Lloyd Makonya
Correspondent
A SECTION of the Grade Three textbook Ventures Primary: Family, Religion, and Moral Education has ignited debate over gender roles in Zimbabwe’s education system.
The book classifies boys as “strong, unemotional, dominant, and competitive”, while labelling girls as “emotional, submissive, nurturing, and less competitive.”
Such portrayals, embedded in the country’s curriculum, raise concerns about the narratives shaping young minds.
In a nation actively striving towards gender equality, this content begs the question, are we educating for the future or reinforcing the past?
Children at the primary school level are highly impressionable.
Textbooks that present rigid gender roles do more than misrepresent social dynamics, they construct identities that influence how children perceive themselves and each other.
By portraying boys as assertive and girls as passive, we risk entrenching inequalities from the earliest stages of learning.
Zimbabwe’s Constitution addresses gender equity under Section 17, mandating the State to promote gender balance in all spheres of society.
While this legal framework lays the foundation for inclusivity, such progress is undermined when outdated stereotypes persist in educational materials.
Zimbabwe’s traditional Shona and Ndebele cultures, like many others, historically assigned specific roles to men and women.
Men were typically groomed as providers and protectors, while women were assigned domestic responsibilities.
While these roles served past generations, modern Zimbabwe increasingly values equal participation across gender lines.
Culture is dynamic, education should prepare children for the world as it is, not as it was.
Despite policy efforts, traditional norms remain entrenched in some teaching materials.
The textbook’s descriptions reflect a bygone era that no longer aligns with the aspirations of Zimbabwean society.
Today, women lead corporations, occupy key political offices, and men are embracing roles as caregivers and emotionally engaged parents.
Experts in child development warn that rigid gender roles can harm children’s mental and emotional well-being.
Boys discouraged from showing vulnerability may suppress their emotions, while girls told to be submissive may feel unfit for leadership.
“When children internalise these roles, boys may suppress empathy, while girls may avoid leadership. I have always told my daughter that she is not docile. She may get it wrong in the exam because of what she was taught in class, but at least I would have groomed her to be the woman she has to be, assertive. This isn’t education, its indoctrination,” said Dr Chido Sango, a girl-child empowerment advocate.
Psychologists also echo these concerns, noting that the textbook’s list of gender characteristics strips boys of compassion and denies girls resilience.
Such stereotypes hinder holistic development and undermine confidence, self-expression, and ambition.
Teachers, too, are conflicted.
A Government primary school teacher in Sakubva, who requested anonymity, admitted: “I am also not in agreement with some of the characteristics stated in that section. We teach it because that is what is in the approved syllabus. However, as an individual, before I teach that section, I always make sure I emphasise to the learners that they are all equal and the girl child can be as competitive as the boy child. With the correct mentality, they can even do better.”
Parents are similarly shocked.
Mrs Adelaide Chimbarara reacted with disbelief: “Which subject? I missed that. Inga zvakawoma shuwa,” she said, expressing her concern over the subtle reinforcement of gender biases in the curriculum.
Zimbabwe has enacted policies to promote gender equality in education.
The Education Amendment Act (2020) promotes equal access to education for all children.
More significantly, the National Gender Policy under Section 4.3 calls for the development of a transformative and gender-responsive curricula that challenge stereotypes and promote equality at all levels of education.
Additionally, Government’s National Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence (2023–2030) aligns with these efforts, emphasising the need for systemic change that addresses root causes of inequality, including education content. Education should challenge harmful traditions, not uphold them.
A revised curriculum must celebrate diversity within masculinity and femininity.
Boys should be taught that empathy and emotional expression are strengths; girls must learn that assertiveness and leadership are not only acceptable but encouraged.
Manicaland Provincial Education Director, Mr Richard Gabaza offered valuable insights into the ongoing debate.
When asked about the presence of gender stereotypes in primary school textbooks, he responded candidly, beginning with a rhetorical observation: “But this is not a new phenomenon, is it?”
Mr Gabaza explained that the textbook in question is not meant to be used in isolation.
“The teachers use the textbook with a teacher resource book, and that resource book encourages the teacher to debate with the learners on these characteristics,” he noted.
He added that the resource guide includes end-of-lesson questions designed to challenge the authenticity of gender-based assumptions, encouraging learners to engage critically rather than passively absorb these labels.
However, when pressed on the inclusion of a multiple-choice question on the very next page that asks: “If boys are unemotional, then girls are what?” a question seemingly reinforcing the stereotype, Mr Gabaza conceded: “That multiple-choice question then becomes a problem.”
He further clarified that the current textbook was developed under the Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC), which is being phased out in favour of a new Heritage-Based Curriculum.
“The curriculum is still being implemented now, and they are still writing the textbooks,” he explained.
“We expect some changes in line with the tenets of the Heritage-Based Curriculum.”
While this transition indicates movement towards more contextually grounded and inclusive content, it also highlights a policy-to-practice gap that is yet to be bridged in the classroom.
Until updated materials are available, the burden remains on teachers to critically engage with the content and mitigate its impact.
It is not about erasing culture, but rather teaching it critically, showing how roles differ across time, religion, and societies.
Children must be empowered to question and grow, not confined to templates of what a boy or girl should be.
Zimbabwe’s future depends on nurturing a generation that sees equality as a given, not a debate.
Ensuring that educational materials reflect this ideal is not merely progressive but it is essential.
