LIBERATION WAR STORY CANNOT BE COMPLETE WITHOUT WOMEN
By Ruth Butaumocho

August 4, 2004 - (The Herald) The liberation war was a fierce struggle that saw thousands of lives being lost in the bid by Zimbabweans to regain their motherland that had been taken by whites.

It was this struggle that was to set the tone for the development and independence that Zimbabweans enjoy today.

However, the story of the liberation struggle would not be complete without talking about the role that women played during the war.

When the country went to war with the enemy to dispute the unequal distribution of land, among other grievances, thousands of women did not stand by and watch while their male counterparts went to war. They also took up arms in the fight against colonial rule.

They made the commitment to liberate the country from colonialism.

Because they were at war, they would walk for long distances carrying heavy arms, food and ammunition.

Sometimes when they ran out of food, they resorted to desperate survival tactics that included hunting game, eating wild fruits and trading some of their clothes.

They could not afford to relax especially in light of the pending danger from the imperialists who, wielding the most advanced arms of war then, were threatening their existence and the generations to come.

Like their male colleagues, women fought several battles and in some instances overpowered the enemy in their respective departments.

It was no easy task, but it had to be done.

One of the women who joined the liberation struggle and was party to some of the fiercest battles fought during the Second Chimurenga is the Minister of Water Resources and Infrastructural Development, Cde Joyce Mujuru.

Cde Mujuru, whose Chimurenga name was Teurai Ropa, had to prematurely end her education in 1973 while doing her Form Two so that she could join the war.

Despite the zeal she had and her immense contribution to the war, she admits that it was tough.

"It was not easy. No words can describe war and no one who has been there would want ever to relive such an experience," she was quoted saying in a weekly paper some few years ago.

With all the battles that were taking place, one could not afford to relax.

"You had to be alert all the time for attacks and warnings of attack," she said reflecting on her war experiences.

Despite the dangers and uncertainty they remained resolute.

"We vowed that the war would not end until Zimbabwe was ours."

Another female ex-combatant, Alexina Mahovoyo, known during the Chimurenga war as "Farirai Makura", remembers how women would come together during the night to share "women stories" to steel their nerves in the heat of battle.

"Such occasions were rare, but whenever we would get the opportunity we would briefly group together as women to share our fears, anxieties and even discuss menstrual problems.

"It was a way of strengthening our cause as women. The battlefield was not easy, we needed to draw inspiration from each other," she said.

There remain many untold stories of the war - of thousands of women who defied the mere thought of going to war to bring freedom to thousands of Zimbabweans today.

There are also untold stories of thousands of women who perished in the battlefields as they advanced to attack the enemy.

It is, however, sad to note that their names, their battles, their sufferings and what they stood for will remain a closed book.

It is also painful to realise that some of those women who left their families for the sake of the struggle were divorced in absentia and are now destitute.

They have got nothing to show for their bravery except memories of what should have been.

They cannot even turn back the hands of time and do all that they could have done, had they been given another chance.

Mary Murahwa, of Mbare whose Chimurenga name was Masaisai, runs a tuckshop to make ends meet: She says: "I am happy that we are free at last, but what pains me most is that I am not able to support my family with the meagre resources that I generate from this tuckshop.

"We were given money to start income-generating projects through Sedco (Small Scale Enterprises Development Corporation), but buying and selling is no longer viable."

Like many other female ex-combatants, her only wish is to see women get land and economic democracy.

"Yes, we have political democracy, but now we want resources. Resources to feed our children and be able to send them to school," she says.

She believes that a lot can be done to alleviate the lives of women who went to war.

"Many of us cannot get jobs in the formal sector because we did not go to school. The majority joined the war when they were just starting secondary school.

"Although there were abundant educational opportunities when the war ended, the majority could not go back to school due to social reasons and family commitments," she said.

Many female ex-combatants continue to lag behind in terms of development. Their only hope is to get land.

As the nation commemorates the fallen heroes and the independence, let us not forget the thousands of women who fought for the liberation of this country.

From: http://allafrica.com/stories/200408040475.html