Religion, Law and Women’s Leadership in Pre-Colonial Zimbabwe: What went wrong?

Religion, Law and Women’s Leadership in Pre-Colonial Zimbabwe: What went wrong?

Tenson Muyambo & Tinotenda Muyambo

Issue: Vol. 12 No.2 2026 Issue Article 3 pp.53 – 63
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20261223| Published online 29th March 2026.
© 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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ABSTRACT

Issues of religion, law and leadership in Africa are contentious to the extent that they have become battlefields of power, gender inequalities and social injustices. This article explores the oral provisions of African Traditional Religion to women’s leadership in pre-colonial Zimbabwe vis-à-vis the post-colonial legal provisions of leadership in the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No.20 of 2013, with a view to making an informed comparison between what religion and law say about leadership in general, and women’s leadership in particular. The Zimbabwe case study was used as a mirror of the African worldview on religion, law, and leadership. The study adopted documentary review, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and observation to gather data for this study. The findings revealed that African Traditional Religion in pre-colonial Zimbabwe empowered women through rituals and ceremonies. While the Constitution of Zimbabwe (2013) is clear on traditional and political leadership, women are not given the rights accorded to them by the Constitution. Using an Afro-centric approach, the study argues that while in pre-colonial Zimbabwe women were accorded some substantial powers for leadership, these seem to have waned during colonial and postcolonial Zimbabwe. Yet women’s leadership is not only transparent, responsible and accountable, but nurturing. We argue that women’s leadership is a cog in the realisation of Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 10.

Keywords: Afro-Centric, Law, Religion, Women Leadership, Culture, Zimbabwe.

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AUTHOR(S)

Tenson Muyambo is a PhD holder from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). He is a Research fellow at the University of South Africa’s (UNISA) Research Institute for Theology and Religion (RITR), College of Human Sciences. He lectures at the National University of Lesotho, Department of Theology and Religious Studies. His research interests are on indigenous knowledge systems, religion (Ndau indigenous religion), gender, education, and pandemics. Some of his co-edited books include: Religion and COVID-19 Vaccination in Zimbabwe (2023), Religion and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Southern Africa (2022) & Re-imagining Indigenous Practices in 21^st Century Africa: Debunking Myths and Misconceptions for Conviviality and Sustainability (2022). He has also won some consultancy work with some organisations.

Tinotenda Muyambo is a fourth-year Law (LLB) student at Herbert Chitepo School of Law, Great Zimbabwe University. His academic focus is on exploring how legal systems interact with religious doctrines. He focuses on the examination of constitutional protection of religious freedom as well as the role of customary law in modern jurisdiction. He is also a seasoned mooter who competes in Moot Court competitions, focusing on various topics such as religion and the rights of individuals.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Muyambo, Tenson, and Tinotenda Muyambo. “Religion, Law and Women’s leadership in Pre-Colonial Zimbabwe: What went wrong?” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies 12, no.2 (2026): 53 – 64. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20261223