Examining women’s agency with respect to the appropriation of runyoka in Johane Masowe Zambuko Apostolic Church in Zimbabwe.

Abstract

Recent studies reflect increasing subjugation of women within African independent churches. Women within these churches fall victims of deeply entrenched patriarchal hegemony that renders these women voiceless and powerless. This study therefore examines how women’s agency through the appropriation of Runyoka can bring about the desired situation that enables women not only to flourish, but also usher in the desired transformation within the African Independent Churches in regards to gender relations. The study offers a critical interrogation of the socio-cultural factors that may have necessitated the appropriation of Runyoka by women within the Johane Masowe Zambuko Apostolic Church in Zimbabwe. In order to understand the agency of women within the Johane Masowe Zambuko Apostolic Church in Zimbabwe, this study applies Nego-feminism as a theoretical framework utilised to analyse the appropriation of Runyoka by women. Nego-feminism as theoretical framework interrogates how women respond to cultural practices that makes them vulnerable and disempowered, based within the complexity of negotiation and compromise in the context of African cultures. In other words, Nego-feminism is a feminist theory that implicitly acknowledges the capabilities of women in dealing with patriarchy. As a descriptive qualitative study, phenomenology and interpretive document analysis were used as research Methodologies. The focus of phenomenology is on understanding the unique lived experiences of individuals by exploring the meaning of a phenomenon. This study utilised secondary data in seeking to understand the ritual of runyoka in Johane Masowe Zambuko Apostolic Church and thematic analysis was used as a method of data analysis. Thematic analysis as a method of making sense of the data gathered for the purpose of interpretation was adopted for this study based on its theoretical flexibility.