Gender Facets of Zimbabwe’s Fast Tracked Land Reform Viewed from a Transformative Social Policy Perspective

ABSTRACT: The paper interrogates gender aspects of Zimbabwe’s fast track land reform programme from a Transformative Social Policy (TSP) perspective. Utilising a qualitative dominant research design and one hundred (100) land beneficiaries drawn from three farms in Zvimba district (Fennmerre, Noordt Gate and Lion Kopje), the paper brings out the gendered aspects of the land reform. These are based on the functions/tasks of social policy as outlined in TSP (production, redistribution, social protection, social reproduction and social cohesion). The paper shows that overall, most women did not equitably benefit from the land reform and its outcomes. The central argument is that land is a key resource for socioeconomic transformation. The transformation of the lives of the land beneficiaries is best achieved through addressing gender issues and provision of post settlement support.