Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
Colonial gender structures as a contributing factor in influencing the political leadership landscape in Zimbabwe
Thesis (PhD (Political Science))--University of Pretoria, 2024.
Saved in:
| Other Authors: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Pretoria
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613548934332416 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Wielenga, Cori |
| author_browse | Wielenga, Cori |
| author_facet | Wielenga, Cori |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Thesis (PhD (Political Science))--University of Pretoria, 2024. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/100977 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:37:54.123Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/100977 Colonial gender structures as a contributing factor in influencing the political leadership landscape in Zimbabwe Wielenga, Cori nontandondhlovu@gmail.com Ndhlovu, Nontando UCTD Decoloniality Gender transformation Political leadership Gender equality Women’s political representation Zimbabwe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Thesis (PhD (Political Science))--University of Pretoria, 2024. Gender equality has become one of the significant agendas in the international, regional, and national political discourse. This has led to the creation of mechanisms that are designed to address gender inequality in governance. These various instruments include legal and policy frameworks, for example that call for the increased political participation and representation of women in leadership and decision making positions. However, for gender equality to be realized in the context of gender transformation in African politics, women’s emancipation necessitates that gender equality be situated within historical power structures deep-rooted in colonialism that inform postcolonial political structures. Using Zimbabwe as a case study, this thesis examines the ways in which gendered colonial power structures have contributed to shaping gender transformation in the political leadership landscape. It unpacks these power structures in relation to current legal and policy frameworks for gender equality, those that govern women’s political participation and representation. It adopts an interpretivist policy analysis approach, a qualitative research method which provides an understanding of how subjective interpretations and historical contexts shape policy narratives. In-depth structured interviews, policy documents, and archival records are used as primary data sources, in combination with secondary data sources including academic and non-academic materials. The findings of this study suggest that legal and policy frameworks for gender equality are inadequate in accounting for gender inequalities. Beyond merely increasing the numerical representation of women in political leadership positions, there is a need to address underlying gendered colonial structural inequalities that frame the realities of women in postcolonial Zimbabwe. The National Research Fund (NRF) Social Science Research Council (SSRC) University of Pretoria (UP) Political Sciences PhD (Political Science) Unrestricted Faculty of Humanities SDG-05:Gender equality 2025-02-17T09:15:35Z 2025-02-17T09:15:35Z 2025-04 2024-11 Thesis * A2025 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/100977 https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.28425014 en © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD Decoloniality Gender transformation Political leadership Gender equality Women’s political representation Zimbabwe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Colonial gender structures as a contributing factor in influencing the political leadership landscape in Zimbabwe |
| title | Colonial gender structures as a contributing factor in influencing the political leadership landscape in Zimbabwe |
| title_full | Colonial gender structures as a contributing factor in influencing the political leadership landscape in Zimbabwe |
| title_fullStr | Colonial gender structures as a contributing factor in influencing the political leadership landscape in Zimbabwe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Colonial gender structures as a contributing factor in influencing the political leadership landscape in Zimbabwe |
| title_short | Colonial gender structures as a contributing factor in influencing the political leadership landscape in Zimbabwe |
| title_sort | colonial gender structures as a contributing factor in influencing the political leadership landscape in zimbabwe |
| topic | UCTD Decoloniality Gender transformation Political leadership Gender equality Women’s political representation Zimbabwe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/100977 https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.28425014 |