REIMAGINING GIRLHOOD DEVELOPMENT IN ZIMBABWE: A FEMINIST CRITIQUE OFFREUD'S PHALLIC STAGE AND PATHWAYS TO DECOLONISING EDUCATION

This qualitative study offers a feminist critique of developmental psychology and education in Zimbabwe. It challenges the persistent androcentric biases within Sigmund Freud’s phallic stage ideas, arguing that applying them sustains patriarchal injustices and hampers girls' development in African contexts. Using a feminist perspective, the study explores how Freud’s male-centred framework, especially its notion of female deficiency, reinforces harmful gender stereotypes within Zimbabwe’s education system. Data was collected from 50 purposively sampled participants in Chitungwiza, including parents, Ministry of Education officials, teachers, and college lecturers. Data was collected using triangulated methods, including focus groups, observations, and in-depth interviews, and thematic and content analysis revealed that Freud’s phallic stage concepts, when applied in Zimbabwean pedagogy, systematically marginalize the girlchild’s experiences and uphold gender inequalities. The study advocates for decolonizing girlhood development through two transformative pathways, replacing Freud’s deficit-focused ideas with Ubuntu philosophy (unhu/hunhu), which redefines development as collective well-being rooted in relationships, resilience, and community ethics; and integrating gender-sensitive curricula into teacher training to eliminate colonial and patriarchal remnants in education. Framed as an urgent pursuit of educational justice, this study provides concrete strategies to support girlhood development beyond Freud’s limitations, emphasizing African epistemologies for emancipatory change.