” Township Girls, provides a significant first step in documenting some of the good, bad and ugly wrapped up in the under-explored social and cultural histories of Zimbabwe’s transition. The more we document these stories, the greater our ability to reflect on, and demand more of, our world-views in the past, present and future” – Panashe Chigumadzi, author of Sweet Medicine, and contributing editor of Johannesburg Review of Books
This anthology comprises the stories of 31 women who grew up in two countries, Zimbabwe prior to Independence and Zimbabwe post-1980. The contributors reflect on their childhoods with refreshing candor. Many of their memories retain the crystalline clarity of childhood and thus provide insights into worlds that have often remained unexplored.
Behind these women stood dedicated, hard-working parents, determined that their children succeed through education. The commitment of this emerging middle class provides us with a tragic reminder of the negative obduracy of the colonial regime which consistently denied such citizens the vote. Nonetheless, we are repeatedly reminded not of the dark side of an essentially racist regime, but of the joys of a secure childhood when parents and communities were steadfast in their values, and families consistently offered stability and security. Few will read Township Girls: The Cross-Over Generation without feeling that they have learned something new and been invited into a different world.
publisher: Weaver Press, Zimbabwe