Posthuman security and landmines: Gendered meaning-making and materialities in the North-Eastern border area of Zimbabwe

Abstract

English: This empirical study of landmines, gendered meaning-making and matter in the border area of Mukumbura, Northern Zimbabwe, was inspired by the everyday experiences of men and women as a consequence of their living together with landmines; the prevalence of a conspicuous gap in the human security literature on gendered discourses and human-object relationalities in relation to human security; and the inadequacy of grand security theories on how to overcome this deficiency by means of a feminist posthuman security perspective as analytical tool to study the gendered implications of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) in a post-war setting. These informed the objectives of the study which include, among others, to account for the theoretical shift from Human Security to a feminist posthuman security approach and to develop a theoretical framework supporting the latter; to critically analyse how landmines influence the construction of masculinities, femininities and victimhood in the discourse of peace and security; to critically analyse the role of landmines in gendering socio-economic (in)security in postconflict communities; and to assess how coping mechanisms become gendered through humanlandmine co-existence. The study used a qualitative feminist posthumanist methodology which was ethnographic and reflexive in orientation. Data gathering tools included key-participant interviews, life history narratives and overt participant observation. These data collection tools were strategically chosen as they befit the feminist qualitative methodology that recognises reflexivity in the context of fluid identities. As such, the participants were men and women whose lives were shaped and reshaped by their co-existence with landmines during and after the war of liberation in the border area. Drawing on three key theoretical pillars – the agency of all genders, the agency of objects, as well as taking the African context of intangible objects/spiritualities seriously – the study has shown that human (in)security ought to be understood as a complex, fluid and contextualised phenomenon. The focus of the study on everyday micro-level (in)security has challenged the theoretical prejudices of grand security theories such as Realism, Human Security, Critical Security Studies and Feminist Security Studies, as well as their negation of alternative analytical constructs that (re)frame (in)security at the community level. These included gender, context (Afrocentrism), and the agency of non-human things (tangible/landmines and intangible/spiritualities). Despite the fact that livelihoods, identities and victimhood have all been shown to be gendered in many contexts, the subsequent agency exercised by men and women in their constrained ecologies shows that physical and socio-economic insecurity (vulnerability) transcends gender binaries as both men and women are equally embroiled in the becoming of (in)security in these contexts. Thus, theoretically and empirically, the thesis has demonstrated that it is only through a feminist posthuman approach that we can comprehensively understand that (in)security is a function of the human-object intra-action, since both humans and nonhuman things are co-constituted in co-producing gendered (in)security spaces and practices in post-conflict communities where ERW are still present.

Other: Tsvagurudzo ino yezvimbambaira yekuzvionera wega, kugadzirwa kwendevo dziri maringe nepfungwa yemawadzanirano evanhurume nevanhukadzi mutsika nemagariro avo pamwe nezvinobatika munzvimbo yeMukumbura iri kumuganhu wenyika, Kumaodzanyemba kweZimbabwe, yakakurudzirwa nezvinosanganikwa nazvo zuva nezuva nevarume nevakadzi kuburikidza nekutambudzwa nezvimbambaira; kuwoneka kuri pachena kwemukaha muzvinyorwa zvedziviriro yevanhu zviri maringe nehurukuro ine chokuita nepfungwa yemawadzanirano evanhurume nevanhukadzi pamwe nepfungwa dzine ungwaru dzeukama pakati pemunhu nechinhu zvichienderana nedziviriro yevanhu; uye nekushomeka kwepfungwa huru dzedziviro maererano nekukunda kushomeka uku kuburikidza nepfungwa yedziviriro isinganyanyokoshesa munhu kudarika zvimwe zvisikwa, iri muhwaro hwemaonero anokoshesa zvinosangana nevanhukadzi saicho chombo cheongororo mutsvagurudzo ino chekuongorora pfungwa dzemhedziso dzisiri pachena dzewadzano pakati pevanhurume nevanhukadzi dzeZvinoputika Zvakasarira muHondo (Explosive Remnants of War – ERW) munguva iyo hondo yapera. Zvingangwa izvi zvetsvagurudzo, izvo zvinosanganisira pakati pezvimwe, kutsanangura kwemasanduro epfungwa yemaonero kubva kuDziviriro yeVanhu kuenda kune pfungwa yemaonero isingatori munhu sechisikwa chakakosha kudairika zvimwe mudziviriro pamwe nekuumba hwaro hwemaonero anotsigira pfungwa yepiri; kuongorora zvakadzama kukurudzira kunoita zvimbambaira kuvaka pfungwa dzeundume, hunhukadzi nedzekuva munhu wekushungurudzwa muhurukuro dzerunyararo nedziviriro; kuongorora zvakadzama basa rezvimbambaira mukukonzera kuti dziviriro/kusadzivirirwa kwezveupfumi nemagariro kuonekwe maringe nepfungwa yewadzano pakati pevanhurume nevanhukadzi munzvimbo dzapera hondo; uye nekuongorora kuti nzira dzekugadzirisa matambudziko aya dzinozopinza pfungwa yewadzano pakati pevanhurume nevanhukadzi kuburikidza nedambudziko revanhu nezvimbambaira. Nzira yetsvagurudzo yakashandiswa ndeyepfungwa isingakoshesi zvakakanyanya chisikwa chinonzi munhu kudarika zvimwe zvisikwa, yakatsamira papfungwa yehwaro yehunhukadzi iyo yakanga ine maonero anokoshesa pfungwa dzevanhu venzvimbo iri kuitirwa tsvagurudzo pamwe nekuvapo kwemutsvagurudzi panyaya iri kutsvagurudzwa. Zvombo zvekuunganidza mashoko zvaisanganisira kubvunzwa kwevanhu vakakosha vakasarudzwa kupinda mutsvagurudzo, ngano dzenhoroondo dzezveupenyu hwevanhu pamwe nekuongoona kuri pachena kwemutori wenzvimbo mutsvagurudzo. Zvombo zvekuunganidza mashoko izvi zvakasarudzwa paine vavariro yekuzadzikisa zvinangwa zvetsvagurudzo sezvo zvichienderana nenzira yetsvangurudzo yezvehunhukadzi inotsvaga chokwadi kuburikidza neongororo inotwa mumagariro evanhu chaiwo iyo inokoshesa kuva nechokuita kwemutsvagurudzi kutsvagurudzo munzvimbo dzine zvimiro zvinosanduka-sanduka. Nokudaro, vakatora nzvimbo mutsvagurudzo vaiva varume nevakadzi vane upenyu hwakasandurwa nekusandurwa pekare kuburikidza nekugara kwavo pamwe chete nezvimbambaira munguva yehondo yerusunguko, uye munguva iyo hondo yapera munzvimbo yekumuganhu iyi. Ichitora kubva mumbiru nhatu dzakakosha dzehwaro hwemafungiro – kutora matanho kwevarume nevakadzi, magonero ezvinhu, pamwe nekukoshesa zvakanyanya mamiriro emuAfrica ezvinhu/zvemweya zvisingabatike – tsvagurudzo ino yakaratidza kuti dziviriro kana kusadzivirirwa kwevanhu kunofanira kunzwisiswa sechinhu chakaomarara, chinosanduka, uye chiri mumamiriro acho. Kudondana kwetsvagurudzo maringe nedziviriro/kushaya dziviriro yezuva nezuva kuri padanho repasi-pasi, kwadenha pfungwa dzezvehwaro hwemaonero dzisina kutsigirwa nechokwadi dzepfungwa huru dzehwaro hwemaonero maringe nedziviriro dzakaita seyeHuchokwadi, Dziviriro yeVanhu, Pfungwa yeOngororo Yakadzama yeZvidzidzo zveDziviriro, nePfungwa yezveHunhukadzi yeZvidzidzo zveDziviriro pamwe nemarambiro adzo dzimwe pfungwa dzeongororo dzinoumba nekuumba patsva dziviriro/kusadzivirirwa padambo renzvimbo inogara vanhu. Pfungwa idzi dzinosanganisira pfungwa yemawadzanirano pakati pevanhurume nevanhukadzi mutsika nemagariro avo, hwaro hwemaitikiro ezvinhu (Pfungwa yehwaro emaonero inokoshesa tsika nenhoroondo dzeAfrica), pamwe nemagonero ezvinhu zvisiri vanhu (zvinobatika/zvimbambaira nezvisingabatiki/zvemweya). Kunyangwe zvazvo nzira dzekutsvaga chouviri, zvimiro pamwe nehukanganisirwi zvakaratidzwa zvose kuti zvimwe chokuita nepfungwa yezvekuwadzana pakati pevanhurume nevanhukadzi mutsika nemagariro avo mumamiriro nemaitikiro ezvinhu akawanda, matanho anotevera anoitwa nevarume nevakadzi munzvimbo dzavo dzakamanikana dzeukama pakati pezvipuka nenharaunda, anoratidza kuti kusadzivirirwa kwemiviri yavo pamwe nekwemagariro nezveupfumi hwavo kunodarika uviri hunopikisa hwezvewadzano yevanhukadzi nevanhurume mutsika nemagariro avo, sezvo zvose varume nevakadzi vachibatwa zvakaenzana mukuuya kwenjodzi muhwaro uhu hwemaitikiro ezvinhu. Nokudaro, mupfungwa yehwaro hwemaonero pamwe nekuzvionera pamhuno sefodya, chinyorwa chino charatidza kuti kuburikidza chete nekushandisa maonero ehunhukadzi asinganyanyokoshesa munhu kudarika zvimwe zvisikwa, kunokwanisa kuti tinzwisise zvizere kuti (kusava ne)dziviriro ibasa redanho remukati reukama kwevanhu nezvinhu, sezvo vanhu nezvisiri vanhu vachipinzwa pauviri hwavo mukuburitsa pahumwechete hwavo nzvimbo netsika dze(kusava ne)dziviriro munguva iyo kurwisana kunenge kwapera, asi munzvimbo dzavo muchine zvisarirwa zvehondo zvinoputika.