The Socioeconomic and Political History of Tanda Women, Zimbabwe, C. 1963-2024

This thesis examines the socioeconomic and political history of Tanda women, Zimbabwe, from 1963 to 2024. It posits that these women actively leveraged periods of armed conflict and socioeconomic upheaval to contest patriarchal systems and redefine conventional gender roles, thereby asserting their agency within spheres that have been historically dominated by men. The study demonstrates how Tanda women have continually cultivated strategies of resistance against systemic oppression, even in the face of formidable adversity. From the colonial era to the contemporary period, they have constantly confronted challenges shaped by both gender and their position within the broader community structure. These intersecting pressures have often compounded their struggles. The thesis demonstrates how these women subverted colonial initiatives that sought to employ homecrafts clubs as a mechanism for depoliticising and controlling African women, thereby suppressing their support for guerrilla forces. It further engages with the multifaceted roles of Tanda women during Zimbabwe’s Second Chimurenga (liberation struggle). By analysing their wartime experiences, the thesis rectifies the omission of women’s voices from the national historiography of the conflict. It thereby addresses a critical lacuna in Zimbabwean war scholarship by introducing essential gendered perspectives. Furthermore, the thesis examines the strategies Tanda women employed to adapt to policy inefficiencies of the post-colonial Zimbabwean state, especially in the wake of unfulfilled wartime promises. It grapples with Tanda women’s inventive agency in securing land access during the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP), often overcoming significant systemic barriers. Confronted by the nation’s economic crisis, Tanda women increasingly turned to informal economic activities such as artisanal gold panning and cross-border trading to ensure communal and familial survival. Finally, the thesis posits that through these actions, they actively contested restrictive political and economic systems, thereby transgressing conventional gender boundaries and redefining their roles within society. Overall, it argues that Tanda women have consistently confronted hegemonic societal structures and systematic marginalisation, thereby redefining both societal and gender norms.

Grantor dc:publisher

Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Nyabiko, Josephine

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Dube, Thembani

Language dc:language.iso

en

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/136045

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/136045