Women’s Access and Control Over Woodland and Water Resources in Rural Zimbabwe

The management of woodland and water resources in rural Zimbabwe is currently facing enormous challenges related to unequal access and control for women. Woodland and water resources are now recognized as finite resources that are vulnerable to non-sustainable use and exploitation. This new thinking has created a set of issues for debate about the planning, development, and management of natural resources. However, failure by the political, administrative, and traditional institutions to recognize the role of women in natural resource governance has created tension between men and women in rural communities. Community-level participation often leaves women’s voices and concerns unacknowledged. While men’s participation in woodland and water resource governance is not an issue, social and cultural norms still limit women’s participation. Using a case study of the Madondo communal lands in the Gutu rural district of Zimbabwe, this article examines the challenges that rural women face with regard to access and control over woodland and water resources. The article notes the need for gendered rural institutions to make woodland and water resources more accessible and to allow women to participate in decision-making processes.