Sheba Tavarwisa

Sheba Tavarwisa was a war veteran from Zimbabwe. She was one of the first female commanders of the military wing of Zimbabwe African National Union, ZANLU, which spearheaded the country's revolution against colonial rule[1][2]

Revolution

Tavarwisa was working as a primary school teacher until she left to join the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLU) to fight for the country's liberation. She was one of the early cadres and first female commanders of the movement.[2] Her initial responsibility was to carry and supply arms from Zambia to Mozambique to the frontlines in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia). She was also responsible for disseminating the movement. She cooperated particularly among the peasants to gather their support.[3] Tavarwisa also ensured that women in the camps were not being sexually harassed or exploited.[1]

Tavarwisa trained members, undertook missions and led revolts as a commander while managing to tend to her children as a mother.[4]

In 1978, Tavarwisa became ZANU's Deputy Secretary for Education.[5] She rose ranks and became a member of ZANU's supreme decision making body, the high command.[1][5] She took part in planning strategies and was the only woman among 27 others. Apart from being a member of ZANU's women's department, she was elected to sit at the organization's central committee.[2]

Educator and politician Fay Chung who was also a member of ZANU commented on Tavarwasa that:[6][7]

The only camp commander who to my knowledge refused to comply with this systematic abuse of some of the young women who had joined the struggle, many of them for the most idealistic of reasons, was Sheba Tavarwisa., a top woman commander and one of the first and most respected of women guerrillas. She was a skilled and wise leader, who managed to maintain her integrity while enjoying the absolute trust of Tongogara, despite the fact that she always refused to comply with his demands for women. Josiah Tongogara respected her combination of independence and loyalty.

— Dr. Fay Chung

Death

Tavarwisa died in the early 1980s due to kidney disease.

She was buried in an unmarked graveyard at a remote village in Gutu. She was not acknowledged as a hero,[8][9] prompting ZANU-PF provincial official Mapiye Hwekete to question the late vice president Simon Muzenda about the criteria for recognizing pioneer war veterans.

Many male colleagues who later joined the struggle and even those who were trained by early female combatants such as Tavarwisa were granted with the hero status and buried at the National Heroes Acre.[8]

References
  1. "Here are the Unsung Female Heroes Of Africa's Liberation Everyone Should Know". Women Africa. Jetheights Media. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  2. Munyaradzi, Mawere; Tapuwa, Mubaya (12 December 2015). Colonial Heritage, Memory and Sustainability in Africa: Challenges, Opportunities and Prospects. Langaa RPCIG. ISBN 978-9956-763-72-6. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  3. Chung, Fay (2006). Re-living the Second Chimurenga: Memories from the Liberation Struggle in Zimbabwe. African Books Collective. ISBN 978-1-77922-046-2.
  4. "Female Combatants and Shifting Gender Perceptions during Zimbabwe's Liberation War, 1966-79" (PDF). International Journal of Gender and Women's Studies. 2. March 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  5. Nhongo-Simbanegavi, Josephine. "For Better Or Worse? Women And ZANLA In Zimbabwe's Liberation Struggle". ACCORD. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  6. "Dr. Fay King Chung". Forum for African Women Educationalists: FAWE. African Women Educationalists. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  7. Tafadzwa Ngoshi, Hazel (September 2013). "Masculinities and Femininities in Zimbabwean Autobiographies of Political Struggle: The Case of Edgar Tekere and Fay Chung". Journal of Literary Studies. 29 (3): 119–139. doi:10.1080/02564718.2013.810871. S2CID 216116695. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  8. Matikinye, Ray (11 October 2007). "What credentials does a hero need?". The Zimbabwe Independent. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  9. Makura, John (22 June 2014). "Zanu PF not consistent on hero status". Nehanda Radio. Neharanda Radio. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
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