The paradox of women in Zimbabwe: Emancipation, liberation, and traditional African values Byline: Ballard-Reisch, Deborah S; Turner, Paaige K; Sarratea, Marcia Volume: 24 Number: 2 ISSN: 87554550 Publication Date: 10-01-2001 Page: 65 Type: Periodical Language: English Abstract: Over twenty years ago, future Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe linked the struggle for liberation with the emancipation of women and the reclamation of traditional African values. Two decades later, differing interpretations of these concepts have led to unique paradoxes amongst those we define in this paper as Emancipationists, those who seek equality for women with men, and those we define as Traditionalists, those who seek to retain male dominance over women. Moreover, when taken together, these interpretations inhibit a woman' s ability to remove herself from a pervasive internal struggle regarding the status and roles of women in society thereby closing the paradox around her creating a reality in which women can both study to be magistrates and be beaten on the streets for wearing mini-skirts. In this paper we articulate how these concepts became linked, the inconsistencies of the interpretations given to the terms emancipation and traditional African values by both Emancipationists and Traditionalists, and how defining liberation as the rejection of western values makes reconciliation of divergent views all but impossible. Deborah's View In April 1998, I had the opportunity to teach magistrates, Supreme Court Justices and judicial educators for two weeks in Nyanga and Harare, Zimbabwe. On the last day of my trip, two young female magistrates invited me to see the "real" Harare, to go with them to an open air bazaar. I eagerly accepted the invitation. We rode public transportation, a small overcrowded van, to the center of town, an area much different from the "western" section of the city in which the seminars had been held. Here people lived in huge, multistory apartment complexes, and laundry hung from balconies. The bazaar itself was large and contained farmers selling food, crafters selling wood and metal work, and merchants selling clothes. Not long after our arrival, I noted that I heard regular hissing. When I looked, I could not tell from where the sounds were coming. After about 45 minutes, I asked the magistrates who had accompanied me. They told me that men in the bazaar were making their displeasure known and that they, the magistrates, were the targets. They told me that because they were dressed in jeans and t-- shirts (one also wore a baseball hat) that they were considered immodest, too western, uppity and that if they had not been with me, the reaction might have been even more extreme. They told me the story of a young woman attacked at the University of Zimbabwe by a group of young men. She was stripped, beaten, and chased through the streets naked for wearing a mini-skirt. They told me that this type of attack was becoming more common. As the economic situation worsened and men became more frustrated, felt more impotent, and violence against women increased. They further explained that this violence, even against strangers, was an attempt to control women-to put them in their place. The rest of the afternoon was mostly uneventful. We visited crafters; I purchased souvenirs and took pictures. I enjoyed this cultural experience, but it was sobering to think that the vibrant, young women with me, for whom national independence seemed to represent so much potential, were facing such a strong backlash. The aim seemed to be to return women to a secondary, and in fact subservient, status to men. It was particularly sobering to think that these women's potential might never be realized. Paaige's View In October 1999, I sat at the OSCLG (Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender) conference and listened to Deborah' s recounting of her experiences in Zimbabwe and Russia. As I listened, I thought to myself "these women will never escape." As each story unfolded, I heard the assumptions of the first story contradicting the goals of the next. My work on paradox and midwives led me to understand that these women were not caught within a single paradox. Their lives, their children's and families' lives and their country was caught within webs of contradiction that effectively stopped them from achieving or even wanting their dreams. While I couldn't change the circumstances in which they seemed trapped, I thought to myself, perhaps we can at least help them to see the traps. Marcia's View I started the master's program in the Department of Health Ecology at the University of Nevada in the Fall of 2000. I was chosen to work as Deborah's graduate assistant. I was drawn to her interest in women' s health issues. As we were deciding what task I would take on as a graduate assistant, we began to discuss Deborah's trip to Zimbabwe and her experiences there. She brought up the idea of writing a paper looking at the status of women in Zimbabwe and it's impact on their health. As we talked further we thought it would be interesting to research the evolution of the status of women in Zimbabwe starting in the pre-colonial era. As we researched the current health of women we discovered many detrimental threats to their health. However, HIV/AIDS was the most horrific. We began to see how the treatment of women over time has contributed significantly to the spread of this deadly disease. A paper from this work was presented at the 2000 Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender (OSCLG) conference. Following that conference, the three of us decided to collaborate on this project, situating the status of women in Zimbabwe within the framework of paradox.1 For this paper, we set out to understand how Zimbabwe, the country touted as a model for Africa, a leading light in the rights of women following its independence in 1980 (Tucker, 1999) could come to this point, where women could study to be magistrates yet be beaten and stripped of their clothes on the streets for wearing miniskirts. At independence in 1980, Zimbabwe distinguished itself from other African countries by committing state resources to helping women attain equality with men. According to Marsha Freeman, director of the International Women's Rights Action Watch, this made Zimbabwe a "leading light in Africa" (Tucker, 1999, p. A35). The state's institutional and ideological commitment was to the equality of women and men while respecting Zimbabwe' s cultural values and traditions (Ranchod-- Nilsson, 1998) including the involvement of women in economic development and growth. This commitment appeared on the face to offer the women and men of Zimbabwe an opportunity to move forward into a present where women are emancipated, while recapturing their traditional values and throwing off the western colonial influences that had modified their cultures. Over twenty years later, the promise of this commitment has not been realized.2 In this paper, we explore the dynamics through which Zimbabwe has passed some of the most progressive legislation in all of Africa regarding gender equity while at the same time continuing and even strengthening the subjugation of women to men. We believe that there are multiple paradoxes affecting gender relations in Zimbabwe, some unique to specific groups and some shared across groups . We will explore the views of two predominant groups which we have labeled, Emancipationists and Traditionalists. Emancipationists seek equality for women with men. This goal becomes paradoxical when they define emancipation as achieving western equality for women while advocating the return to traditional African values. Traditionalists seek to retain male dominance over women. This goal becomes paradoxical when they define emancipation in ways that retain the advantages men enjoyed under western traditions while advocating the return to traditional African values. The goal that binds together the interests of Emancipationists and Traditionalists, effectively preventing either from leaving the discursive field, is the liberation of Zimbabwe from Western rule. This goal becomes paradoxical for both groups when liberation is to be achieved by retaining western traditions. While both groups are enmeshed in paradox, the paradoxes facing the Emancipationists are the only ones being voiced in the culture at large and they are the group being silenced. Creating Paradoxes Paradoxes traditionally have been viewed as anomalies to be solved, controlled, or manipulated. They also can be used to gain counter intuitive insights into power relations by revealing discontinuity (Wendt, 1998). Once the discontinuity is revealed, the motivations, benefits, limitations, and alternatives become more available for discussion. A paradox generally is understood to be a series of contradictory messages. Yet it is important to recognize that in order for a message to become paradoxical it also must be situated and interpreted within a specific relational and historical context. According to Wood and Conrad (1983), a paradox consists of a complementary relationship where the persons) with less power repeatedly receives messages that have: a. a primary negative injunction which prohibits a particular action through a threat to withhold rewards or to deliver punishments, and b. a secondary injunction at a more abstract level that is inconsistent with the primary injunction, frequently is communicated nonverbally, and typically comments on the relationship of the participants (e.g., "I insist that you dominate me"), and c. tertiary injunction that prohibits the person with less power from leaving the field either psychologically or physically (p. 306). While these injunctions are separated conceptually, a single statement can embody all three injunctions depending upon the interpretations and values used to define the statement as a whole or specific concepts contained within the statement. For example, a woman may have been told always to act like a lady, and yet to be a good employee she may have to crawl under heavy equipment. These two messages may or may not collide to create a paradoxical situation (Birch-Szolwinski, 1996). Whether they do or not may depend upon an issue as seemingly innocuous as whether she is wearing a dress or a pants suit-or in the case of Zimbabwe, whether the speaker bases her or his claims upon Emancipationist or Traditionalist interpretations. Understanding paradoxes to be the construction of localized contingences widens the focus of inquiry beyond, "What paradoxes exist" to include questions of why and who. Why are claims viewed as conflicting? Who is determining that an error has occurred? We believe that the present situation in Zimbabwe is best seen as the result of relational and historical contingences that both link and support inconsistent interpretations of the concepts emancipation, liberation, and traditional African values. Moreover, when taken together, these interpretations inhibit a woman's ability to remove herself from a pervasive internal struggle regarding the status and roles of women in society thereby closing the paradox around her. Below we describe how these concepts became linked, the inconsistencies in the interpretations given to the terms emancipation and traditional African values by both Emancipationists and Traditionalists, and how defining liberation as the rejection of western values serves to rigidify interpretations of appropriate gender relations in Zimbabwe. Emancipate Women While Liberating Zimbabwe and Returning to Traditional African Values The national struggle . . .became as much a process towards the liberation of the nation as towards the emancipation of women. (Robert Mugabe, future president of Zimbabwe, speaking in 1979 about the fight for independence, as quoted in Ranchod-Nilsson, 1998, p. 256) Zimbabwe was a British colony for over 80 yearsfrom the development of the British South Africa Company in 1889 through the unilateral declaration of independence in 1965 by white settlers and led by Prime Minister Ian Smith. Indigenous Africans immediately organized themselves into a resistance movement that won independence from the apartheid- style policies of white minority rule in 1980. Future president Robert Mugabe's linking of the struggle for national rights and a return to traditional values meant independence for both the country and women. In response, many of the women of Zimbabwe did more than struggle--they fought. Twenty five percent of guerrilla troops in the liberation armies, the Zimbabwe African National Union (led by Robert Mugabe - Shona tribe) and the Zimbabwe African People' s Union (led by Joshua Nkomo - Ndebele tribe), were women (Ranchod- - Nilsson, 1998; Snyder & Tadesse, 1997). Urban women became soldiers while rural women supported the guerrillas with food, shelter and information during mobilization efforts (Ranshon-Nilsson, 1998). The achievement of independence from the British heralded a time of great potential for the advancement of the status of women in Zimbabwe. In 1981 the Ministry of Community Development and Women's Affairs/ Women's League was created for the purpose of "facilitating the involvement of women in national development through the removal of all legal, cultural and socio-economic barriers that hinder the full participation of women" (MCDWA 1983, cited in Ranchod-Nilsson, 1998, p. 266). Reform targeted issues including disparities in education and literacy; funding and access to healthcare; land, property and inheritance rights; representation in government; and women's status as independent adults (Ranshod-Nilsson, 2001). As a result of these initiatives, significant laws were passed to advance the status of women. These laws include 1) the Legal Age of Majority Act (passed in 1982), which ended women's status as perpetual minors and gave them rights to own property, to contract a marriage without parental or family consent, to become guardians of their children, and to sue and be sued as individuals; 2) the Maintenance Amendment Act (passed in 1997), which required men to provide financial support and maintenance to ex-wives and children in the case of divorce; and 3) the Administration of Estates Amendment Act (passed in 1997),which provided that a surviving spouse and children could inherit the deceased' s property. Finally, Zimbabwe ratified the International Bill of Rights for Women (Kwinje, 1998), under the auspices of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (U.S. Department of State, 1999). Mugabe's prophesy that the struggle for freedom would link the liberation of the country and emancipation of women proved to be accurate. However, underlying this claim is a growing discontinuity regarding the meaning of women's emancipation and the traditional African roles of women. Paradox of Emancipationists Emancipationists, as we have defined them in this paper, interpreted the promised liberation to mean a more democratic, egalitarian sociopolitcal system that would return to women their traditional African roles. (Ranchod-- Nilsson, 1998). Ultimately, this becomes the foundation for their paradoxical claims. Emancipation, within an egalitarian sociopolitical system, becomes defined in a manner that is consistent with western definitions of equality, but antithetical to aspects of traditional African roles. While there is some debate that views of the precolonial period may be distorted by assumptions perpetuated during colonialism, there is a general consensus on the pre-colonial structure of African societies (Jacobs, 1992). Pre-colonial society in Zimbabwe was largely male dominated though women had a limited range of rights and a degree of autonomy. Jacobs (1992) lists the rights of women during pre-colonial times as the right to dispose of income from their own crops, the right to have children, and the right to refuse marriage upon widowhood. Prescribed roles based on gender hierarchies were the norm in the economic development of African societies, but both male and female roles were looked upon as important to the livelihood of the community (Umerah-Udezulu, 1999). "A balance of economic responsibility prevailed between women and men, and the work of both was valued in a largely non-competitive division of labor" (Synder & Tadesse, 1997, p. 76). Traditional cultural norms reflected this balance between role fixation and role value. Many of Zimbabwe's traditional cultural norms were eroded during colonialism. The British developed a dual legal system that consisted of customary law and general law. Customary law was their interpretation and codification of traditional African law. General law was based on Roman-Dutch common law (Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, 1997). Women's positions deteriorated under colonialism, while men's positions were enhanced. This was largely the result of both capitalist development and the creation of customary law that legally subordinated women to men (Jacobs, 1992). Snyder and Tadesse (1997) and Umerah-Udezulu (1999) regard colonialism and its market economy as revolutionizing the family division of labor and the family itself. Snyder and Tadesse (1997) credit this aspect of colonialism for women's involvement in the independence movement, stating that "women's historic protests against economic policies laid the groundwork for them to join men in the struggle for independence from colonialism and became the foundation of the women and development movement" (p. 78). Emancipationists have not only sought to return to women the role value they had during the pre-colonial period, but also to grant them full freedom and equality with men. This view has been the foundation for progressive laws passed by the Zimbabwean parliament between 1982 and 1997 that are still regularly considered today. Grounded in western constructs developed during the late 19'h century and throughout the 20`" century, this definition of emancipation extends women's rights and roles beyond those women experienced in both colonial and pre- colonial times. At the core of the paradox for Emancipationists is the conflict between the goals of full equality between women and men and the reclamation of traditional African values. While women had some limited powers in traditional African cultures, they had neither the same rights that western equality grants nor equality with men. Conversely, they did retain a role value in traditional cultures not held during British rule. This incongruity led Emancipationists to focus on the emancipation of women and those elements of African tradition that acknowledge the value of women's roles. Paradox of Traditionalists Women are talking too much .... We men cannot run away from our traditional customs just because they are making noise. In the end family structures will be destroyed because there won't be any harmony in the home. (Silvanus Mubwandarikwa, Zimbabwean citizen in reacting to women's requests for rights, excerpted in Sister Namibia, 1999, p. 44) In response to the passage of progressive legislation by the Zimbabwean parliament, Traditionalists, President Mugabe, and to an increasing extent, the court system have defined emancipation for women as the freedom to return only to those pre-colonial African traditions that sustain male dominance. What makes this definition paradoxical is that Traditionalists are attempting to define emancipation such that men retain the status and power granted to them under British customary law while at the same time liberating Zimbabwe from the influences of British rule. In short, Traditionalists want both liberation from the British and the benefits that British rule had brought to men. The response to the passage of emancipating legislation was and continues to be a swift and comprehensive backlash. Every new law passed by the Zimbabwean parliament and every request for a change in policy to ensure the advancement of women has been systematically criticized as anti-African and antitraditional. Increasingly these issues have been decided in the court. In a sweeping decision in March 1999, the Zimbabwe Supreme Court decided on a 5-0 vote that the nature of African society dictates that women are not equal to men, especially in family relationships. The court referred to unwritten African cultural norms in both the Shona and Ndebele tribes that viewed women as minors within the family who could never rise above the status of "junior males" or teen-agers. They further noted that customary law gives preference to males as heirs and argued that, although this may be viewed as discriminatory, the anti-discrimination clause in the Zimbabwe constitution (Section 23) does not in fact, refer to discrimination based on sex. They argued that, in fact, devolution of property upon death and issues relating to African customary law are specifically excluded from the anti-discrimination provision. Finally, the court concluded that if daughters were permitted to inherit, it would disrupt the African customary laws of society. This decision reversed 20 years of advancement for women and is in direct conflict with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which Zimbabwe, along with 168 other countries, has ratified (United Nations, 2001). While there is some legitimacy to the claim that precolonial Zimbabwe was male dominated, it is also clear that women held significantly more rights than they are now being allowed under independence. The challenges of Traditionalists to emancipating legislation have arisen because the increased power of women began to threaten some of the male-domination based privileges institutionalized during colonialism (Ranchod-Nilsson, 2001). An understanding of this dynamic requires a more thorough assessment of the processes and products of colonialism. Staudt (1989) argued that colonialism set the stage for state structures designed to solidify female subordination. Policies and practices of European settlers fundamentally reshaped gender relations among Africans, a goal central to colonialism (Schmidt, 1992). The struggles between women and men, which developed in response to these colonial policies, reached such proportions that tribal leaders called the British colonial state in to mediate. The colonial government upheld legislation that sought to reinforce male control over all aspects of women's lives from sexuality through labor (Barnes, 1999; Staudt, 1989). African women were legally constructed as perpetual minors under the guardianship of men. Men became legally entitled to the payment of bridewealth (lobola) and retained all rights to property and children upon divorce (Jacobs, 1992). Further, land consolidation and settlement policies gave title deeds to men as heads of household, even when they were absent from the farm (Snyder & Tadesse, 1997). With this policy men now had legal rights to the proceeds of the land, including the products of women's labor, which women traditionally had controlled. Additionally, the introduction of cash cropping and a wage economy during colonialism further enhanced men's status and prestige. Changes such as these diminished the value ascribed to women' s work, even though women often worked continuously and for more hours than men (Jacobs, 1992; Umerah-Udezulu, 1999). While many traditional norms were eroded during colonialism others that had some degree of flexibility in pre-colonial times became rigidly imposed with the codification of customary law (Jacobs, 1992; Ranchod- - Nilsson, 1998). Just as the remains of the formalized British legal system allowed women to advance legislative remedies to their situation, so too did it create a site for men to argue in the courts for the continuation of their enhanced status. Since the gender relations established under British colonial law had some connection to traditional African tribal law, Traditionalists were able to ground their claims in tribal, customary, and general law. As Emancipationists could only weakly ground their claims in tribal laws, they have had to rely more strongly on the promise of emancipation, made by Mugabe and others during the struggle for independence, and the laws passed by the Zimbabwean parliament after independence. Paradox of Emancipationists and Traditionalists If these are ideas being brought by whites amongst you as they came from Europe, they are bringing terrible ideas... Mapanduka (Shona for "you have become rebellious"). (Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe, responding to a request that women be permitted to own property jointly with their husbands, as quoted in Matimba-- Mumba, August 5, 1994, p. 2) Both Emancipationists and Traditionalists espouse a shared goal of liberating Zimbabwe from Western rule, yet each draws upon western definitions and traditions to substantiate their claims of returning to traditional African values. As noted above, the struggle between women's rights and men's control and domination of women has not silenced women or men. Instead, it has lead to a great deal of confusion about how to negotiate the various claims. Women have continued to lobby for legislation and the enforcement of laws granting them emancipation. As women have voiced their concerns and continued to make demands, President Mugabe, who initially was viewed as a strong supporter of women's rights and freedoms, has become more and more verbal in his attacks on women's requests. He has claimed as many Traditionalists do, that these legislative and social efforts are western feminist interventions designed to undermine the culture and traditions of Zimbabwe (Ranchod-Nilsson, 1998). In making this claim, Mugabe suppresses and selects specific interpretations. He suppresses that it is the Zimbabwe parliament passing the progressive laws in the first place. He suppresses the traditional value placed upon the roles of women in pre-colonial Zimbabwe. Instead, he selects the British codification of customary law. He selects the authority of men over women implicit in traditionally prescribed gender roles. The answer to Mugabe's statement, "If these are ideas being brought by whites amongst you as they came from Europe..." is yes and no. Many of the new laws and acts passed following independence clearly have their foundation in western traditions and attempt to advance the position of women beyond African traditions. Yet, many of the requests made by women have their foundation in what had traditionally been much more flexible African customs prior to colonization. Ironically, these conflicting claims and views were brought into focus by the exposure of both women and men to western gender relations and by Mugabe himself when he first linked the emancipation of women with the freedom of Zimbabwe in 1979. In raising this issue, Mugabe establishes a tertiary injunction that limits the ability of women to move beyond current gender relations. Those who want liberation and emancipation cannot have both when the emancipation they want is defined as western and liberation is the rejection of western ideals. What is left unsaid is that Traditionalists have also defined the emancipation of women according to western colonial values of subordination. Zimbabwe in Paradox Zimbabwe is caught in the throes of multiple, internal paradoxes. The struggle for independence as constructed by President Mugabe over twenty years ago embodied the claims that 1) liberation for Zimbabwe meant reclaiming traditional African values and 2) liberation was co-- determinate with the emancipation of women. Whether Mugabe meant that women would be emancipated to return to their traditional roles, that they would enjoy new freedoms, or that they would return to traditional roles as interpreted through colonial customary law is uncertain. What is clear is that the linking of emancipation, liberation, and traditional African values has contributed to the construction of conflicting views of how women and men are to experience the liberation of Zimbabwe. As Traditionalists attempt to retain gender relations established under British rule and to reestablish traditional controls over women, they have moved beyond labeling to the physical assault of women who display western forms of dress, a circumstance that has been "noted with concern" by the U.N. Human Rights Committee (Deng, 1998). Until the paradoxes surrounding emancipation and traditional African values are reconciled, it will be possible for women to be both magistrates and beaten. The struggle over these paradoxes has lasted now for 20 years and will continue to frame not only gender relationships in Zimbabwe but also economic, political, health, and social issues for the foreseeable future. The African Charter on Human and People's Rights (the African Charter) states: African women are absolutely essential to the survival of their families, communities and nations. Not only do they form more than 50 per cent of the African population, but they also constitute the majority of entrepreneurs in the informal sector, they head more than half of African rural households, and they perform the bulk of the agricultural labour. It follows that a lack of investment in the wellbeing of women undermines efforts to achieve broader social, political and economic goals. This means that the protection of women's rights is absolutely crucial. (Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), 1997, p. 1) As noted at the beginning of this paper, the most significant crisis facing Zimbabwe today is the AIDS epidemic. While women are blamed for the spread of this disease, the construction of gender relations according to traditional values and the interpretations given to those relations by Traditionalists, have taken the major contributing factors out of women's control. Although condom use is increasing overall, men typically still use condoms sporadically. One out of five women are involved in polygamous unions, which encourage the spread of AIDS to multiple partners. Women whose husbands die are traditionally given to their husband's brother (widow inheritance) despite the fact that precolonial women had the right to refuse marriage upon widowhood (Jacobs, 1992). Priscilla Misihairambwi, coordinator of the Women and Aids Support Network (WASN), concluded that the cultural expectation in Zimbabwe is that women will be obedient to their husbands. "Women do not have the power to say 'no', neither do they have the means to protect themselves" (quoted in Rusere, 1996). The political, social and economic impact of this crisis has been severe. Increasingly dire conditions in Zimbabwe have led President Mugabe to abandon the developing market economy for a socialist system (St. Louis PostDispatch, October 16, 2001). In addition, President Mugabe's practice of seizing land from white settlers and redistributing it among black nationals has received widespread international condemnation (Financial Gazette, October 25, 2001). Moreover, reports by the Financial Gazette in Zimbabwe (October 23, 2001) indicate that President Mugabe and his supporters are stockpiling arms in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Namibia in anticipation of conflict surrounding next year's presidential election. While many issues are contributing to the deterioration of Zimbabwe, it is clear that a significant factor is the tension surrounding the role of women. Unlike the liberation war, the present holds little promise that women will be able to successfully raise their own agenda (Villalon, 1998), especially since many Traditionalist men hold the formal positions of government that are defining the new nationalist identity. For many women, the explicit linking of emancipation, liberation, and traditional African values while constructing the three in opposition excludes them from this identity. In the Shona language, the word mutorwa means outside . Zimbabwean women activists use this word to describe women's current position in their country. Having lost their earlier claims to insider status gained through their contribution to the independence movement, women have been relegated to the role of culture keepers. These present-day activists realize that achieving emancipation will not be easy. As Rudo Kwaramba, Director of the Musasa Project, a women's resource center in Harare, stated, "Don't make any mistake - we are challenging the national idea of family and culture, because the national idea of family and culture are tools for men to keep women as inferior beings... Men aren't going to like that, and it's going to take a long time to change" (cited in Tucker, 1999, p. A35). Whether women will be able to reclaim their status as insiders and reconcile the paradoxes surrounding the emancipation of women, the liberation of Zimbabwe, and the return to traditional African values depends on whether they can effectively negotiate and redefine the paradoxes they face. FOOTNOTE Notes FOOTNOTE The authors would like to thank Nyasha Muyambo, Prosecutor, Mutare, Zimbabwe and Jaime Anstee, doctoral student in Social Psychology, University of Nevada for their research assistance, Doug Turner, Bob Reisch, and Mary Elton for their editorial assistance. I The problem of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe is such a significant topic it cannot be covered adequately in this paper. However, we do feel that the groundwork we lay here for understanding gender roles in Zimbabwe will position others to do this valuable work. 2 In fact, in 2001, Zimbabwe is a country in disarray. According to FOOTNOTE UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO), over 25% of the adult population is HIV positive and of those 57% are women. Over 900,000 children under age 15 have lost one or both parents since the epidemic began (United Nations and World Health Organization, 2000). Inflation is rampant, unemployment has at times been over 30%, and the human development index has fallen to below 1980 levels (Ranchod-Nilsson, 1998). In addition, rates of rape, domestic violence and stranger violence against women are on the increase (U.S. Department of State, 1999). REFERENCE References REFERENCE Barnes, T. A. (1999). "We women worked so hard": Gender, urbanization, and social reproduction in colonial Harare, Zimbabwe, 1930-1956. New Hampshire: Heinemann. Birch-Szolwinski, J. (1996). Micro and macro paradoxes in and of organizational communication: The case of women in engineering. Unpublished master' s thesis, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. REFERENCE Center for Reproductive Law and Policy 1 (1997). Zimbabwe. Women of the World: Anglophone Africa. (http://www.crlp.org/publications.html) Deng, J. (1998, April 12). Human rights in Zimbabwe: Women in miniskirts take to the streets. IGC Internet News: InterPress Third World News Agency. (http://www.igc.org.) Jacobs, S. (1992). Gender and land reform: Zimbabwe and some comparisons. International Sociology, 7, 5-34. Kwinje, G. (1998, April 2). Convention on discrimination against women remains powerless. PanAfrican News Agency. (Newsbank Info Web-Global Newsbank). Matimba-Mumba, T. (1994, August 5). Zimbabwe: Mugabe's stance on land for women irks rights advocates. Inter Press Service, pp. 1-2. Peta, B. (2001, October 23). ZANU PF readies for war. Financial Gazette, Zimbabwe REFERENCE (http://www.africaonline.com/site/Articles/1,3,42233.jsp). Ranchod- Nilsson, S. (2001). Zimbabwe: Women's rights and African custom. In L. Walter (Ed.), Women's rights: A global view, (pp. 199- 212). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publication Group. Ranchod-Nilsson, S. (1998). Zimbabwe: Women, cultural crisis, and the reconfiguration of the one-party state. In L. A. Villalon & P. A. Huxtable (Eds.), The African state at a critical juncture: Between disintegration and reconfiguration (pp. 255-275). Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. Rusere, P. (1996, February 22). ZIMBABWE-WOMEN: Caught in the AIDS Trap InterPress News Service (IPS). (http://www.aegis.com/news/ips/1996/ IP960202. html). Sarratea, M., Anstee, J., Muyambo, N., & Ballard-Reisch, D. (2000, October). Barriers, challenges and opportunities: A contextual look at feminism in Zimbabwe. Paper presented at the annual REFERENCE conference of the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, & Gender, Milwaukee, WI. Schmidt, E. (1992). Peasants, traders, and wives: Shona women in the history of Zimbabwe, 1870-1939. Portsmouth: Heinemann. Sister Namibia. (1999, December 31). Women work the land, men own it. Sister Namibia, 11 (3&4), p. 44. (Gender Watch: www.softlineweb.com) REFERENCE Snyder, M., & Tadesse, M. (1997). The African context: Women in the political economy. In N. Visvanathan, L. Duggan, L. Nisonoff, & N. Wiegersma (Eds.), The women, gender and development reader (pp. 75- 78). New Jersey: Zed Books Ltd. Staff Reporter. (2001, October 25). Zimbabwe threatens to dump Abuja. Financial Gazette, Zimbabwe (http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/africa/10/25/ zimbabwe.commonwealth.reut/index.html). Staudt, K. (1989). The state and gender in colonial Africa. In S.E.M. Charlton, J. Everett & K. Staudt (Eds.), Women, the state, and development (pp. 66-85). New York: State University of New York Press. REFERENCE The Associated Press (2001, October 16) Zimbabwe abandons market economy for socialist system. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, A section (Pp. 9). Tucker, N. (1999, April 18). New ruling strips women in Zimbabwe of most rights. Knight-Ridder Newspapers; The Times-Picayune, p. A35. (Lexis-Nexis: www.Lexis-Nexis.com). Umerah-Udezulu, I. E. (1999). The state and feminization of developmental processes in West Africa. In V. U. James & J. S. Etim (Eds.), The feminization of development processes in Africa: Current and future perspectives (pp. 67-93). Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. REFERENCE UNAIDS and World Health Organization (WHO). Epidemiological fact sheet on HIV/AIDS and STI's 2000. Update: Zimbabwe 3 (2000). (http://www.unaids.org/hivaidsinfo/ statistics/june00/fact-sheets/pdgs/Zimbabwe.pdf) United Nations (May, 2001) Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. Division for the advancement of women. [Online] Available: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/ U.S. Department of State, Human Rights Report. (1999). 1999 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Zimbabwe. [Online], Available: http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp_report/ Villalon, L. A. (1998). The African state at the end of the twentieth century: parameters REFERENCE of the critical juncture. In L. A. Villalon & P. A. Huxtable (Eds.), The African state at a critical juncture: Between disintegration and reconfiguration (pp. 3-25). Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. Wendt, R. (1998). The sound of one hand clapping: Counterintuitive lessons extracted from paradoxes and double binds in participative organizations. Management Communication Quarterly, 11, 323371. REFERENCE Wood, J. T., & Conrad, C. (1983). Paradox in the experiences of professional women. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 47, 305-322. Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) (1997). African Charter on Human and People's Rights (the African Charter). (http://www.wildaf.org.zw/news5.html) AUTHOR_AFFILIATION Deborah S. Ballard-Reisch, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Health Ecology Department at the University of Nevada. AUTHOR_AFFILIATION Paaige K. Turner, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Saint Louis University. AUTHOR_AFFILIATION Marcia Sarratea is a Masters student in Public Health at the University of Nevada. Ballard-Reisch, Deborah S; Turner, Paaige K; Sarratea, Marcia, The paradox of women in Zimbabwe: Emancipation, liberation, and traditional African values. , Women and Language, 10-01-2001, pp 65.