Introduction to a Research Topic of Choice

Research being a search for knowledge or a systematic investigation with the focus to help aid and assist the process of decision making. As the more information we have the closer we are at making a decision. There are two types of research vehicles or mechanism. Firstly there is Applied Research which seeks to solve a particular problem or an existing problem like a disease or rather issues with considerable impact in the future. Basic research seeks to advance knowledge with no application to existing problem in view, but rather in discovering, interpreting and development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge. Yet I will be using both vehicles to see how the issue of Gender Equality and how it has impacted us as a nation of Zimbabwe.
Gender Equality is known as gender equity, gender egalitarianism or sexual equality having a goal of the equality of the genders or the sexes, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality. Our focus on the research will be the Past , Present and the Future of Gender Equality so that we might be able to pass decision for the Now and be in a position to project and anticipate a what sort Future Gender Equality can bring in regard to women. In the past we are looking at what has been accomplished and what was not. As in the 1981 were less than half of one percent of women employed outside of the home. But over the next 20 years, women have gained assess outside the home. As they have overcame many obstacles along the way. Women have made their way into the work force by not only following examples of the courageous pioneers, but also by banding together to show their strength. As in this period small number of women began the assault on, what were at the time fields such as teaching, preaching, medicine and law were all jobs considered as male only jobs. This was the start off gender equality in Zimbabwe paving way to the accepting of the idea that women belonged in the work place too. Presently we focus on the accurate sense of what is has begin accomplished as the past and the present project the future. Currently In Zimbabwe were poverty remains the norm and traditional values are widespread, the Zimbabwean society shows many sign of entering modernity. As gender issues, that used to be private and family sphere, are now discussed in public and abuse is starting to be taken to court. Violence against women, especially wife beating is common. Domestic violence account for more than 60 percent of murder cases tried within the Harare High Courts since 1998.Having the media reporting incest, rape and sexual abuse of women. Women remaining disadvantaged in society. Illiteracy, economic dependency, and prevailing social norms subjecting women to societal; discrimination As you would find customary practices, including the practice of pledging a young woman to marriage with a partner not of her choosing; the

custom of forcing a widow to marry her late husband brother, and the custom of offering a young girl as compensatory payment in interfamily disputes is deeply rooted in Zimbabwe. Polygamy is accepted by the traditional religions practiced by three-quarters of the Zimbabwean population; about one in ten omens live in polygamous unions. Such marriages are three times more frequent in rural communities than in urban areas, and the incidence is lower among women who have secondary education. Polygamy is prohibited in civil marriages, which appears to be a factor in the high incidence of unregistered customary marriages Looking at the above Past and Present position in the light of Gender Equality in regard to women there is a clear indication that though in the past women have made serious strides in to make their mark so that there can be part of the Zimbabwean work force. We see a current present resistance from cultural values within the Nation. Hence making us begin able to made decision for the future that empower women. Hence such information can assist the Government to issue out policies that are more protective to the Girl Child when it comes to pledging a young girl to marriage. Laws that protect women in the event that her husband dies so that she cant be customary handed over to the surviving brothers. In conclusion research help improve the quality of decision as making as poor decision making will result in consequences that can destroy organizations let alone Nations. Yet in itself its not enough to conduct researches without implementation on findings.