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.
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