Narratives of women in politics in Zimbabwe’s recent past: the case of Joice Mujuru and Grace Mugabe

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study analyses media narratives of Joice Mujuru’s fall from Zimbabwe’s political hierarchy and Grace Mugabe’s speeches during the “Meet the People” rallies that were held in Zimbabwe’s ten political provinces between 2015 and 2017. Media texts about Joice Mujuru’s political demise are analysed as reproductions of gender stereotypes used to justify women’s marginalisation in politics, while Grace Mugabe’s speeches are read as political performances of her power(lessness) as the wife of the then president (the late Robert Mugabe) and leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)’s Women’s League. Drawing on ideas of female political representation, this paper discusses representations of the political experiences of Joice Mujuru and Grace Mugabe between 2014 and 2018 to highlight the gendered aspects of politics, and explores whether women’s presence in political leadership in Zimbabwe translates into substantive representation of women.