The lives of girls in Zimbabwe
Sooner or later, the time would come to write an article about gender inequality. A reality that affects all women, including girls in Zimbabwe, and one that, as a woman myself, I feel particularly connected to. However, there is an important aspect that is still discussed far too little, yet is essential to truly understanding these inequalities: not all women experience them in the same way.
Why talk about intersectionality?
Although gender inequalities persist in Western countries, just as they do in other parts of the world, the way a woman experiences them depends on her circumstances. Gender, in fact, does not exist in isolation: it intersects with many other aspects of life, such as economic status, geographical background, sexuality, disability, or family circumstances. These factors can overlap and reinforce one another, meaning that experiences that may appear similar are, in reality, very different. Because if being a girl can already mean having less access to certain opportunities, being a girl living in poverty, in a rural area, with a disability, or without a supportive family network can create a series of barriers that reinforce each other. This is precisely where the concept of intersectionality comes into play: the need to look at the different dimensions of a person's life not separately, but in terms of how they intersect and contribute to shaping their experiences.
But first, let's understand what inequality actually means.
Inequality refers to the unfair and unequal distribution of resources and opportunities among members of society. Where inequality exists, exclusion is almost always present as well. Exclusion occurs when certain individuals are prevented from fully participating in the social, economic, political, and cultural life of their society. When women are at the centre of these dynamics, we speak of gender inequality. But what exactly do we mean by "gender"? Gender should not be confused with biological sex. Gender refers to the socially and culturally constructed ideas of masculinity and femininity, which shape what are known as gender relations: the socially constructed ways in which men and women relate to one another. All of this can be understood within what is called the gender system, which distributes rights, power, and responsibilities based on sex and social class. Within this system, we find gender roles: the domestic responsibilities and types of employment that society traditionally associates with men or women. For example, women are often expected to take care of the home or work in professions such as teaching or nursing, while men have historically been assigned the role of the breadwinner, the person responsible for earning the family's income, performing physically demanding jobs, or holding positions of power and prestige.
Gender inequality has existed throughout history, and significant progress has only been made over the past century. When discussing this phenomenon, we must consider many different forms of inequality: limited access to education, denial of voting rights, underrepresentation in positions of power, the gender pay gap, the unequal burden of unpaid domestic work, the gender-based division of labour, gender-based violence and stereotypes, discrimination in the media and public representation, and the lack of policies that support a balance between work and family responsibilities.
These are just some of the many factors that influence women's lives every day.
Yet the experience of being a woman is not universal. Our daily lives and the challenges we face depend not only on our gender, but also on how it interacts with other factors that can increase or reduce the inequalities we experience firsthand.
When barriers intersect
So, let's imagine for a moment that we are a girl living in Zimbabwe. What opportunities lie ahead of us? What obstacles might we face? And, most importantly, how much of this depends simply on being a girl, and how much depends on everything surrounding us? Let's take, for example, the relationship between gender and economic circumstances. According to UN Women data, among employed people aged 15 and above in Zimbabwe, 37.6% of women live below the international poverty line, compared to 33.3% of men. But the difference is not simply about whether someone has a job. In the non-agricultural sector, 91.6% of employed women work in the informal economy, compared to 74% of men. Having a job, therefore, does not necessarily mean having the same level of economic security or the same opportunities to achieve financial independence. And this is where the intersections become even more evident. Being a woman and living in difficult economic circumstances can mean having fewer resources precisely when they are needed to access other opportunities. Education, for example, does not depend solely on whether a school is available. Costs, the need to contribute to family income, domestic responsibilities, and the ability to physica ly reach the school can al play a role. Data on young people shows just how much this combination of factors can affect future opportunities. In Zimbabwe, 35.6% of girls and young women aged 15–24 are not in education, employment, or training, compared to 25.3% of boys and young men in the same age group. A difference of more than ten percentage points invites us to ask not only why girls have fewer opportunities, but also which barriers accumulate along their paths. And that is not a l. In Zimbabwe, 33.7% of young women aged 20–24 were married or in a union before the age of 18. When gender intersects with early marriage, the opportunities to continue studying, enter the workforce, or achieve economic independence can change dramatica ly at a very young age. This, ultimately, is the point of intersectionality: we cannot fu ly understand inequality by looking at only one factor at a time. Being a girl, living in poverty, growing up in a rural area, or taking on family responsibilities are not simply separate experiences that add up one after another. They can interact and influence each other, creating specific barriers and, at the same time, shaping different opportunities.
To better understand what a l of this means, let's try to imagine a concrete situation. A girl living in a rural area may have more limited access to education, healthcare services, or employment opportunities than a girl living in a city. If that same girl also has a disability, she may face additional barriers related to the accessibility of services, buildings, or transportation. If she has lost one or both parents, she may depend on other family members or be required to take on domestic and financial responsibilities at a young age. And if, on top of a l this, her family lives in poverty, she may be forced to leave school to help support her household.
From inequality to opportunity
Al of this brings us to an important conclusion: talking about gender inequality means recognising that girls must be a central focus of development, education, and empowerment efforts. Investing in girls means taking action at a stage of life when many future opportunities are sti l being shaped, but also when numerous barriers can arise and overlap. This is why, at Lovemore, we are committed to building a girls' dormitory in Nechishala. The need for a dormitory is primarily linked to the distance between students' homes and their school. For a girl living in a rural area, far from essential services, attending school does not depend only on her wi lingness to study, but also on whether she can physica ly reach it and have a safe place to stay. But once again, different factors intersect. The practice of bushboarding can expose girls to greater risks while trave ling, including violence or sexual exploitation. Meanwhile, sleeping in classrooms under unsafe conditions can increase their exposure to diseases such as malaria. In this sense, the dormitory does not simply address an educational cha lenge. It tackles a series of interconnected barriers that, together, can make it more difficult for a girl to access education and build opportunities for her future. This is also why, at Lovemore, we believe that supporting girls is not simply about providing assistance, but about creating opportunities that respond to the realities in which they live. Understanding how different forms of inequality intersect is therefore the first step towards contributing to truly inclusive and lasting change.
References
UN Women (n.d.) Country Fact Sheet | UN Women Data Hub: Zimbabwe. https://data.unwomen.org/country/zimbabwe(Accessed : September 24, 2026).
