The intersection of culture and gender in local governance: A case of Zimbabwean rural women

Abstract

This study examines the intersection of culture and gender in shaping women’s participation in local governance in Zimbabwe against the backdrop of persistent gender disparities despite constitutional guarantees of equality in leadership and decision-making. Employing a sequential qualitative research design, the study draws on a desk review, secondary data from an earlier study conducted in Mutoko District, and key informant interviews. Guided by Intersectionality Theory, it investigates how patriarchal cultural norms intersect with kinship relations, gendered social expectations, marital status, socio-economic conditions, and spatial inequalities to constrain women’s participation in local governance. Thematic analysis generated three interrelated themes that demonstrate that women’s marginalisation is produced through multiple, overlapping, and mutually reinforcing forms of discrimination rather than gender alone. The findings reveal that relational discrimination, embedded within familial hierarchies, kinship networks, marital relations, and community power structures, operates alongside prescribed gender roles and intersecting social identities to limit women’s political participation. These constraints are further intensified by weak political party mobilisation in rural communities, limited economic opportunities, and persistent rural–urban inequalities in infrastructure, digital connectivity, and access to public services. The study recommends a multidimensional policy approach that leverages Zimbabwe’s devolution agenda to strengthen women’s participation through economic empowerment, gender-responsive local governance institutions, improved rural infrastructure and digital inclusion, institutionalised gender-sensitive social services, and sustained civic education aimed at transforming patriarchal norms.