Struggles Within Struggles: Women Fighting for Liberation in the War of Liberation in Zimbabwe

This chapter explores the role played by women in fighting for the liberation struggle in Zimbabwe. The chapter seeks to demystify the myth of women being regarded as a weaker sex, thereby restricting their roles in fighting for the liberation struggle. It has emerged that women have managed to defy all odds in the colonial era in Zimbabwe, as evidenced by their work in the fight for the liberation struggle, especially the rise of the popular woman fighter and liberation war icon Mbuya Nehanda. This liberation icon was born Charwe and was initiated into the royal spirit medium (mhondoro) at a tender age. Nehanda grew up to be the symbol of Zimbabwean feminine resistance to colonial rule. The chapter includes the other female heroines Sally Mugabe, Ruth Chinamano and Julia Zvobgo. These are the women who possessed vivacious feminine qualities among others. The chapter argues that women use their own feminine struggles to emerge as heroines in the struggles dominated by their male counterparts. This chapter argues that women have inherent means of finding their way out of difficult situations even though they are regarded as very fragile in their communities. Women have the zeal and energy to stand up for themselves and have innate tendencies to excel in whatever they lay their hands on. Women have managed to create a grand label for themselves and defied all odds.. In this book chapter, data were generated through document analysis.