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This article analyses the dynamics underpinning formal political institutions in relation to women's participation in Zimbabwe, with a focus on the post November 2017 context. Patriarchal continuities and not changes characterize the post-November period. Under the "new dispensation", patriarchy, intertwined with the increase in militarized masculinities, is producing exclusion with limited spaces for women's participation. Simultaneously, Zimbabwean women at times have been destabilizing political spaces, while also being complicit in reproducing patriarchal practices and violence. The military-assisted transition is significant because of the fall of Grace Mugabe and the broader implications of this for women and politics in Zimbabwe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been significant debate about the land occupations which occurred from the year 2000 in Zimbabwe, with a key controversy concerning the role of the state and ruling party (or party-state) in the occupations. This controversy, deriving from two grand narratives about the occupations, remains unresolved. A burgeoning literature exists on the Zimbabwean state’s fast-track land reform programme, which arose in the context of the occupations, but this literature is concerned mainly with post-occupation developments on fast-track farms. This article seeks to contribute to resolving the controversy surrounding the party-state and the land occupations by examining the occupations in the Shamva District of Mashonaland Central Province. The fieldwork for our Shamva study focused exclusively on the land occupations (and not on the fast-track farms) and was undertaken in May 2015. We conclude from our Shamva study that involvement by the party-state did not take on an institutionalised form but was of a personalised character entailing interventions by specific party and state actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we extend the theoretical and empirical debate on gender justice regarding universal access to antiretroviral therapy. In many circumstances, debates about human rights and HIV/AIDS are premised on the view that universal access to primary health care improves the multiple health burdens of those infected by the epidemic. We argue that ‘‘universal access’’ does not always benefit those in marginalized positions in society. Female farm workers living in rural, marginalized spaces at the intersection of systems of social inequality and oppression shape the way in which they experience access to antiretroviral drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although young people in Zimbabwe are becoming sexually active at a very early age, there is no unified body of knowledge on how they regard sex and construct sexuality and relationships. In many circumstances adolescence sexual agency is denied and silenced. This study explored adolescents' discourses on sexuality, factors affecting adolescent sexuality, and sexual health. Fusing a social constructionist standpoint and an active view of agency, we argue that the way male adolescents perceive and experience sexuality and construct sexual identities is mediated by the sociocultural context in which they live in and their own agency. Although adolescents are mistakenly regarded as sexual innocents by society, we argue that male adolescents are active social agents in constructing their own sexual realities and identities. At the same time, dominant structural and interactional factors have a bearing on how male adolescents experience and generate sexuality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the implications of HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, and care programmes on the health system in Zimbabwe. The programmes have been spearheaded by various stakeholders that include the public and private sectors, nongovernmental organizations, formal and informal institutions, and intergovernmental organizations. There has been a tremendous increase of the programmes as they adapt to local contexts, accommodate new funders, and changes in population attitudes, and expectations in the country. Through a comprehensive literature review, this paper focuses on Behaviour Change, the Antiretroviral Therapy, Home-Based Care, Prevention to Mother To Child Transmission and Voluntary Counselling and Testing programmes and services in relation to the components of the health system that include health service delivery, human resources, finance, leadership and governance, and the medical products and technologies. Thus far, the implications are uneven throughout the health system and there is need to integrate the HIV and AIDS programmes within the health system in order to achieve positive heath outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumption of edible insects is a potential solution to the growing need for protein. However, the wild harvested edible insects' value chain faces several challenges including limited knowledge on indigenous practices in the harvesting and processing and lack of information on roles of the different actors in the chain. A case study of Gonimbrasia belina, colloquially referred to as the 'mopane worm', was conducted to understand and identify determinants of participation in the value chain of the edible caterpillar. A cross sectional study was conducted in Gwanda (a rural district in Zimbabwe) to (a) understand the indigenous knowledge on harvesting and processing methods, (b) explore value addition and the traditional beliefs surrounding the utilisation of the mopane worm. Results showed that consumers (81.7%), and harvesters (76.6%) were the main actors in the mopane worm value chain. Using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model, the following were shown to be determinants of participation in the mopane worm value chain: (a) gender (b) household size (c) marital status (d) religion and (e) household assets. Two primary processing methods of harvested mopane worm were distinguished i.e., boiling and roasting on ambers. Results showed lack of diversity in mopane worm-based products. Current culturally acceptable processing techniques need improvement and standardization to support sustainable mopane worm processing while optimising nutrient bio-accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]