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For Better or Worse. Women and ZANLA
in Zimbabwe's Liberation Struggle A damning exposé of the unhappy marriage of Zimbabwean
women and ZANLA Heralded for its role in bringing about independence in 1980 and excoriated for its human rights abuses in recent years, Zimbabwe’s ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), has been subjected to renewed scholarly scrutiny. The lone voices that challenged the romanticized view of the liberation movement in the 1980s are increasingly finding company. Contributing to a more critical and nuanced understanding of the liberation movement, this book provides a damning exposé of the unhappy marriage of Zimbabwean women and ZANLA – the armed wing of ZANU-PF – during Zimbabwe’s liberation war. Despite ZANU-PF’s claim to be an emancipatory force for women, the movement’s rhetoric was not matched by reality. In both military and civilian life, women continued to be subordinate to men. They were denied positions in decision-making bodies and were generally relegated to less valued auxiliary roles. Their inferior position during the armed struggle mirrored both their pre- and post-war lives. Nhongo-Simbanegavi’s fresh perspective is bolstered by a massive array of new sources, mainly from the ZANLA archive’s, which until recently had been largely closed to scholars. This rich source of internal documentation from the operational areas includes military reports, inquiries into guerrilla indiscipline, and examinations of the interactions between ZANLA combatants and the civilian population. The author also conducted some two dozen interviews with female ex-combatants. Based on her findings, Nhongo-Simbanegavi concludes that, far from transforming gender roles, the war further entrenched male dominance. During the liberation struggle, women continued to perform tasks long associated with their gender. They cooked, washed clothing, and performed sexual services for the male guerrillas. However, the fulfillment of these tasks was now trumpeted as their patriotic duty. In semi-liberated and liberated areas, women served as porters, moving war matériel from rear bases toward the front lines. These tasks expanded upon pre-war domestic duties that entailed the carrying of water, firewood, and agricultural products. As ‘natural’ teachers and nurterers, women rallied support among the local population and nursed the sick and injured. Relatively few women served as guerrilla fighters. With the exception of a limited number who were connected to powerful men, women were generally excluded from positions of power and authority. Most disturbing, internal ZANLA documents and ex-combatant interviews reveal that sexual abuse of women by male guerrillas was rampant. The perpetrators ranged from the lowest ranks to the highest leadership. Within the liberation army, contraceptives were banned. Women alone were blamed for pregnancies and venereal disease. Mothers were disparaged and ostracized. By the late 1970s, as the numbers of ill-trained, undisciplined recruits soared, the sexual depredations of male guerrillas among the civilian population heightened tensions between the local people and those who were purportedly liberating them. Nhongo-Simbanegavi concludes that because ZANU-PF’s emancipatory rhetoric was only rhetoric, it is no surprise that women’s situation changed very little after the war. Their contributions denied, large numbers of female combatants were demobilized as ‘refugees’, and hence, did not receive the same benefits as their male counterparts. The post-independence organs established to deal with ‘women’s affairs’ subordinated their agendas to that of ZANU-PF’s male leadership. Legal reforms, while admirable on paper have had little impact on the vast majority of women who are materially dependent upon fathers and husbands – and fearful of social ostracism. This book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the complexities of Zimbabwe’s liberation war. By destroying longstanding myths, it helps us to better comprehend the continued subjugation of women in post-independence Zimbabwe and, by extension, elsewhere in the modern world. It is highly recommended for college and university libraries. © The author/publisher |