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Elliot Ziwira

At the Bookstore

Joyce Jenje-Makwenda is a unique storyteller.

She has an exceptional ability to convey the woman’s story without being covertly feminine, or overtly defensive.

It is this skill which makes it possible for her audiences, regardless of gender, to pick their own biographies within the fictional experiences of toil depicted through the fairer sex.

She is conscious of the inspirational role art plays in humanity’s travails. Art, in her sight, is more than what meets the eye as it cuts across many genres.

Jenje-Makwenda is not new on the literary scene, since she has penned quite a number of books such as “Zimbabwe Township Music” (2005), “Gupuro” (2007), “Usenzeni”, “Divorce Token” (2009) , “Zimbabwe Women Musicians: 1930s-2013” (2013) and “Women Politicians/Parliamentarians of Zimbabwe Diary Notebook”.

Her latest offering “Women in the Arts in Zimbabwe” explores what constitutes art.

The first edition of the book was published in 2016, with the second and final edition expected to be available in June 2021; first as a kindle version and later as hard copy.

The book engrosses the reader in 16 genres of art, which are; music, media, literature, film, theatre, dance, visual arts (painting, sculpture, mixed/multimedia), fashion, culinary arts, comedy, arts and crafts, and sex art.

The disciplines covered are arranged in a way the reader can easily identify with as they tap into the way the Zimbabwean society understands art, how women perceive themselves and how the writer discerns the genres.

The way Jenje-Makwenda articulates the artistic journey of sorrow, hurt, despondency, malady, frustration and betrayal pervading womanhood, creates an everlasting musical repertoire in the ears of the reader or listener.

The artist underscores that music and women cannot be dated.

Having grown up in Mbare then known as Harari, Jenje-Makwenda was influenced by the women who shaped her existence as an African.

Through the inspiration of her father David, music became an expressive vent to her from an early age. A born storyteller, she taps into her family’s 86-year tradition as inhabitants of Zimbabwe’s oldest suburb.

The past 35 years have seen Jenje-Makwenda working on stories on cultural issues, politics, religion, media, music and journalism.

A visit to her archive would reveal the many battles she has fought on her journey to liberate the long subdued aspirations of women, whom she refuses to call vulnerable or feeble.

Born in 1958, Jenje-Makwenda is a researcher, journalist, historian and archivist.

It is this background that has helped her purvey the timeless struggles that weigh down on women’s aspirations as mothers, wives, breadwinners, caregivers and musicians.

A section in her archive captures the history of such aspirations in the form of photographs, musical albums, books and other paraphernalia.

The section covers women in arts, religion, politics, informal sector, media, and the history of the informal sector, which women started in the colonial era as they strived to put bread on the table in a society that scantily regards their hopes.

Jenje-Makwenda’s quest as a sojourner of truth has culminated in books, films, television documentaries, newspapers articles, journals, lectures and radio programmes; which has seen her win many awards.

Her documentary, “Zimbabwe Township Music” got a special mention in the Southern African Film Festival (1993).

Among her accolades are: Best TV Producer of the Year (Entertainment, music, drama), in the National Journalist and Media Awards of 1993 (Zimbabwe), sponsored by Reuters, second best TV Producer of the Year 1994 (National Journalistic Awards (Zimbabwe) sponsored by Reuters, Freelance Woman Journalist of the Year 1999 funded by UNIFEM and hosted by The Federation of Media Women of Zimbabwe, and Population Development and Gender Writer of The Year (Overall Winner) funded by UNFPA and hosted by Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) in 2002.

Storytelling has been used as both a didactic and entertaining platform since time immemorial as a way of regulating behaviour and passing on societal mores and values from generation to generation.

Today storytelling has transformed into a number of forms; film, literature, theatre/drama, poetry and music, which all evoke visual, aural and tactile images.

As Jenje-Makwenda highlights, food has always been central to African peoples’ relationships, with cooking considered a women’s domain.

Cooking had never been just any other chore, but an art that had to be perfected and honed so as to keep familial ties intact.

Today cooking has taken a commercial inclination as a culinary art, as such women have to fight it out with men to remain afloat.

Another interesting genre covered in “Women in the Arts in Zimbabwe” is sex art; an art form through which women used to communicate their sexuality.

It is crucial that women feel confident about their sexuality, and be able to communicate how they prefer to share it in an agreeable way.

Traditionally, it was acceptable for women to be artistic about their sexuality in a celebratory way so as to communicate their feelings to their partners.

However, today’s society is quick to raise the morality flag if a woman unreservedly expresses her sexuality. It is this societal inclination that the writer debunks in “Women in the Arts in Zimbabwe”.

Through sex art, women are inspired to challenge notions of morality when it comes to what makes them sexually satiated and happy.

In the book Jenje-Makwenda encourages women to continue using art as a means of communication.  Sex art is an effective way of communicating in this context.

Therefore, women should feel empowered to do so, rather than be shied into sexual subjugation. Some cultures across the African continent still encourage sex art as a way of kindling relationships and ensuring fertility and regeneration.

Furthermore, the book sheds light on painting through Doris Kampira’s voice.

Jenje-Makwenda says women used the art of painting as a way of expressing their roles as mothers, housewives and caregivers.

Their paintings were said to be inferior to men’s, because they would usually paint kneeling down, which has since changed.

Film, music and literature are some of the genres in which women are comfortable, and have been given prominence in the book.

However, women still lag behind in film as they are comfortable in taking up acting roles and work as production assistants, instead of going for more challenging tasks like producing, directing, set designing, photographing and editing.

Trends are also changing in music as women are no longer just vocalists. They are exploring other musical avenues like playing instruments, engineering, producing and recording.

However, singing remains women’s domain in their struggles to remain sane in a world where insanity is in vogue.

Another genre that women are also comfortable in is literature; both prose and poetry.

Since the 50s, women have been telling their stories through the written word.

Writers that easily come to mind are Doris Lessing, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Barbara Makhalisa-Nkala, Virginia Phiri, Sarudzayi Chifamba, Yvonne Vera and Petina Gappah.

Women have been able to articulate their desires through history by writing down their stories or performing them in poetic form.

The prevailing challenges always provide fodder for expression.

Jenje-Makwenda also explores dance as an art form in “Women in the Arts in Zimbabwe”.

Dancing provides an expressive vent through which the story of toil, vitality, regeneration, love and betrayal can be told within different cultural contexts.

Different dance routines depict many cultural connotations whose meanings are derived from the cultural and historical backgrounds that shape them.

She bemoans how, despite their efforts in creating their individual brands, women seem to be given little space in the mainstream arts industry.

There appears to be a pattern in their rather unceremonious silence and the way their personalities are steeped in controversies.

Women’s progress in the arts is always impeded by a number of challenges. As culture dictates, they are expected to perform their duties as mothers and wives before anything else.

Visual arts and sculpture are examined in an interesting and refreshing way in the collection.

Thematic concerns highlighted in Jenje-Makwenda’s informative book “Women in the Arts in Zimbabwe” include the public space (private space, persona), voice and artistic expression, women’s images, cultural correctness — self censorship, encouragement, mentorship, women and resources (funding and economic empowerment), education, personal time, life management, motherhood, sexuality and the media.

As the writer aptly purveys, art transcends rhetoric as it touches on all aspects of human endeavour, not women’s travails per se.

A must-read book for serious lovers of art in all its different facets.