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One of the reasons why feminist thought in its various manifestations has struggled to find popular embrace in Africa is the absence of similar thought in African indigenous epistemologies coupled with its hegemonic temperament and resistance to collaborate with local gender thoughts. This has impinged the possibility of establishing a foundation on which to find local support and popularisation. In this chapter we analyse the feminist dimensions of matriarchy to establish the extent to which matriarchy can be the anchor for womanist/feminist ideas which are embraceable to the cause for women’s emancipation in Africa. The Zimbabwe-Zambia matriarchal Valley Tonga society is used as a case study. Historically, gender-based ideologies such as patriarchy and matriarchy have determined the conceptions of gender and gender interaction. Given that patriarchy forms the basis of constructing and interpreting a society’s system of governance, laws, human and gender rights largely in favour of men, and in practice marginalising women, this chapter seeks to establish whether the reverse is true in a matriarchy-based society. We argue that such an achievement will facilitate the identification of which ideology is more conducive to fostering women’s liberation and empowerment. Theoretically, the chapter is informed by African(a) womanism/feminism(s), based on the theories’ African centredness and inclusivity of relevant ideas that speak to the varied existential contexts of African women and the need to empower their lives. Methodologically, the chapter is a qualitative inquiry which involved collecting primary data from sampled people through unstructured in-depth interviews and focus group discussions in the two Tonga districts of Sinazongwe in Zambia and Binga in Zimbabwe in the years 2019 and 2020. We contend that it is imperative to seriously re-visit African matriliny/matriarchy and the matriarchy/patriliny-patriarchy dialectic in quest of relevant cultural springboards to anchor sustainable struggles which bring practical benefits for women.

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The Quest for Sustainable Bases to Anchor Women’s Struggles: A Study of the Matrilineal/Matriarchal Tonga Society in Zambia and Zimbabwe

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年

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  • Mickias Musiyiwa,
  • John Bwana Siakavuba

摘要

One of the reasons why feminist thought in its various manifestations has struggled to find popular embrace in Africa is the absence of similar thought in African indigenous epistemologies coupled with its hegemonic temperament and resistance to collaborate with local gender thoughts. This has impinged the possibility of establishing a foundation on which to find local support and popularisation. In this chapter we analyse the feminist dimensions of matriarchy to establish the extent to which matriarchy can be the anchor for womanist/feminist ideas which are embraceable to the cause for women’s emancipation in Africa. The Zimbabwe-Zambia matriarchal Valley Tonga society is used as a case study. Historically, gender-based ideologies such as patriarchy and matriarchy have determined the conceptions of gender and gender interaction. Given that patriarchy forms the basis of constructing and interpreting a society’s system of governance, laws, human and gender rights largely in favour of men, and in practice marginalising women, this chapter seeks to establish whether the reverse is true in a matriarchy-based society. We argue that such an achievement will facilitate the identification of which ideology is more conducive to fostering women’s liberation and empowerment. Theoretically, the chapter is informed by African(a) womanism/feminism(s), based on the theories’ African centredness and inclusivity of relevant ideas that speak to the varied existential contexts of African women and the need to empower their lives. Methodologically, the chapter is a qualitative inquiry which involved collecting primary data from sampled people through unstructured in-depth interviews and focus group discussions in the two Tonga districts of Sinazongwe in Zambia and Binga in Zimbabwe in the years 2019 and 2020. We contend that it is imperative to seriously re-visit African matriliny/matriarchy and the matriarchy/patriliny-patriarchy dialectic in quest of relevant cultural springboards to anchor sustainable struggles which bring practical benefits for women.