Zimbabwean girls break stereotypes by excelling in science disciplines

Zimbabwean girls break stereotypes by excelling in science disciplines

Government efforts pushing girls to study science which was previously thought to be man's domain, say academics

By John Cassim

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AA) - A number of women are breaking stereotypes and discrimination by selecting science as a subject, which has traditionally been considered a man's domain in the southern African country of Zimbabwe.

Ida Sithole Niang, a biochemistry professor at the University of Zimbabwe, is working in the lab with a mix of girls and boys that are nearly equal in number.

"There was only a three-slot quota for girls to study science in a class with 33 boys when I was in advanced-level school in the 1990s," Niang told Anadolu Agency coinciding the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which is being observed on Friday.

"Now it's almost 50-50, an indication that girls are now getting opportunities and excelling as well," she added.

She is currently working on molecular science research, with the goal of developing vaccines for a range of infections in the near future. If she follows through on her ambition, it will go down in history as one of the most significant discoveries made by a woman scientist.

Niang is the former chairperson of the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) Steering Committee and, was elected as a Fellow at the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in 2018.

She has been working on biotechnology and biosafety capacity development for the past two decades in Zimbabwe and several Sub-Saharan African countries, including Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, and Namibia.

Her research includes working on the genetic improvement of cowpea, a pea plant, by conferring resistance to the cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus (CABMV) using genetic engineering tools, according to a publication by the International Achievements Research Center.

The same publication described Niang as having brought new meaning to teaching “hands-on” practical laboratory classes to her students. “This has built new impetus in students acquiring new skills and being better able to compete for scholarships and placements in advanced laboratories globally.”


- Government support

In January 2016, the Zimbabwean government initiated a Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program, targeting secondary school students, both girls and boys, who would be attending universities by 2018.

The government announced that it will cover students' school tuition to encourage them to pursue science degrees.

Earlier, the then-government in 1995 implemented a strategy known as Affirmative Action in order to correct the gender imbalance in university admissions, and as a result, some analysts believe, girls currently account for approximately 52% of total university students.

"It has been very helpful because it is motivating more girls to take up science education,” said Gracious Mazivanhanga, 23, a former STEM student who recently completed her graduation in chemical engineering.

"The government's STEM program has encouraged more girls to pursue science studies," she said, adding that, despite the challenges, women are demonstrating that they can study sciences and succeed in their careers just like men.


- Patriarchal society

Patriarchal society has made it hard for women to compete with men, and they face "extreme difficulty" when they really want to stand up and have their voice heard, said Dr. Thembekile Ncube, a professor of Microbiology at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), the country’s second-largest public research university in the southwest Bulawayo city.

"We are not treated equally in the classroom or at work," Ncube told Anadolu Agency. "You have to work much harder than the men."

She said: "We founded the NUST Academic Women Researchers to encourage women and girls take on leadership roles by studying science subjects."

"We, as women science academics, have visited several villages to encourage girls' students to pursue careers in science disciplines by sharing our own success stories," Ncube said, adding that the initiatives have been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We bear an additional burden that men do not because we have to care for the house in addition to our profession," she noted.

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