Changing the visual image of how rural women travel

The image of an African woman carrying a child on her back and something on her head has become normalised. She makes it look easy, yet the reality it is painful, takes up huge part of her time, limits her economic activity and access to social services.

Women, Power & Mobility Art Exhibition 2023

The exhibition, presented in March 2023 to celebrate international women’s month, focused on rural women’s experience in transport, taking visitors on an immersive journey in the way women, particularly in rural areas, experience power, transport, and mobility through multi-media art. It illustrated the burden that rural women in Zimbabwe face as they spend hours of their day carrying heavy loads and walking long distances to sustain their families’ needs.

It is comprised of works by prominent as well as emerging Zimbabwean artists: Lovemore Kambuzi, Richard Witikani, Nothando Chiwanga, Lillian Magodi, Yandani Mlilo, Webster Mubayireni and Keith Zenda and was curated as a collaboration between Nhaka Gallery & Mobility for Africa Trust, with support from the Australian and Swiss Embassies and UNWomen.

Preparations for the exhibition included a two-day workshop in Wedza community, where women shared their experiences, and how mobility impacts their lives, hopes and aspirations. 

It allowed artists a chance to understand and witness first-hand the daily experiences.

  • There are several challenges that women face in the transport sector like gender-based harassment & abuse. The majority of women rely on public transport but there is inadequate investment and availability.

  • The distances that must be covered daily are a major challenge to economic empowerment. Basic everyday activities are hindered by the time it takes and fatigue induced in making the commute. One estimate suggests that some 40 billion hours a year are spent collecting water in sub-Saharan Africa (UN Women, 2015).

  • Transport is expensive - Initial research shows most people spend around 20% of their income on transport and at times be even more.

The artwork produced is to shed light on these often-ignored challenges; encourage more priority to be given to women facing transport challenges and to stimulate a rethink and challenge stereotypes of the day-to-day experiences of most women from rural communities.

Exhibition Posters 2023

  • Richard Witikani 2023

  • Webster Mubayireni 2023

  • Keith Zenda 2023

  • Webster Mubayireni 2023

  • Nothando Chiwanga 2023

  • Lillian Magodi 2023

  • Richard Witikani 2023

  • Lovemore Kambuzi

  • Lovemore Kambuzi

  • Lillian Magodi 2023

  • Keith Zenda 2023

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