THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND THE PROBLEMS OF THE GIRL CHILD IN ZIMBABWE

Abstract

This study aims to critically analyse the problems of the girl child in Zimbabwe and investigate the role and involvement of international organizations in dealing with these problems. Even though, the girl child has drawn a lot of attention, the literature largely approaches from a problem-solving perspective with the idea of an empowered girl child to be the image of an expectation for a true definition of development through instrumentalization of education and health care provisions. The study presents that not only material factors, such as poverty and lack of income but also ideational factors, such as cultural norms and religious practices, constitute an environment conducive to the problems faced by the girl child and the prevalent power relations of gender inequality in Zimbabwe. The international organizations that are involved in education and training, promote activities to raise awareness, provide support and social protection mechanisms, lobby the governments to encourage institutionalization of international gender equality regime and goals. The study argues that the problems of the girl child in Zimbabwe are a result of the structural nature of social relations and that the involvement of international organizations have not been sufficient to overcome the structural nature of these circumstances.