Ruth Butaumocho African Agenda
Africa is awash with stories of strong, determined women who dared to dream and even conquered in wars within their countries and beyond when no one thought it would be possible under difficult circumstances.
From Cape to Cairo, Africa has a rich history of women, whose faces might not have been pitched glowing in the glossy pages of history books, but their narratives continue to be told more than 1 000 years later.
Ethiopians to this day speak glowingly of their own heroine, Taytu Betul (1851-1918), a highly-respected woman who founded Addis Ababa.
An empress consort of the Ethiopian empire, Taytu was instrumental in the battle of Adowa and was said to be a hardliner against the Italian interests in Ethiopia.
Algerians have their own heroine Zohra Drif, who in 1956 bombed a milk bar, wounding and killing French civilians in a development that sparked the battle of Algiers.
Historians will remember with nostalgia the women soldiers of Dahomey, an all-female but ruthless military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey, which is the present day Republic of Benin.
Despite being all women, they would go all out, fight and conquer against male opponents, such that they became a force to reckon with during the 19th Century.
They were so determined to protect their territorial integrity as women that they never married. They selflessly saved their region.
With only a few days to go before Heroes Day, Zimbabweans need to introspect on the role played by thousands of gallant sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives to free the country from the yoke of the colonialists.
It took selfless dedication, determination and bravery for thousands of men and women who crossed into neighbouring countries for military training to fight against the colonialists as the battle for territorial integrity intensified.
While it may never be possible to list the thousands who remain unaccounted for even up to this day, hence the importance and symbolism of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Zimbabwe which richly captures the role of women from different backgrounds who left their homes at the height of the liberation struggle to take up arms alongside their male counterparts.
Like many who went to war during this time, they did not do so for self-aggrandisement or so that they could have their names emblazoned in the annals of history, they only sacrificed to serve their country.
After the war came to an end, names of hundreds of women, who illuminated the struggle in their own right came to the fore, as both historians and academics sought to give recognition to their roles.
In the early 1990s there were attempts to rewrite the past and make it fuller and nuanced, but sadly the exercise was never successfully completed.
However, several names such as Maud Muzenda, Vivian Mwashita, Shuvai Mahofa, Julia Tukai Zvobgo, Victoria Chitepo, Sheba Tavarwisa, Joana Nkomo, Ruth Nomonde Chinamamo and Sunny Ntombiyelanga Takawira make up the list of heroines in Zimbabwe, although the figures could be more than this.
The history of Zimbabwe would not be complete without speaking about Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana, known as Mbuya Nehanda, among a litany of heroines, who helped shaped the liberation struggle narrative of this country.
Mbuya Nehanda was a powerful spirit medium and heroine of the First Chimurenga war against British settler colonialism. She is one of the greatest heroines of our time who shaped and influenced the early African liberation struggle against colonialism.
It is for that reason probably that the nation is elated with construction of Mbuya Nehanda’s statue in Harare which is set to act as a constant reminder and towering statement of the powerful and revered Shona mhondoro’s heroic deeds during her time at Shavarunzi Hills before she was later captured at Baradzanwa Hill by the invading colonial settlers.
The nation believes that putting up a statue of Mbuya Nehanda is a national celebration of her courage and those who worked with her in a bid to defeat colonial occupation.
Like many women of her time, Mbuya Nehanda left a legacy, that can not just be wished away, but should be preserved through such monuments for posterity
However, preservation of history should not just be about the erection of monuments, but it should take many forms to ensure that the nation can capture the heroic achievements of many individuals.
Political leadership within provinces should have the onerous task of identifying their own heroines and find ways to honour their achievements in different ways.
To this day, the Government has since disbursed thousands of dollars to provinces for devolution projects.
Part of that money can be used to preserve history by either building monuments, dedicate spaces of halls of fame within institutions or use it to preserve existing intangible heritage, where these women of valour carried out their exploits.
It is undisputed that women in Zimbabwe and Africa played a crucial role in the independence of African states.
However, the battle remains to educate people who these amazing women were in the first place because “history” is usually just that — “his” rather than “her” story.
Being a great believer of the adage that “you can’t be what you can’t see”, the decision by the Government to erect Mbuya Nehanda’s statue in the capital should be the harbinger of more positive development as far as preserving the history of our heroines is concerned .
Our women and girls will certainly emulate what they see, hence their fascination with visuals and fashion.
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