View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Durham e-Theses Durham E-Theses INCLUDING A DISABILITY AGENDA IN DEVELOPMENT: MYTH OR REALITY? A CASE STUDY OF BINGA DISTRICT IN ZIMBABWE MUNSAKA, EDSON How to cite: MUNSAKA, EDSON (2012) INCLUDING A DISABILITY AGENDA IN DEVELOPMENT: MYTH OR REALITY? A CASE STUDY OF BINGA DISTRICT IN ZIMBABWE, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3496/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 INCLUDING A DISABILITY AGENDA IN DEVELOPMENT: MYTH OR REALITY? A CASE STUDY OF BINGA DISTRICT IN ZIMBABWE EDSON MUNSAKA PhD 2011 INCLUDING A DISABILITY AGENDA IN DEVELOPMENT: MYTH OR REALITY? A CASE STUDY OF BINGA DISTRICT IN ZIMBABWE Edson Munsaka PhD This thesis is submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Applied Social Sciences, Durham University 2011 Declaration The contents of this thesis are produced solely for the qualification of Doctor of Philosophy at Durham University and consist of the author‟s original individual contributions with appropriate recognition of any references being indicated throughout. Statement of copyright The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without their written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It has been a long journey completing this thesis. I could not have come this far without the support of many people and I want to express my deepest appreciation to them. First and foremost, thanks are due to Helen Charnley, my academic supervisor. Her whole hearted support, encouragement, criticism, comments and friendship throughout my study were extremely invaluable. I am also grateful to Professor Lena Dominelli, my second supervisor. They somehow got the balance just right between supporting and challenging me. My thanks also go to the School of Applied Social Sciences for their unwavering and timely support. Without this, it would not have been possible for me to have undertaken research fieldwork in Zimbabwe and I would not have had the opportunity to present at an international conference during the course of my study. For that I am really grateful. I would also like to extend my appreciation to the disabled people in Binga District who graciously gave up their time to tell me about their experiences of exclusion from community life. All were very welcoming. I also owe thanks to government employees, traditional leaders, community leaders as well as a representative of a national disabled people‟s organization for wholeheartedly participating in the research study. i Lastly, and most importantly, I would like to thank my family for the emotional support they offered me. Special thanks go my daughter Lusyomo who has provided daily reminders of the need for my quick return to Zimbabwe. ii ABSTRACT Development theory, policy and practice have undergone considerable change since the end of Second World War in 1945. In this period development has increasingly come to be understood as a process that must involve the „poor‟. And within development discourse, there is little disagreement that disabled people are amongst the poorest (Elwan, 1999; Katsui, 2007). According to the Asian Development Bank (2000:1), “poverty and disability reinforce each other.” However, although poverty affect both men and women worldwide (Welch, 2002), available literature on women and poverty (Buvinic, 1997; Omar, 2011) suggest that women‟s lives are characterised by increased poverty levels when compared to their male counterparts. This is largely due to women‟s subordinate status, which is compounded by the presence of impairment (Welch, 2002). This study explores the experiences of disabled people in development processes in Binga, a district of Zimbabwe shaped by Tonga culture and characterised by political oppression and isolation. Twenty disabled adults in three wards contributed accounts of their life experiences in narrative interviews. Interviews were also held with government officers, traditional community leaders (chiefs, councillors) and a representative of a national disability organization to elicit their understanding and awareness of disabled people‟s participation in development processes. Four focus group discussions with disabled and non-disabled people were held and six village and ward committee meetings observed to gain a deeper understanding of public attitudes to disabled people. iii Despite the modernising effects of globalisation in Zimbabwe, Tonga cultural beliefs still dominated understanding about the causes and implications of bodily impairment. Disabled people summarily defined and subjected to negative stereotyping, experienced pernicious social exclusion from community life, starting with low family expectations and aspirations, limited access to education and persistent exclusion from opportunities to take responsibility as citizens of their own communities. But employing Sen‟s capability framework, conceptualisation of development as freedom and considerations of justice, brings new insights not only into understanding disabled people‟s experiences of exclusion, but also possible ways in which disabled people could be included in the development processes of villages and wards in which they live. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGES DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Why study disability and development? 2 1.2 My interest- What led to this study? 6 1.3 Research site: The rationale for choosing Binga District 10 1.4 The aims and objectives of the research study 13 1.5 Outline of this thesis 13 CHAPTER 2 DISABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT: THE LITERATURE 15 2.1 Introduction 15 2.2 Use of language 16 2.3 Conceptualizing disability globally 19 2.4 Disability: Models and approaches 22 2.4.1 The Medical model of disability 23 2.4.2 The Social model of disability 26 2.4.3 The International Classification of Functiong, Disability and Health (ICF) 31 2.4.3.1 The strengths and limitations of the ICF 32 Strengths 32 Limitations 33 2.4.4 The Cultural model of disability 36 2.4.4.1 Sub-Saharan African perspectives 39 2.4.5 Beyond models of disability: a capability approach 47 2.4.5.1 Functionings, capabilities, agency and freedoms 48 2.4.5.2 Disability, functioning and capability 53 2.4.5.3 The added value of the capability approach 55 Linking agency, policy and poverty 55 Distinguishing functionings and capabilities 56 Recognising individual experience: embracing feminist perspectives of disability 57 Focus on freedom and social justice 58 v 2.5 Conceptualising Development 60 2.5.1 Defining the concept of development 62 2.5.2 Development theories 64 2.5.2.1 Modernisation development theory (1960s-1970s) 64 2.5.2.2 International dependency theory (1970s) 67 2.5.2.3 Neo-liberal development theories (1980s-1990s) 70 2.5.3 Linking development theory and disability 72 Modernisation theory and disability 72 Dependency theory and disability 74 Neo-liberal theory and disability 75 Development and disability as human right issues 77 Summary 78 2.5.4 Development and disability at the millennium 78 2.6 Development, social exclusion and disabled men and women 79 2.6.1 Gender and Development 82 2.6.2 Disability, gender and development 88 2.7 Summary 94 CHAPTER 3 DISABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT: ZIMBABWE CONTEXT 96 3.1 Introduction 97 3.2 The disability movement in Zimbabwe 96 3.3 Politics and the development process in Zimbabwe 100 3.3.1 Decentralisation 102 3.3.2 Decentralisation in Zimbabwe 104 3.3.3 Creating local participatory structures in Zimbabwe 106 3.3.3.1 Village Development Committees (VIDCOs) 107 3.3.3.2 Ward Development Committees (WADCOs) 108 3.3.3.3 District Development Committees (DDCs) 109 3.3.4 Success stories of decentralisation in Zimbabwe 112 3.3.4.1 Education sector 113 3.3.4.2 Rural water supplies 117 3.3.4.3 Wildlife management 118 3.3.5 Challenges to decentralisation in Zimbabwe 119 3.4 Conceptualising participation in development 122 3.4.1 Participation as citizenship 123 3.5 Summary 130 CHAPTER 4 METHODOLOGY 132 4.1 Introduction 132 4.2 Research Design 133 vi 4.3 The use of narratives 136 4.4 Gaining access: places and people 139 4.4.1 Access within Binga District 141 4.5 Selecting research areas and participants 142 4.5.1 Selecting wards, traditional leaders (chiefs) and elected ward councillors 142 4.5.2 Selection of disabled participants 143 4.5.2.1 Selection criteria 143 4.5.2.2 Snowball sampling 144 4.5.3 Section of non-disabled participants 146 4.5.4 Selecting government officers 147 4.6 Data collection 147 4.6.1 Narrative interviews 149 4.6.2 Semi-structured interviews 155 4.6.3 Non-participant observation of Village and Ward Assembly meetings 158 4.6.4 Focus group discussions (FGDs) 162 4.7 Managing data: from talk to transcription