Abstract

The study examined the perceptions of Masvingo urban female students, parents and teachers towards the maternity leave policy for high school girls in Zimbabwe. A qualitative paradigm and the descriptive survey method were adopted. The qualitative paradigm was selected because the issue under study yields soft data. A descriptive survey was suitable for a relatively large sample. The paradigm lends itself to the use of in-depth interviews and open-ended questionnaires which were the two instruments used to collect data from sixty-eight purposively sampled respondents from a population of forty-eight teachers and two hundred and twenty students from thirteen high schools. Collected data were presented in narrative form and qualitatively analysed. The main findings revealed that most parents, students and teachers were against the policy whilst a few were in favour although parents and teachers wanted it to be amended and reduced to a mere disciplinary document which is known to administrators only. It is recommended that Ministry authorities should consult stakeholders before introducing policies which are sensitive in nature.

Key words: Gender equity, teenage, teenage pregnancy, maternity leave, female.