Southern Rhodesia was a colony of the British Empire. In 1980, it gained independence as modern-day Zimbabwe, after a long liberation struggle, and a bitter guerrilla war. Guerrilla Girl tells the story of Shupai, and her journey to liberation. Follow her from impoverished childhood in a convent school in rural Rhodesia; to her experiences of discrimination and injustice as a young woman in the capital Salisbury; her radical awakening amongst youth political groups; to her transformation into a highly trained freedom fighter. The women of Zimbabwe had to fight for liberation on two fronts: from the domination of the common colonialist enemy, and from the male chauvinism of their countrymen. Most African men in Zimbabwe found it hard to accept women as fighters, let alone as armed guerrillas. Women had a hard time asserting themselves as capable and trusted liberators, always in danger of being put down by their male counterparts. Whilst the names of the characters are fictitious, the majority of events and places are true.

Over the past fifteen years, Weaver Press has published seven anthologies of some one hundred short stories giving voice to new and established Zimbabwean writers. In Windows into Zimbabwe Franziska Kramer and Jrgen Kramer have selected from these anthologies twenty-three stories, which they consider the best or most representative of a particular period in the Zimbabwean narrative since 1980. They present the stories within sections which frame certain themes such as Independence, Gukurahundi, Land, Gender Relations, Money Matters, Social Relations, Exile and Resilience. For the general reader, Windows into Zimbabwe contains some wonderful stories rich in insight, perception, nuance and humour. Writers such as Charles Mungoshi, Petina Gappah, NoViolet Bulawayo, Valerie Tagwira and Shimmer Chinodya are included as well as relative newcomers with new perceptions and fresh voices. The compilers have also provided an introductory overview casting light on the relationship between fiction and society; and for teachers(in schools, colleges and universities) each story is accompanied by explanatory notes, questions and study tasks to further the readers understanding. Windows into Zimbabwe will positively deepen your appreciation of the country and its people.

This retrospective offers a first hand account on internal conflicts in ZANU during the 1970s, which resulted in the defeat of its left wing. Chung's narratives include her experiences in two guerrilla camps. She recalls her encounters with the charismatic Josiah Tongogara, a legendary military commander during Zimbabwe's liberation war (known as the ©second chimurenga♯), who died at the threshold to Independence. The personal recollection of a transition to national sovereignty concludes with an incisive analysis of developments after Independence. It ends with Chung's vision for the Zimbabwe of the future. Fay Chung served within the Ministry of Education in post-colonial Zimbabwe for a total of fourteen years, at the end as the Minister of Education and Culture. Her autobiographical account has the childhood experiences in colonial Rhodesia as a point of departure. Like many other Zimbabwean intellectuals she joined the liberation struggle. From the mid-1970s she worked within the ZANU-organised educational sphere.

The history of women guerilla fighters in the Zimbabwean National Liberation war (1965-80), this book provides an examination of the many different groups of women who joined the armed struggle and contributes to a feminist understanding of Zimbabwe and African history and politics. Most previously published accounts of this event in history have tended to focus on the feminine' or 'natural' role women played in it, ignoring the experiences of female guerilla fighters. This book redresses the balance, giving voice to a previously unsung group of women.'

Fiction. African & African American Studies. Short Stories. New Edition with an introduction by M G Vassanji. The place is white-ruled Rhodesia of the seventies (now Zimbabwe), the exile the African in his or her own land. Young men and women flee from their villages to join the freedom fighters in the forests. These stories, set during the years of the armed struggle, tell of the other struggle, that of survival of those who stayed behind. Told essentially from the women's point of view, in lyrical but unaffected prose, the stories recreate the dark atmosphere of those months full of fear and hope.

The powerful sequel to Nervous Conditions, by the Booker-shortlisted author of This Mournable Body The Book of Not continues the saga of Tambudzai, picking up where Nervous Conditions left off. As Tambu begins secondary school at the Young Ladies’ College of the Sacred Heart, she is still reeling from the personal losses that have been war has inflicted upon her family—her uncle and sister were injured in a mine explosion. Soon she’ll come face to face with discriminatory practices at her mostly-white school. And when she graduates and begins a job at an advertising agency, she realizes that the political and historical forces that threaten to destroy the fabric of her community are outside the walls of the school as well. Tsitsi Dangarembga, honored with the 2021 PEN Award for Freedom of Expression, digs deep into the damage colonialism and its education system does to Tambu’s sense of self amid the struggle for Zimbabwe’s independence, resulting in a brilliant and incisive second novel.

Zimbabwe's Transition to Democracy in the post-independence era has been a very difficult one. To date, there have been a number of sustained efforts by various local, regional and international actors to move Zimbabwe towards democracy as well as attempts to find a lasting solution to the political and economic crises that seriously affected the country's progress from the late 1990s. However, these attempts have been less successful mainly because Zimbabwe has complex political and economic problems, with interlocking national, regional and international political and economic dimensions rooted in both historical and contemporary factors and developments. To understand the complexities of the challenges to Zimbabwe's transition to democracy as well as prospects for political change and democracy in the country, Zimbabwe in Transition critically examines both the historical and contemporary dynamics shaping political and economic developments in the country, taking into account voices from a broad spectrum of Zimbabwean society, including civil society, faith-based communities, the diaspora, women, community leaders, the media, youth, and regional actors such as SADC and the AU. Book jacket.

"This study examines the historical development, social, political and economic significance of gospel music in Zimbabwe. It approaches music with Christian theological ideas and popular appeal as a cultural phenomenon with manifold implications. Applying a history of religious approach to the study of a widespread religious phenomenon, the study seeks to link religious studies with popular culture. It argues that gospel music represents a valuable entry point into a discussion of contemporary African cultural production. Gospel music successfully blends the musical traditions of Zimbabwe, influences from other African countries, and music styles from other parts of the world."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

In light of the uses and misuses of history in Zimbabwean politics in recent years, this research report focuses on how versions of the country "s liberation war history have become a site of struggle over the definition of Zimbabwean national identity. As "identity politics" often do, Zimbabwean nationalism draws on a wide field of cultural symbols of identity and political discourses of inclusion and exclusion. Therefore, the report takes a cross-disciplinary approach to the issue of national identity by "mapping out" the imaginary field of Zimbabwean nationalism. This approach opens up the possibility of cross-reading the political discourses of the President and the ruling party ZANU (PF) with opposing voices such as those in the works of the author Yvonne Vera. This cross-reading shows how Vera "s novels and the political discourses participate in the struggle over Zimbabwean national identity by offering different versions of the nation "s history in the form of "patriotic history," "feminist nationalism," or narratives of difference. In this way the research report adds to our understanding of power and resistance in Zimbabwean politics of national identity.