The Liberation of a Woman and a Country

Tsitsi Dangarembga from Zimbabwe is considered one of the most prominent African authors today and is acclaimed for addressing the twin heritages of colonialism and racism, both of which particularly affect black women. Nervous Conditions, the first book in her trilogy about the girl Tambudzai, found its way onto the BBC’s list of the 100 stories that have shaped the world. The second book in the trilogy, The Book of Not, follows the main character as Zimbabwe is liberated from the country’s white minority rule in 1980. In the latest novel, This Mournable Body, the main character is depressed, struggling with her job at a white-owned travel agency, and trying to find her way in life. The book earned Dangarembga a nomination for the Booker Prize.

Dangarembga is also a filmmaker, playwright, and essayist, and has made her mark in her home country of Zimbabwe through protests against corruption and misrule. Dangarembga meets Kari Jegerstedt, director of the Centre for Women’s and Gender Research, for a conversation about how the political and the private merge in the trilogy.

The event will be held in English.