https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5930 2026-04-22T04:08:52Z 2026-04-22T04:08:52Z Shingirai Mugambiwa https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6892 2025-11-03T13:54:53Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Impact of Climate Change on Agricultural Risks in Southern Africa: A Case Study of Mutoko District, Zimbabwe Authors: Shingirai Mugambiwa Abstract: Agricultural production in rural Zimbabwe is severely constrained by climate change. This paper investigates the impact of climate change on agricultural risks in rural Zimbabwe, focusing specifically on changes in temperature and precipitation patterns as well as increased frequency of extreme weather events. This study utilized a qualitative methodology to discern the understanding of local farmers concerning climate change adaptation on agricultural risks. The study employed in-depth interviews and focus group discussions as data collection instruments. Purposive sampling was employed to select twenty (20) small-scale farmers and ten (10) key informants, namely agricultural specialists, agronomy experts, and local leadership in particular leaders from crops-related committees based on ward structures within the agriculture and rural development sectors of Mutoko district. The study found that agriculture risks in the district are exacerbated due to factors such as decreased crop yields and increased pest or disease incidence that worsen food insecurity. The study concludes that due to insufficient institutional support for rural communities in Zimbabwe, adaptation efforts towards climate change impacts on agriculture tend not to yield anticipated outcomes. The paper recommends adaptive approaches to reduce agricultural risks and increase agricultural resiliency in the district

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Shingirai Mugambiwa Moyo, Talent Hungwe, Chipo https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6772 2026-03-02T10:11:03Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: ‘It’s a disaster’: youth care and support for older adults in Zimbabwe Authors: Moyo, Talent; Hungwe, Chipo Abstract: Research on the provision of care and support for older adults in Zimbabwe has not fully engaged with or focused on young people’s attitudes towards the care of older adults. Drawing on arguments from the philosophy of Ubuntu and intergenerational theories, we argue that although caring for older adults is an entrenched norm within the cultural value system, the prevailing harsh neoliberal economic environment makes it difficult for younger Zimbabweans to care for their older family members ungrudgingly. These findings are based on a qualitative study of 12 residents of Gweru (Zimbabwe’s third largest city) aged between 21 and 35. They confirm that the extended family network has weakened. The findings also reveal the reciprocal nature of care and support, the negative effects of neoliberalism on the ability to provide care, the government’s reluctance to care for older adults, and the perception of rural areas as spaces of retirement for older adults.

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Moyo, Talent Hungwe, Chipo Choto, Tafadzwa Blessing https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6768 2025-09-22T14:38:27Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: ‘Treated like children born out of wedlock’: the development and the neglect of women’s football in post-colonial Zimbabwe Authors: Choto, Tafadzwa Blessing Abstract: Women's football in Zimbabwe was institutionalised in 1980 at independence but has evidently been neglected by the Zimbabwe Football Association and the government. This neglect is a manifestation of the phenomenon of ‘negative integration'. This is demonstrated in the negligible way that women's football has been treated throughout the years in comparison with the men's national team. This is a situation metaphorically described by former Zimbabwe Women Soccer League chairperson Mavis Gumbo as ‘being treated like children born out of wedlock'. This was illustrated when the women's national football team qualified for the Rio 2016 summer Olympics, becoming the first Zimbabwean football team to play in a major intercontinental tournament. The team was hailed as ‘national heroines and patriots’ by prominent voices including President Robert Mugabe, titles that carry significant political meaning in the Zimbabwean context. However, upon returning the players where only given a paltry transport allowance and practically abandoned by the authorities, an incident described by the local media as a back to reality moment. This reflects a broader contradictory approach to gender issues in post-colonial Zimbabwe by the political authorities who conveniently publicly express support for gender equality, whilst simultaneously neglecting to reform gender oppressive institutions.

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Choto, Tafadzwa Blessing Chadambuka, Patience Muridzo, Noel Garikai Hungwe, Chipo Mugari, Zvenyika Eckson https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6767 2025-09-22T14:22:18Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: They do not perceive us as people”: women with disabilities’ access to key social services during the COVID‑19 pandemic: a Zimbabwean case study Authors: Chadambuka, Patience; Muridzo, Noel Garikai; Hungwe, Chipo; Mugari, Zvenyika Eckson Abstract: This study sought to discover how women with disabilities (WWDs) fared at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with regard to access to key social services. Fieldwork was conducted in April 2022 among 104 women in three low-income areas of Caledonia, Epworth, and Hatcliffe within Harare Metropolitan Province. The key social services studied are information, water, health, education, and protection from gender-based violence (GBV). The study utilises the structural violence and social suffering theoretical lenses to analyse the institutionalised marginalisation of women with disabilities in relation to access to basic social services during the COVID-19 era. Findings reveal that the pandemic amplified the marginalisation, inequities, exclusion, and challenges confronted by persons with disabilities (PWDs) in general and, specifically, gender and social class inequalities faced by poor women in the Zimbabwean society. The intersection of vulnerabilities arising from gender, social class, disabilities, and the pandemic itself created insurmountable challenges for WWDs. Resolving these challenges is important to creating an inclusive environment for WWDs to thrive. The government, local authorities, and NGOs need to mainstream disability issues in service provision regardless of whether or not there is a pandemic.

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z Chadambuka, Patience Muridzo, Noel Garikai Hungwe, Chipo Mugari, Zvenyika Eckson