We Are Working for Nothing

Livelihoods and Gender Relations in Rural Zimbabwe, 2000-06

Bibliographic Data

ID2140326
AuthorsA Goebel (0000-0001-8494-7661, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume41
Issue2
Pages226-257
Publication date2007-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCanadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des études africaines (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0008-3968 • E-ISSN: 1923-3051
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00083968.2007.11434725
OpenAlexW1507940396
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited22

This article draws on interviews with women resettlement farmers in Wedza District, Zimbabwe, to trace changes in livelihood strategies and gender relations from 2000 to 2006. The research indicates a shrinking number of viable options for livelihoods, and the severe erosion of formerly critical activities. Thewomen interviewed see increases inmarital discord and collapse, with implications for family formation, social order, and survival. The article explores the linkages between changing livelihoods and gender relations, focusing especially on marriage in relation to agriculture and land issues, gendered incomes, sexuality, AIDS orphans and other effects of HIV/AIDS. Within this overall difficult context, the enduring ethic of caring and the buffering effects of people’s access to arable land and other natural resources are apparent. Throughout, the article discusses the theoretical implications of the research, participating in debates about regional conditions and theoretical understandings of labour, economy, livelihoods and gender in southern Africa

Agriculture · Arable land · Context (archaeology) · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Gender relations · Geography · Livelihood · Political science · Socioeconomics · Sociology · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Gender Studies · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare