Unsung Liberation Heroines: Women and the Liberation Struggles in Colonial Southern Africa

This chapter argues that pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial heroines are not fully acknowledged in most contemporary narratives. This calls for an archival revisit to reconstruct the history of the unsung liberation heroines. Using scant primary and secondary literature, this chapter explores the contribution of Southern African women in the liberation struggles. It argues that whilst women laboured under the limiting stigma of patriarchy, where they were confined to the domestic space, they defied the odds and joined their male counterparts in the liberation struggle. Their involvement in the liberation struggle was a double sword meant to liberate them from the yoke of patriarchy and from colonial rule. Women in Southern Africa played enduring roles in the liberation struggles of their countries as mothers to the soldiers, wives to the soldiers and soldiers. The chapter is therefore a monumentalisation and a celebration of the legacy of Southern African women in the liberation struggle. It honours the contributions of the unsung Southern African heroines in liberating their countries from colonial rule.