The role of non-governmental organisations in empowering rural women in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This study evaluates the role of three local non-governmental organisations in empowering rural women in Zimbabwe. The purposive sample comprises sixty (60) participants equally split between the three non-governmental organisations. Data collection used in-depth interviews, focus group interviews, participant and non-participant observations. The key findings show that non-governmental organisations focused on imparting practical entrepreneurial skills and technical knowledge. However, participants encountered several challenges such as lack of access to capital for scaling up the projects, poor quality of finished products and limited access to markets. In turn, the non-governmental organisations face increasing levels of hostility and political interference by the government, which exacerbated the donor funding for NGOs in Zimbabwe. The main recommendation is that stakeholders should build mutual trust and cooperation in prioritising the promotion and support of women empowerment initiatives.

Keywords: Gender inequality, Non-Governmental Organisations, Rural women, Socio-economic empowerment, Women empowerment