Reclaiming their socio-economic space in African culture : Shona Women Cross-Border Traders of Zimbabwe

The advent of colonialism relegated the traditional African woman to the fringes of the family and society through codified customary law. The Shona women of Zimbabwe were some of the worst affected as they were re-defined as housewives who had to rely on their husbands for the up-keep of the family. However, in as much as globalisation has been accused of having brought some crisis on the African continent and side-lined a significant number of indigenous players, for the African woman in the global south it has brought some form of re-awakening. Globalisation seems to have re-opened the avenues for Shona women and enabled them to re-negotiate their entry back into the economic activities of the family and the public sphere. Despite the general lack of interest in the activities of women and in the strategies used by the poor for survival, it is a known fact that Shona women have become a force to reckon with in terms of cross-border trading in Zimbabwe. This research was prompted by the general hub of activity at the country's borders before the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic and the predominance of women traders who traverse the borders but whose activities have either not attracted enough attention to get their work recognised, or simply because they are taken for granted. Despite such strides, women in the cross-border trading business have instead garnered a certain stigma around them to the extent that the magnitude of their work is largely unrecognised. Yet elsewhere, the significance of women in informal trade is well documented. This study argues that women have not been left out in the global arena of trade. Desai (2009) acknowledges that the global economic openings in the informal sector have afforded women the opportunity to become active players in the markets of the global South. It is the aim of this research to investigate how globalisation has influenced the nature of the activities of Shona women in the cross-border trading business in Zimbabwe and their impact on the social well-being of the family and the nation’s economy at large. The research is largely qualitative in nature. Purposively selected Shona female cross-border traders at the Gulf Complex and Copacabana Market in Harare were interviewed before the COVID pandemic. The study revealed that the transnational activities of these Zimbabwean women are more wide-spread than has been anticipated. The study also revealed that women are unrecognised pillars in the economy of Zimbabwe as reflected in their success stories that have benefited Zimbabwe as a country. The study was informed by Africana Womanist theory which is embedded in African culture with special leaning on Ubuntu/ Unhu philosophy which recognises the complementary roles and partnerships of both men and women in resolving society's challenges.