Helen Mangwende

Helen Mangwende was a leader in Women's Clubs during the 20th century. Mangwende influenced many African women during a time of white minority rule. Mangwende's creation of The Federation of African Women Clubs gave African women opportunities that would not have existed through normal colonial domestic education. Mangwende's efforts showed African and colonial women that they could work together to help each other.

Historical context What is now called Zimbabwe used to be called by a few other names. These include Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia, and Zimbabwe Rhodesia. Southern Rhodesia is what the colony was first called. The name Rhodesia originates from a famous colonizer named Cecil John Rhodes. Northern Rhodesia was a separate colonial state. Southern Rhodesia was a British colony that was self-governed by the white minority. Like many other African Colonies, it was ruled indirectly for a long time but unlike many African countries, it did not receive genuine independence for a long time. For much of the 20th century, the country was ruled by a white minority. When the British tried to correct this later on they were met with resistance. This was when Rhodesia was formed in 1965. Southern Rhodesia existed from 1923-1965 and for a short time in 1979-1980. Since Helen Mangwende died in 1955 she lived for most of the existence of Southern Rhodesia. The main thing that influenced her and many other lives in the region was the established white minority rule. White settlers were common and Southern Rhodesia was used as a place to farm western crops and cotton. She was a rural school teacher from Murehwa. In 1950, Helen Mangwende created the FAWC (Federation of African Women Clubs). She helped establish the FAWC and founded several other women's clubs, including the Mrewa Bantu Club, which had over 700 members in 1950. Mangwende worked with white colonial women who also ran the clubs. Mangwende knew that the clubs' success relied on the active support of white women. Observers at the time thought of her as bridging the gap between races. She believed that educating and training African Women on home skills could improve the lives of their villages as a whole. While Mangwende wanted opportunities for African women, colonial powers wanted to make wives of the elite and keen cultivators of colonial values. This profoundly impacted colonized societies, which were forced to embrace the colonizers' values. The colonial powers reinforced their control and perpetuated gender inequalities within the educational system, reflecting broader colonial ideologies.

Appearance in Wives of Nendi film In 1949, Helen Mangwende starred in and helped write a popular movie, The Wives of Nendi. The director of The Wives of Nendi noted that Mangwende was involved in almost every aspect of the film's writing process. In the movie, Mangwende played a maternal figure who trained and made suggestions for housekeeping in her village. Helen Mangwende plays Mai Mangwende in The Wives of Nendi. Her women’s club teaches a man named Nendi’s three wives how to keep their homes clean and how to cook. Nendi’s first wife does not want to follow the club's suggestions until Mangwende teaches her the skills. After Mangwende teaches Nendi’s wives home craft skills, they become some of the village's best cooks and home crafters. The movie highlighted the training and education that members of the FAWC would undergo. During one of the scenes, several women state that Mangwende improved their lives by teaching them how to clean their houses. There have been discussions and debates about the film's endorsement of colonial values. Some European producers and audience members believed the movie showcased Western culture's dissemination and colonialism's success. On the other hand, many African women interpreted the film to display women's power in creating a strong community, supporting African values rather than colonial ones.

Legacy Helen Mangwende touched the lives of many Africans. Her actions are celebrated in Zimbabwe on Helen Mangwende Day on March 14. Many Female Clubs based their values and principles on those of Mangwende, even after she died in 1955. Mangwende is noted as being as close to Christ himself, through her “pure” values as a women’s clubs leader. Mangwende is considered the Mother of Homecraft for creating ways for African Women to learn how to clean and cook in a way that supported their values. Helen Mangwende created a path where European and African women worked together through women’s clubs and the art of home craft. This act of both races working together this way was not seen before in colonial Zimbabwe.