E. Vengeyi, The Bible as a source of strength among Zimbabwean women ...couragement and direction to the nation. Women were not to lose hope
in this struggle as during this time of crises Zimbabwean women, both
church and public leaders and ordinary women turned to the Bible for
counseling, comfort, encouragement and hope.
The Reading and Interpretation of the Bible by Zimbabwean
women
It is important to note that generally the process of Bible reading and
interpretation is dependent very much on the life circumstances of the
readers.^24 As such, the Zimbabwean women’s biblical interpretation was
a result of their existential situation of a non-peaceful life due to the
above described socio-economic and political situation. This context
influenced the identification of Jesus in their biblical exegesis as a com-
panion and a reliable friend. As Lovemore Togarasei deduced from the
many interviews he conducted with several women, in 2005 when the
economic situation became unbearable, a sizeable number of women in
Harare, citing Matthew 11:28 which reads, ‘Come to me all who labour
and are heavy laden and I will give you rest’, regarded Jesus as a true
friend, one who could bear their socio-economic burdens.^25
In the whole socio-economic and political chaos that characterised Zim-
babwe from 2000, there was a constant trading of blame, between politi-
cal parties within the country and nation states as regarding the source
of problems. Women as the ones at the mercy of the ever-deteriorating
economic situation decoded rather not to immediately point blame;
rather they understood the troubles as an opportunity to work hard and
focus on individual production rather than complaining and blaming
others, either political leaders or other nations. For most of them, 1
Thess. 4:11, which suggests that ‘that you also aspire to lead a quiet life,
to mind your own business and to work with your own hands, as we
commanded you’, was relevant to Zimbabwe. Thus, many women in
Harare testified the intervention of Jesus in their dire economic situa-
tions. They mentioned how Jesus provided them with jobs, education
and self-employment for them and their children despite the high rates
(^24) Togarasei, ‘Reading and Interpreting the Bible during Zimbabwe’s 2000 Fast Track
Land Reform Programme’, in Katharina Kunter and Jens Holger Schjorring (eds.),
Changing Relations between Churches in Europe and Africa, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz
Verlag, 2008, 189.
(^25) Lovemore Togarasei, Bible in Context: Essay Collection (BiAS 1), 2009, 65-66.