Anna Chitando is an associate professor in the Department of Languages and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Culture and Heritage Studies at the Zimbabwe Open University. Her research interests include African literature, children’s literature, and gender studies. She is the author of Fictions of Gender and the Dangers of Fiction in Zimbabwean Women’s Writings on HIV and AIDS (2012). Prof. Chitando co-edited The Art of Survival: Depictions of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwean in Crisis (2015). She has also published articles in refereed journals and contributed chapters to books.
Her recent publications include, “African Children’s Literature, Spirituality and Climate Change” in The Ecumenical Review (2017) and “The Girl Child’s Resilience and Agency in NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names” in the Journal of Literary Studies (2016).
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This study seeks to establish the contribution of young women to peace building in Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe. It investigates the extent to which young women have refused to be confined to victimhood, but have been actively involved in conflict transformation in their communities. The study identifies the areas in which the young women are contributing to peace building in Mashonaland East, highlights their achievements, draws attention to their limitations and makes recommendations regarding policy. Overall, it challenges the dominant paradigm of regarding young women only as victims, but seeks to appreciate their positive roles in peace building.
