to be hardworking women towards sustainable livelihoods.
These women reported that they cannot access funds as individuals but through the project leader.
Theme: 2 Environmental barriers
The gardens are located at a distance from villages, in the forest and women have to walk several kilometers to reach the garden. The paths to the gardens are in the middle of the woods, and a woman cannot go to the gardens alone. The location of the gardens is a big problem for women as it is in the middle of the forests and the gardens are unsafe places to be as an individual and you cannot walk alone on the road.
The water sources in these wards are limited to a certain corner of the ward which henceforth distances gardens from other women and makes it a challenge for them to travel a long way to the gardens.
Theme 3: Individual barriers
Some women reported that it was a challenge for them to manage the project and their everyday personal and social engagement. Razavi (2012) found that some women in patriarchal and developing societies have limited participation due to heavy household workload. On the same note, Johnson (2010) reports that some women in Kenya and Zambia have limited time away from their households and have heavy domestic workloads that have impacted their participation in gender mainstreaming.
Due to ill health, some women are unable to attend the needs of the projects at the scheduled time, which is three times a week.
Issues on women exclusion from gardening projects
I investigated why some women are not involved in gardening projects where they are given total control without male dominance. This research showed that some women are not involved in gender mainstreaming and community development projects due to various reasons. Johnson (2010) reported that women are excluded in development projects due to economic, socio-cultural and political problems in their communities.
Information collected from the responses of all women, both participating and non-participating in the project, showed that these women face structural, environmental and individual barriers to gender mainstreaming and community development.
Biographical profile of project nonparticipants
The department coordinators and some women reported financial constraints as a problem for the exclusion of other women from projects. The department coordinators gave several answers as to why some women are not involved in garden projects or any gender mainstreaming project. He added that some women in this ward have a better income and they can afford vegetables as well as other means of survival.
The issues are reported to be the challenges or barriers faced to involvement and they are assumed to be possible barriers that these women are likely to face when getting involved in nutritional garden projects.
Theme 1: Structural barriers
In these departments, religion is a barrier to women's involvement and participation in gender mainstreaming and community development programmes. Based on these responses, religion is considered a limitation for other women in terms of their involvement and participation in gender mainstreaming and community development programs. The women interviewed reported that they play many feminine roles, which prevented them from being involved in gender mainstreaming or community development projects.
The political structure of these communities had a negative impact on the inclusion of women in gender mainstreaming projects.
Theme 2: Environmental barriers
Apart from remote water near the village, it was expressed that the gardens are located in the middle of a forest and it is an unsafe place for some women or individuals. I can't go into these woods alone or even send my kids to the garden because it's unsafe. From participant observation, I discovered that the gardens are located in the remote areas of the communities, where I hardly saw people walking around or walking along.
It is a tense atmosphere for me to walk the paths to the gardens and I was afraid to walk alone.
Theme 3: Individual barriers
Although garden projects were successful, not all women were involved in the projects and some women are excluded due to individual perspectives and assumptions about facing barriers when they became involved. They added that personal commitment and time management are vital skills required for involvement in community garden projects and that some women personally excluded themselves. They reported that some women in garden projects used to have better gardens before participating in the projects.
In a nutshell, the issue of individualism had affected the involvement of some women in gardening projects.
Conclusion
Introduction
Gender and Development (GAD) theorists emphasize the creation of a democratic space for women's participation in decision-making power and full expressions towards development programs (Reeves and Baden, 2000). The fieldwork lasted for five months in which two focus group discussions were held with two groups in ward A and B who participated in community gardening projects. Rural women participating in horticulture projects were selected from each ward for in-depth interviews and also those excluded from projects were selected for in-depth interviews.
Two male department coordinators were chosen from the two departments for in-depth interviews, and a total of fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted.
Synopsis of study and challenges in gender mainstreaming and community development 115
Women involved in gender mainstreaming and community development projects in Rushinga were also affected by environmental issues. In addition, the location of gardens affects women's participation and involvement in gender mainstreaming and community development projects. Poor health is considered a barrier to women's participation in gender mainstreaming and community development projects.
My study examined the responses of women in rural communities to women-specific gender mainstreaming and community development projects.
Recommendations for
There is a great need for women's empowerment and awareness of women's rights in communities, and to solve the structural violence associated with women's limited participation in gender mainstreaming projects. Comparison of ecological, structural and individual barriers for women in horticultural projects and women in other gender mainstreaming projects. What is the relationship between stakeholders who implement gender mainstreaming projects and the target group (women).
How effective are awareness campaigns on gender equality, domestic violence and community development in ensuring the implementation and sustainability of gender mainstreaming projects.
Conclusion
Rural women need support from all structures of society, they need interactive and discourse education on gender mainstreaming, women's empowerment, gender equality and community development. An enabling and enabling environment is critical for the holistic inclusion and commitment of poor rural women in gender mainstreaming and community development projects not only in Zimbabwe but in Africa at large. The title of my research is: “Gender in Community Development: Examining Women's Participation in Gender Mainstreaming Community Development Projects in Rushinga District, Zimbabwe”.
The community development projects in Rushinga district are exclusively for women and many of the projects require daily monitoring and participation.
