On a mission to empower women and young girls: Rosie Farai’s Story - Voices from Chiredzi, Zimbabwe

The battle for equality, for many Shangani women in Zimbabwe Chiredzi, was a lost cause, because the conservative culture did not permit women to lead or have any say at both the community and family level. 

Like many women in Guluji village, ward 22 in Chiredzi, Rosie Farai, did not know the potential that she had because she had never been given the opportunity to voice out her ideas. 

“Before the project came, my husband did not allow me to make any decisions in the home and I had no assets to my name. We were supposed to be very conservative as women. I had no part in the farming activities. I was supposed to follow what he said. 

“I did not own anything, everything was owned by my husband, we had very few livestock and our farming activities were not fruitful because of the hot weather conditions and droughts. The marriage was very hard and painful because we used to fight at times and he would beat me. I think this is common when there is no money in the home,” said Rosie. 

In 2016, the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund- Enhancing Community Resilience and Sustainability (ZRBF-ECRAS) project led by CARE international in Zimbabwe in partnership with plan International and ICRISAT brought trainings and assistance to boost household incomes through participation in two or more activities to build and strengthen resilience capacities to withstand shocks and stresses in the face of climate change induced adversities. 

These activities ranged from resilient climate smart crop and livestock production, water harvesting technologies, fish farming to post harvest management and asset-based Village Savings and Lending (VSAL), aimed at improving communities’ absorptive, adaptive and transformative capacities. 

The project also held gender dialogues with men and women to foster equality. 

These were accompanied by gender-inclusive structures to foster inclusion of women in Guluji village. These were done considering the different roles, responsibilities and needs of women, men, girls and boys in their specific context. 

“The project changed our lives because it not only equipped us economically, but it also brought in gender dialogues and different platforms like the social fund committee, where women could take up leadership roles in the community. Men also participated in the gender dialogues and this turned our community around,” said Rosie. 

“Now that we have been equipped about our various roles and responsibilities, we all make decisions together with the children. We all share the workload. Because I was given the space to make decisions, through farming red sorghum, I have bought a car and two motor bikes which my children use. My house is now a centre of resilience where youths gather to learn and receive empowerment,” said Rosie. 

Now Rosie is taking the lead to also empower youths and teach them about Village savings and lending and diversified livelihoods which she says is key to economically empower women and send girls to schools. 

“I advise other women and youths on resilience building and some of them have stopped illegal immigration to South Africa because I am showing them ways to build wealth through farming,” she added. 

Due to poverty, economic volatility and climate-change induced droughts and dry weather conditions which made subsistence farming difficult in Chiredzi, many youths were escaping hardships to South Africa via the Beitbridge border or other means like border jumping. 

“One youth called Elijah came back and he is using the diversified method of livelihood and he recently bought a grinding meal which is giving him more income compared to what he was getting in South Africa. 

“Through VSL as women in the village, we also sent one of our youths to school and she performed with flying colours. She had been involved in early marriage. She will be starting university next year. Our youths, especially the girls, had no hope, but now we gather them around and teach them what we have learned. I am looking forward to more girls being empowered in the community and not just to get married off at a young age,” she said.