Original Research
Oppressive and liberative: A Zimbabwean woman's reflections on ubuntu
Submitted: 23 February 2015 | Published: 18 June 2015
About the author(s)
Molly Manyonganise, Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy, Zimbabwe Open University, ZimbabweAbstract
Ubuntu as an African ethic has been embraced in Africa as one that defines an individual’s African-ness. Its influence has gone beyond the African borders with other continents pondering how it can be embraced in their contexts. Scholars from Africa and beyond have eulogised the indispensability of ubuntu. However, it is a fact that most academic writings on the concept by various scholars have neglected to look at ubuntu and how it intersects with gender – especially with a particular focus on its ambivalence in the lives of women in Africa. This article, therefore, seeks to make a critical reflection on the ambivalence of the concept focussing mainly on the cultural traditions of the Shona of Zimbabwe from the perspective of a womanist.
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