Description
Based on Zimbabwe, but with clear lessons for our current patriarchal and authoritarian moment, this paper explores Zimbabwe as a site of contestation for the politics of religiously mediated femininities. It does so by examining the neglected roles of multi-faith religious women in managing and facilitating political transitions over three generations. The paper explores three critical transitions: the first (1896- 1897), second (1965- 1979), and third (mid-1990s to 2000s) Chimurenga Wars. In examining the critical roles religious women have played throughout these transitions, the paper reveals the multifaceted ways in which religiously mediated femininities have both actively shaped, and in turn been shaped by, the country’s political transitions. To this end, the argument is that religious women have effectively navigated these transitions in drawing inspiration from ‘the warrior-woman’ figure, bringing together masculine and feminine traits, exemplified in the heroic and mythical religio-political figure of Nehanda, a first-generation freedom fighter who waged resistance against colonial rule. Through this, we get to see elements of ‘Nehandaism’ reinvented over time and space across three generations of women. In uncovering these women’s stories, the paper reveals the hidden spaces in which women exercise their agency within authoritarian and patriarchal spaces. The paper draws on research conducted in Zimbabwe including archival and fieldwork research comprising of life histories and in-depth interviews with high and low-profile women from a number of religious faiths in various professions within government, politics, and civil society.
