A Long Way To Go For Female Art-work Recognition

Women make up more than half of the Zimbabwe’s population of 15 million but are still vastly underrepresented in higher education and formal employment.

More girls than boys complete elementary school in Zimbabwe but one in three women were married before they reached 18, according to the United Nations children’s agency. UNICEF cited teenage pregnancy and early marriage as key factors preventing girls completing high school and pursuing careers.

Previously, girls could marry at age 16 in Zimbabwe while boys had to be 18. A Constitutional Court ruling led to law changes last year setting the legal age for marriage and sexual consent for both boys and girls at 18.

Young female artists in the country are using their artwork to challenge age-old gender roles in a strongly patriarchal society .

For example the self-portrait below shows a woman covering her face with a yellow miner’s helmet while money spills over the edge of a traditional African reed basket she holds in her lap.

The artwork juxtaposes a helmet from an overtly male-dominated job with a delicately woven basket commonly used by women at markets.

To art curator Fadzai Muchemwa, the piece speaks directly of a woman’s struggle to break free of those traditional roles.

“To survive as a woman in Zimbabwe … one needs a hard hat,” she said.