GENDER AND LAND REFORM: ZIMBABWE AND SOME COMPARISONS

Abstract

The article compares a study of Zimbabwean land reform with several others of the same individualised holdings type in Africa and elsewhere. It makes the point that land reform programmes should be analysed with regard both to gender and class relations among the peasantry. After discussing the historical background to Zimbabwean resettlement policies, the case study takes up topics such as the provision of services, community formation, class divisions, changes in family structure and division of labour and the impact of state officials. The Zimbabwean reform appears to have had more positive effects on women than have most of the others examined. This may be due to the recent prosperity of the Resettlement Areas studied, to the (mixed) impact of a nuclear family model, and to the influence of state officials in curbing male behaviour. However, as in other cases, since women are not granted land rights, they remain dependants of men.