by Tatenda Murandu

As the basis of relations leading to inequality gender discrimination against women is the powerful lens that the world experience each day. In a world controlled by men, the ideology that views women as inferior to men plays a pivotal role. These views have brought so many disputes and misunderstandings in both men and women.

Gender stereotyping refers to the practice of belief that an individual woman or man’s specific attributes and characteristics or roles by reason of his or her mentorship within a particular group. It also implies to the beliefs that people have of certain characteristics of male and female.

Generally women in Africa are valued as a weaker sex by reason of their culture. They are nurtured to be submissive to their male counter parts despite that the woman or girl is older. This kind of discrimination against women has resulted in many African women being dependent to their male counterparts.

This practice has seen most women in the African society having the responsibility of taking care if the household and well being of children. The family norms and values are passed on to children, whilst young girls are trained to do domestic chores, such as washing, cooking, cleaning and taking care of the house hence nurturing girls to be good wives to their husbands. However, both male and female children should acquire domestic skills as they are the basics of life.

 Furthermore, this ideology of women being inferior to men in the African region has also seen women to be ” child bearing machines “whereby women are only married to bear children for their husbands. In the event that the woman does not conceive the union between the two is later destroyed. Some men in this society tend to blame women for their inability to conceive even if the man has fertility problems.

In addition stereotyping against women in the Africa society has seen women to dress in a particular way on public gatherings. Cultured women in this society are to be seen dressed covering their hair, shoulders up to the knees. However, if one does not comply she will be viewed as promiscous hence resulting in many being affected both socially and emotionally. Some of these women are later even abused by men in their society.

 As discrimination against women continues to be a burning issue in the African region some organisations tend to offer top positions to male counter parts as they view women as unable to articulate the given task in the position offered. In the case that a woman has acquired such a position her core workers tend to value her as promiscous with the view that she has intimate relations with an upper hand.

Most leaders in the African society value male children more than their female children. This is so because they are of the view that male children bring forth continuity within the family tree. In most cases inheritance is mostly left for male children with the argument that women tend to get married and leave the family tree.

It is also believed that in most African churches women are deprived of leadership roles.. According to one of the apostolic white garment churches in Zimbabwe “women are to be submissive to their husbands” hence while practicing this rite women are to sit at the back of the church in submission to their male counterpart’s authority. There are no female leaders in that sector.

While many are still advocating against such practices, an alarm of gender equality within our African region has been raised against gender stereotyping. Men and women should be valued as the same despite of their sex or gender. However, some women in the African region have set their foot down to eradicate such practices of discrimination by refusing to he stereotyped because of their gender through taking the risk of attaining male dominated jobs such as truck driving , mining, building, mechanics and many others. ln so doing some of these women tend to do better in their work more than their male counter parts .