International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |Volume VI, Issue IX, September 2022|ISSN 2454-6186
War time experiences of Female Ex-combatants of Zimbabwe’s war of Liberation
Lilian Chaminuka
Zimbabwe Open University, P O Box MP1119, Mt Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
Abstract: The story of sacrifice and suffering in the liberation struggle has been dominated by men and the role of females in the liberation struggle of Zimbabwe has not been equally celebrated. However, females played heroic roles without which the course of history might have been distorted. Due to their physical biological make up, females suffer more hardships, some humiliation, as compared to their male counterparts. In contemporary writings, a few researches were done targeting individuals such as Chung’s and Nhongo-Simbanegavi’s works. This study traces the plight of female ex-combatants back to their war time experiences to get a rich background to understand their psychological disposition and ability to be socio-economically reintegrated in post-independence Zimbabwe. These war time experiences show the inherent complexities of transitional justice as invisible war-borne scarred human emotions are often not given due attention when peace finally prevails. The study which employed the qualitative approach and the target population included both male and female ex-combatants from Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and Zimbabwe People’s (ZIPRA) cadres, revealed that female ex-combatants went through distressing experiences during the war which required close attention (which unfortunately seemed not rendered) at reintegration in post-independence Zimbabwe. Recommendations are that the female ex-combatants be afforded systemic counselling.
Key Words: female ex-combatants, systemic counselling, liberation struggle, transitional justice.
I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
The various important socio-economic roles of females in any society have been greatly researched in gender and feminist studies. Females in precolonial Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular, played many prominent roles that included being heads of states (queens), for instance queen Nzinga of Angola, and spiritual leaders like Charwe Nyakasikana popularly known as Mbuya Nehanda . The dominance of female in important state issues was diluted by the arrival of colonial settlers who failed to appreciate the gender and sexual social stratifications in Africa, and instead applied ‘Victorian’ stereotypes which were also readily accepted by men as they strengthened their patriarchal dominance.