Crisis in education and culture and its social reflection on women: a case study of Zimbabwe, 1980 - 1988

Abstract

A ZIDS Working Paper on the "crisis" of women's education in Zimbabwe.This paper looks at the crisis of women’s education in Zimbabwe from a socio-cultural point of view; or what the author terms "edu-culture". The main argument of the paper is that in spite of numerous post-independence changes, such as free primary education, the Legal Age of Majority Act, the creation of a Ministry dealing specifically with women’s affairs, etc, women still find themselves in a man’s world. This is evidenced by institutionalised biases against women in education and training, which tend to channel women towards "female" courses, such as nursing, teaching, hairdressing, etc., while keeping them out of "male" jobs such as engineering, mechanics, architecture, and limited decision-making powers