JUSTIFYING WOMEN LEADERS AS BETTER AGENTS OF PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF MARONDERA DISTRICT OF ZIMBABWE

JUSTIFYING WOMEN LEADERS AS BETTER AGENTS OF PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF MARONDERA DISTRICT OF ZIMBABWE SHORA, Bruno (MSc)1 ABSTRACT The main objectives of this paper were to explore the extent to which women leadership could enhance peace and development at various levels of society compared to their male counterparts who at most have enjoyed the privilege of leadership; and, to explore beyond mere justifications of women leadership but also proffer practical means through which the majority of women could make progress to leadership positions with the ultimate goal of seeing a transformation towards meaningful peace and development. Questionnaires were distributed to participants and some in-depth interviews were carried out. The research population comprised of lay people, the working class, politicians and various experts in certain fields of interest. Documents were also critically scrutinized as the data was at most analysed qualitatively. From the survey, it became apparent that women who have made it to leadership positions are still less than 50% of the leadership category, participants felt let down by the male dominated leadership and surprisingly, it also emerged that it would appear as if females tend to be more intelligent than their male colleagues hence they could offer much better leadership, that which will enhance peace in society and eventually promote development. It was thus concluded that women can do better, hence they should be helped to ascend to positions of authority in their numbers than what is the status quo or more than what has been advocate. Keywords: Women, leadership, peace, development, Africa. 1. INTRODUCTION The issue of gender equity between men and women has been over emphasized, what remains are the genuine commitments toward full implementation of what thousands of studies have rightly recommended. However, what still needs to be amplified is the potential embedded in women leadership, that which could transform modern day society in as far as peace and development is concerned. A plethora of papers have been tabled, to prove the undisputable gospel of gender equity. Of recent, tens if not hundreds of studies have also endeavoured to demonstrate that when it comes to effective and meaningful leadership, females may do better. In this regard, this paper is one of those which seek to go beyond the common by showing cause to the effect that women leadership carries within itself a so much untapped potential which contemporary leadership quarters could find very 1 MSc in Peace, Leadership and Conflict Resolution. Lecturer, Zimbabwe Open University, 21-5th Street Marondera, P.O. BOX 758 Marondera, Zimbabwe Humberside Journal of Law and Social Sciences Volume 8 Number 1 (2018), pp. 37-45 38 much useful in the build up towards peace and development, be it in socio, political and economic affairs at the local, national and international level. The nexus between women’s leadership, peace and development is made manifest from the definitions of the key terms: 1.1 Leadership Chivasa (2013) quoted various scholars in a bid to define the term “leadership”. He came to the conclusion that leadership is the creative and directive force of morale. He further reiterated that leadership can be viewed as a process by which subordinates are influenced to behave in a certain desirable manner. More so, leadership can also be deemed to be the directing and coordination of work amongst a group. Generally, there is a consensus of what leadership is all about, but a new paradigm to be advocated for in this paper does not only seek to convince the world that women can offer effective leadership, but that localities, nations and the globe would enjoy much better peace and more development with more women in leadership as opposed to the current status-quo. 1.2 Peace Peace is freedom from disturbance and a state of tranquil. This definition can also be reinforced with that of Dodo, Chideya and Chiwanza (2010) who described peace as stability, happiness, love, a state of equilibrium and agreement. Also note that in this paper peace shall not only be limited to peace as a result of a political process, but peace in a much broader spectrum. Peace within an individual (intra-peace), peace in the community, global peace, peace from a religious perspective and peace from a political perspective. This is in sharp contrast with peace being presumed to be a mere absence of war as Sandy and Perkins (2002) amongst others may have thought. It is a fact that whilst most men enjoy leadership positions, the society has not known what can be described as positive peace, and thus this paper explores if women leadership cannot offer much high chances of peace and development. 1.3 Development The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues defined development as full participation in decision making and social equity whereby community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions. On the other hand, the Dictionary of Human Geography defines development as a process of social change or change to class and state projects to transform national economies. The point in question is, since times immemorial, men have been in charge, yet such a level of development remains a pipe-line dream for most parts of the world. Is it not yet high time we experiment with the only available option, that is women leadership and see if it cannot offer better opportunities of development? It has thus been established that leadership, peace and development are inseparable and this may also serve to confirm that conflict is detrimental to development. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS Although numbers were of vital significance in this study, the survey was guided by qualitative research design principles as all possible circumstances surrounding the gathered of data were critically analysed. The research population comprised of a sample population of 100 participants from Marondera District, Zimbabwe. The sample was divided into four categories namely: 1) a sample of 30 participants of lay people 2) a sample of 30 participants being middle/working class and 3) a sample of 30 participants being high level office bearers. Each category had 50% male and 50% being females. The idea was to obtain gender balanced views. In each of the categories, participants were Humberside Journal of Law and Social Sciences Volume 8 Number 1 (2018), pp. 37-45 39 identified through the stratified random sampling technique. Questionnaires were distributed to these participants and they sought to have their perceptions and preferences between the leadership of men and that of women and also how that is likely or how that has impacted on peace and development. The percentage return was 97%. The identity of the research population was not solicited for as a matter of ethics. The fourth category consisted of 10 participants who took part in some in-depth interviews which sought to get expert opinion. Such included education experts, medical personnel and politicians. Questions asked to them were open ended so as to obtain valuable information as possible. There was also a serious document analysis as various related literature was reviewed and a gap, which this study seeks to fill was realised. 3. RESULTS The main findings of this study were as follows: a) More than 50% of participants (both males and females) were of the opinion that the existing male dominated leadership has failed them through things such as corruption, oppression, and many more, hence wide spread violence and under development at various levels of society, b) Statistics and expert opinion seemed to suggest that when put on the same level, it would appear females are more intelligent than males hence it is highly likely that women can offer much better leadership which can eventually lead to peace and development, c) It also became apparent from almost all the participants that the nature, biology and psych of women enables them to love, care, nurture and these makes them better peace makers compared to the nature of their more aggressive male colleagues and d) Most female participants and some professionals bemoaned the fact that despite the much publicised gospel of gender equity, women in leadership are yet to reach at least the 50% mark yet statistics show that women outnumber men, hence the potential of women leaders to foster peace and development remains untapped at all levels of human society. 4. DISCUSSIONS 4.1 Women leaders as better agents of peace and societal development Taking into account the view that women tend to be more ethical than men, what this means is that if we have more women taking leading roles that will eventually lead to a peaceful environment and eventually development. Being ethical is all about knowing and practising that which is good and desisting from the bad. Man have been known to be highly unethical as they have presided over most known corrupt institutions or corruption scandals, particularly in Africa and some parts of the world. Globally, men have dominated the world of war lords, war mongers, rebels and militants. Furthermore, despite being outnumbered by females globally, it is however men who fill up most prisons and correctional facilities. The much publicised gender based violence has been highly orchestrated by men. Nevertheless, despite the presence of such excruciating state of affairs, it is however men who enjoy the privilege and honour of occupying most leadership positions at various levels of society, be it in family, religion, politics and the international arena. This could also be the reason why peace at all these levels remains a mammoth task to achieve. This can also explain why a number of sustainable development goals and targets appear to be so much far away yet so near. Eagly (nd) is of the opinion that there are multiple indications that women compared with men are more ethical and thus promoting public good. It is also on this basis that if such an opinion is to be relied upon and if ever positive peace is to become a reality, it is high time we advocate for more women to occupy more leading roles. Humberside Journal of Law and Social Sciences Volume 8 Number 1 (2018), pp. 37-45 40 4.2 The biology of women, he link with peace and development Although there has been much evidence to the effect that men and women are equal, from the survey carried out and analysis of several documents, there also seem to be much overwhelming evidence in support of the fact that the biology and psychology of women makes them much better leaders than men. If this position is accepted, this paper seeks to argue that, then certainly chances are very high that better peace and development will be the ultimate result. Fisher (nd) was quoted by Chivasa (2013) making the following fascinating remarks concerning the nature of women: “Women tend to think in a web of factors and not along straight lines. They have the ability to comfort, cajole and educate their little ones, chastise, reward those who do well, and reprimand those who fail, hence maintain harmony in the community.” The above quoted citation demonstrates the selflessness character of the majority of females. They more often than not think about others. Naturally, they have the endowment to bear up others hence they are able to cordially appreciate when a good is done and they are also able to reprimand when something bad is done. It is such kind of leadership which the society and world at large now desire for a meaningful peace and development oriented environment. Politically, it is a good thing that, unlike in the past, more women have at least come on board, but still, the extent to which they have done so is still very limited. Very few countries have achieved a 50-50% level of men-women representation. It is however, a good thing that in this regard, Rwanda broke a record, not for a genocide but as according to Ndlovu and Mutale (2013) for being ranked first globally as it had more than 50% of women in its elected public offices. Only if this would happen all over and at a much larger scale, surely the world would be different from what it is today as it has already been demonstrated why women would form good leaders. Also celebrated in this context is the election of Ellen Johnson Sirlieaf of Liberia as the first female African head of state in 2005, the rise of Joyce Banda as Malawian President in 2012, the Vice-Presidentship of Joyce Mujuru in Zimbabwe between December 2003-2015, the appointment of Thokhozani Khuphe as Zimbabwe’s Deputy Prime Minister under the government of National Unity between 2009 and 2013, just to mention but a few (Ndlovu and Mutale,2013). With such examples in mind, one should foresee a future in which a United Nations General Assembly is presided upon by more than 50% being participants being women. That will offer an alternative leadership which may make up the world a better place to be on. The existing improved participation of women in politics has been owing to the quota system. However, there is no need to be complacent at all about such quotas most of which have seen the involvement of women into high political offices only to about 30%, for example as was the case at some point with the Zimbabwean Parliament of 2013. Can we not experiment with a more than 50% representation of women in Parliaments? Unfortunately, patriarchy, characterising the greater part of Africa and beyond has been one other major obstacle. It is high time to defy all the odds and have more and more women headed political parties. This will pave a way for more women political players (Ndlovu and Mutale, 2013). 4.3 The demography of women vs the demography of men This paper further projects that there can be much economic development if more women are put at positions of responsibility. The justification is simple. Numerically women outnumber men. Koroma (2014) bemoaned the fact that the neglect of women has negatively affected economic development rates as more than half of the population is left out of the development process. It is just unfortunate that the world order has just supported male dominated captains of industry. The how part of it has been extensively covered by other studies. To that end, Professor Groysberg (2013) chips in Humberside Journal of Law and Social Sciences Volume 8 Number 1 (2018), pp. 37-45 41 to assert that women, most probably because of their numbers, they control the majority of consumer spending at about 64%. He further asserted that what this implies is that having women on many boards will give cooperation a competitive advantage to create products and services that will better meet their customer needs. It is therefore apparently clear that if more women can be helped to assume a leading role in business and taking care of the economy, their numbers would help to enhance more development and that will promote peace since it is common cause that most conflicts are one way linked to underdevelopment. 4.4 The hidden secret behind the life expectancy of women If life expectancy levels between men and women can be one aspect to consider when debating the male-female leadership issue, then we should reach a point when we ask ourselves, who then in the circumstances should assume more leading roles. Groysberg (2013) was of the view that since women are living longer (because they take better care of their bodies and health), the impact is that they then become double beneficiaries of inheritance from their fathers and husbands were culture and law would permit. This may be one other basis to advocate for women leadership as an agent of peace and development. 4.5 The intellectual ability of women as an advantage Although it has been argued that females and males are equal, results from this study and others tend to suggest that intellectually, women can do better. Groysberg (2013) mentioned that women are increasingly well educated and that in some western countries, over 50% of the graduates are women. In most parts of Africa, particularly Zimbabwe, as it emerged from the interviews, the society would morally expect a man to marry a woman who is much younger than him even if it means a 10 year margin. (This can also be one other blame for child marriages). From the data gathered, it emerged that the reason of the belief behind marrying a woman younger than the man is that, at the same age, a woman is believed or proved to outwit a man mentally, and it being a patriarchal society, such a scenario would be unacceptable. So as a way to counter all this, a married woman has to be much younger than the husband so that at least, mentally, she will be below the man if not operating at the same level. More often than not, in a number of public examinations in Zimbabwe, those of Grade 7, Ordinary Level and Advanced Level, it has been announced that girls had performed much better than boys. Following Advanced level November 2016 examinations, the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council announced information to the effect that female candidates scored a 91,6% pass rate while their male counterparts managed 86,4%. In 2015, girls were in the lead as well scoring a 90.5% pass rate against the boys’ 85.4%. It was also reported that the total number of school male candidates who sat for the examinations was 18 700, which is 4180 more than their female counterparts. Now, the million dollar question is, if it appears as if, when operating from the same level, or when given the same opportunity and chance, women do better mentally and intellectually, why then can’t we also allow more of them to lead than to have quotas which only apportions then just a small chunk of the available leadership roles. Reference can also be made to two successful Zimbabwean Universities which are or were led by women at some point and did well; that is the Zimbabwe Open University and the Woman’s University of Africa. These were led by Professor Primrose Kurasha (now late) and Professor Hope Sadza respectively. There is no doubt that under such circumstances, with more intelligent women leading, peace can be more pronounced and national and global development will become a reality. One other interesting thing about the leadership of women is that women tend to have a concern for production, and they also tend to have a concern for people. This becomes very important and crucial when it comes to labour laws (Hassan and Silong, 2008). Others will simply careless, only Humberside Journal of Law and Social Sciences Volume 8 Number 1 (2018), pp. 37-45 42 wanting to produce but caring less for those involved in the production. All this is within the motherly nature of women. Hassan and Silong (2008) also went on to state that women are more concerned not only with tasks but also with relationships and this is through their nurturing qualities. In essence, this makes their leadership much more transformational in style, something which is quite good for development. Quoting Eagly and Johnson (1990), Hassan and Silong (2008) raised an important aspect or reason as to why more women should be allowed to lead. They indicated that whilst women are democratic, male leaders are autocratic. Who can dispute the fact that some, if not all dictators or autocratic leaders in history or even those of our time are male? Does this not suggest that those with more democratic tendencies can do better and should be allowed to lead in their numbers? Obviously, this will impact positively on peace and development. To further cement that, Ogbogu (2012) propounded that women’s involvement and participation in politics and the democratic process has become an integral part of contemporary discourse on development and governance. What this is entails is that the world now needs to go beyond clamouring for gender equity. The reason is that much of male leadership has failed us in several aspects and its time people concede to the fact that if more numbers of women are allowed to assume leading roles, that would transform nations and economies to peace and development respectively (Kawakami, White and Langer, 2000). More so, women have for so long been portrayed as victims of circumstances be it in wars, gender based violence, just to mention but a few and this is indeed a fact. Sadly, in a bid to address all these woes, very few women have been involved. This is also what was realised by the United Nations Security Council when it passed Resolution 1325 of 2000 urging the involvement of women in all peace efforts. Through the domesticating of this peace of International Law, this has seen an increased participation of women in various peace initiatives such as peace keeping missions and this has brought along with it some positive results. Since it is the majority of women who are affected by war, either directly or indirectly, through losing their beloveds or single handily heading up some families, it would also follow to say that if meaningful peace which eventually leads to development is to be attained, women should not only take part, but they should also lead and in their numbers. Thus it is important to recognise women as agents of change and as partners in reshaping and rebuilding communities affected by conflict (Tamoka, 2012). Tamoka (2012) also further reinforces the same position by stating that yet women’s leadership and participation in addressing peace and security is both a moral imperative and a right which goes beyond them being considered victims of a conflict. All this point to the fact that women leadership is very much capable of enhancing peace and development at whichever level. In the same vein, Dirie (2011) also sought to justify that women leadership would translate to peace and development: “The role women play in peace building is extremely crucial, as mothers who educate their children, wives who advise their husbands and their vital link/networking role between families and their communities are used for peace building and peace making purposes.” Dirie (2011) further laments the fact that since times immemorial, women have been active contributors to peace making, but the recognition and leadership remained in the hands of men. What this calls for is not a paradigm shift towards a recognition of role played by women in peace, making but also a shift to allow more women to lead. Although almost all African countries claim to have been liberated and won their independence from colonialists, one may be forgiven for asserting that women are yet to fully celebrate their actual independence and liberation, especially from a systematic bondage and oppression. One other reason is that decolonisation seemed to have just been a shift of power, authority and influence from European imperialist of the time to black elites of our time. An effective way to fully liberate women in this context would be to ensure that they also fully participate in their numbers in leadership, and that may mean better peace as well (Parpart, 1986). Humberside Journal of Law and Social Sciences Volume 8 Number 1 (2018), pp. 37-45 43 All the same, in a bid to liberate women in this sense, women also need to change the way how they perceive themselves from the questionnaires and interviews carried out in the study, it emerged that there were some meaningful allegations to the effect that women themselves are one other obstacle to their empowerment. When given a chance or choice, it is highly likely that the majority of them would not participate or if they do, they would rather support a man instead of a woman. Underdahl, Walker, and Woehr (2013) was clear to say that women are more effective leaders than men but regretted the fact that when self-ratings are considered, men rate themselves more significantly more effective than women would rate themselves. Even in some religious circle, one would realise that most of them are male headed. Conflict, extremism, scandals and terror has also become synonymous with religion. If women are to lead in their numbers, certain peace will be brewed. 5. RECOMMENDATIONS a) The time is nigh to accelerate efforts of justifying women leadership over that of men in as far as peace and development are concerned. One such major offensive in the United States of America has been the so called White House Project which is a national, non-partisan, not for profit organisation which simply aims to advance women’s leadership in all communities and sectors up to the United States Presidency. That is the point since that goes beyond merely clamouring for gender equity by getting practical. b) More women should now lead especially when taking into account what has already been alluded to and that women are more ambivalent and whistleblowing in nature, something that may do well in as far as transparency and accountability are concerned. That will then prove otherwise all gender stereotypes that have lived with humankind since antiquity times (Reeler, 2014; Chandler, 2011 and Eagly and Carli, 2003). c) The above cited recommendations can be achieved by escalating advocacy efforts to ensure that woman leadership at all levels be it political and appointments do go beyond the 50% mark. d) A major media offensive should also be launched to show the world why women leadership would become an effective path towards peace and development. 6. CONCLUSION From the survey carried out in this study through questionnaires, in-depth interviews and text analysis of various secondary sources, it has become apparent that to a greater extent, the male dominated leadership of all sectors seemed to have failed families, localities, nations and the world at large. Men have been leading most of the known corruption scandals, maladministration and mal governance, autocracy, failing business empires, gender based violence, wars, crime, just to mention but a few. On the other hand, it has been proved beyond any reasonable shadow of doubt that women, because of their biology and psych, to a greater extent they would care for others, they would not be oppressive, they are transformative, they would nurture, just to mention a few. Since women outnumber men, what could be the situation if there is a change of the status quo, by having more women leading states, being captains of industries, leading peace keeping missions? 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No. 6, 1129-1145 www.newsdzezimbabwe.co.uk/2017/01/a-level-results-girls-outshine-boys.htmi?m=1 Humberside Journal of Law and Social Sciences Volume 8 Number 1 (2018), pp. 37-45 45 Abstracting and Indexing in: GIGA - The Electronic Journals Library of the German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Information Centre, Hamburg; Google Scholar; Global Development Network (GDNet); Social Science Research Network (SSRN); Econlit - The American Economic Association's Index (ECONLIT); EBSCO; IndexCopernicus USA; British International Libraries; Anton’s Weekly Digest; International Abstracts in Operations Research; Environmental Science and Pollution Management; Research Alert