Status and Good Behaviour How Women in Patriarchal

Status and Good Behaviour How Women in Patriarchal Zimbabwe Influence Power Holders Alix Tiernan & Róisín Gallagher Christian Aid/University of Limerick 1

Overview In rural mining communities in Zimbabwe, women seek to engage with power holders to address their concerns in relation to the mining industry. Believing that power is not only about “power-over” but also a question of empowerment, or “power-to” (Allen 2011), we analyse the strategies women use to influence decision-makers in their favour. We will show women must strike a “patriarchal bargain” (Kandiyoti, 1988) in order to legitimate themselves in the public sphere. 2

Shurugwi Town, south-central Zimbabwe 20, 000 inhabitants Mining town – gold, chrome, artisanal mining Positive and negative effects of mining 12 women – (interviews, FGDs), 4 interviews ZELA staff Ø How did they raise their concerns on mining issues?

Patriarchy and Status In patriarchal societies 1 the status of women affects how much power or influence they can have (Bourdieu 1998, Ridgeway 2010) Status inequalities can be changed by ■ reducing gender status beliefs and ■ reducing the range of contexts in which gender is culturally perceived as sufficiently relevant to measureably shape influence and status (Ridgeway 2010) This study explored this proposition through a particular case study (10 women, 6 men) 5 1 Zimbabwean culture is strongly patriarchal (Matambirofa 2014)

Understanding power Power: Essentially, it is the capacity of one actor to affect another, with or without the consent of others Often used in development theory, but originally a political concept ■ Steven Lukes (1974, 2005) used 3 dimensions of power to describe aspects of a political process, but recognises (in 3 rd dimension) the power to change the wishes of actors not necessarily through domination but by influencing other actors to act in your interest Feminist interpretation (Miller 1992, Allen 1998) focuses on the process of achieving an end, rather than the intent: ■ Miller (1992): power is the capacity to produce a change, possibly while enhancing, rather than diminishing, the power of any involved actors

Forms of power Amy Allen (1998) describes 3 forms of power 1 ■ Power over: ability of actor to constrain the choices available to another actor ■ Power to: capacity of an agent to act in spite of or in response to power wield over her by others (also known as empowerment) ■ Power with: ability of a collectivity to act together for the attainment of a common end For this study, power to was the most useful because it links most usefully with the concept of influence – an exercise of power, but not the possession of power (Morriss 2002) 1 Development theory has added a fourth – power within (Vene. Klasen and Miller 2002, Chambers 2006, Domingo et al. 2015)] 7

Examples of influence as described in case study How women influence power Examples holders By influencing local “Anyone is free to talk to the councillor about anything that is politicians, eg. councillors, not right”, eg. a group of women raised the issue of illegal gravel MPs, through formal channels digging and woodcutting, upon which the Council appointed a team of guards to police this. (Women FGD) By lobbying the Board of Trustees of the Community Trust (CSOT) "We asked the CSOT to provide funds for an expecting mother's shelter. ” (Widow, middle aged) By participating in “invited” spaces, eg. Engagement Forums on CSR, Alternative Mining Indabas "ZELA has empowered us, now we can even stand up and question what is happening in the community" (Women FGD) "We asked for an irrigation scheme, and the mining company has put an irrigation system in [our Ward]. “ (Women FGD) By putting themselves forward for election to a political position, eg. councillor “I was able to … get the mining company to fix the sewage leakage into the local river. ” (Female councillor)

By using media to bring visibility and attention to an issue of concern “You can see me on the TV, speaking about the price of gold, and that the government should recognise … that we do not have enough resources to produce more. ” (Older widow, involved in artisanal mining) Through leadership of “informal” interest groups with advocacy agendas I will take the women and say, our permit has expired. Let’s go [to the ministries] and … negotiate with them. ” (Older widow, involved in artisanal mining) By being related to or “I told the councillor, and she was able to make sure friendly with a person in a that orphans in my community were being looked after political position properly. ” (Young married woman, otherwise with little influence, who was a friend of the councillor’s daughter) 9

What gives women status

Good Behaviour Zimbabwean culture expects good moral values at all times. E. g. giving due respect to other people, especially one’s parents; cordial reception of visitors and strangers, the elderly; and doing good to others and for children; “good behaviour” or ubuntu (Matambirofa, 2013)

Good Behaviour Women have to be above reproach in terms of sexual conduct, if they were to have status in the public sphere By complying with expected social norms, they were earning the right to participate in public decision-making fora Women negotiate power by managing their behaviour so that “the outcome is seen … in context as gender appropriate – that is, accountable”, called ‘doing gender’ (West and Zimmerman 2002) Women are striking a “patriarchal bargain” (Kandiyoti 1988) in order to increase their effectiveness of their agency, but they are not challenging or transforming the restrictive aspects of patriarchal rules and norms (Kabeer 2005) 12

Implications for programming “We do these workshops on gender based violence and empowerment, [but] when we go back into the community, we abide by the patriarchal authority. ” (woman interviewed) Recommendation from this study: place more emphasis on understanding the behavioural accountability mechanisms such as “good behaviour” and “doing gender”, rather than assuming that empowerment is simply a transfer of power from power holders to the powerless

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