Zambezia (2001), XXVIII (ii).MARRIAGE AS A SURVIVAL STRATEGY: THE CASE OFMASVINGO, ZIMBABWEVICTOR NGONIDZASHE MUZVIDZIWASocial Anthropology and Sociology Department, National University ofLesothoAbstractft is the contention of this article that marital hope and pursuit of the maritalstrategy functions as a suwival option for some female heads of householdsas shown in this study. This article examines how and in what ways femaleheads of households benefited or were disadvantaged by the lack of or entryinto various forms of marital relationships. The experiences of many of thewomen interviewed for this study showed that the pursuit of the maritalstrategy had had different outcomes for different individuals at differenttimes. Sometimes, the outcomes were positive, but at other times, themarital strategy had negative results. Through the use of case studies, thisarticle illustrates the outcomes of both losing and gaining 'official husbands',the exploitation of men by 'some tricky' women, and the implications of thisbehaviour on the development of the family as an institution of socialisation.INTRODUCTIONThis article is premised on the view that urban survival strategies1 adoptedby poor women2 are complex, dynamic and multiple. As Chant (1996)observes, in addition to income generating strategies, survival strategiesalso refer to people's daily reproductive activities, which encompassMoser's (1989) triple roles of women, namely, the productive,reproductive, and social reproduction or community roles. Similarly,Mapetla and Machai (1998,156) argue that survival strategy encompasses"intricate relationships where other possibilities of patronage or supportare explored or formulated". The time and energy the women in thesample studied here spent in maintaining and sustaining socialrelationships or social networks,3 showed that these relationships were a1 Survival strategy refers to the activities people adopt for livelihood- It includes themobilization of material and non material resources.2 Increasing impoverishment meant that the majority of households particularly thoseheaded by women were failing to cope with urban existence. Poor women refer to allthose women constituting the majority of women in town who are not in a position tocope with urban existence. Poor women live a deprived lifestyle and lacked most necessitiesof life.3 A social network refers to concrete interpersonal relationships linking three or moreindividuals.147148 MARRIAGE AS A SURVIVAL STRATEGYmajor resource that ensured women's continued stay in town.Relationships approximate, in many ways, what Mararike (1999) refers toas 'intangible assets' that people need in order to survive in both ruraland urban contexts. Contrary to the general thrust of most feministwriters, who stress the negative relationship between marriage andwomen, it is the contention of this article that marital hope and maritalstrategy remain survival options for some female family heads in Masvingo.They pursued this strategy through what may be termed, gendercoalitions,4 and social networks.The findings discussed in this article are based on informationcollected over a period of 14 months in the provincial town of Masvingo,in southern Zimbabwe from November 1994 to December 1995. The focusof the study is on urban female heads of households.5 Out of a total of 50respondents who constituted the research sample, the "never married",with or without children, comprised only 38% of the sample. The restwere in the three categories of widow, divorced, and living with a man inan informal marital union (mapoto) where the woman continued tomaintain a high degree of independence as far as decisions about her lifewere concerned. Mapoto unions enabled some women to choose to livewith men on their own terms.The research sample was based on snowballing sampling techniques,which depended on women's social networks. The study sought toestablish how female heads of households managed to deal withimpoverishment, the kinds of options that were open to them, and thevarious survival strategies they pursued in order to survive in town, itbecame clear during fieldwork that one of the survival options whichsome of the women pursued was the development and maintenance ofrelationships with some men who, in times of need or in their day-to-daylived experiences, could act as patrons and offer donations to the womenin cash or in kind.Social networks/relationships featured prominently as a major survivaltechnique. Generally, social networks, marriage and its variants inparticular, enabled them to maximise their chances of urban survival.This article seeks to examine how and in what ways female householdStJ^ coaIltion? are a social construction rooted in the notion of power relationsS!" men and women- Gender power is continuously being recreated in negotiationsDetween men and women. In the process of creating this negotiated social order individualmen and women form strategic alliances to enable them to access and to control resources.ann^K Id r(Tfers to a set of relati<>nsh'PS based on shared or co-operative resourceŽŽ,°" between individuals who may or may not be permanently co-resident. WhilstarewZt S- Hred goals and resources underlie household membership, membersthe househ "dSUe lndependent Crests that may conflict with those of other members ofV. N. MUZVIDZIWA 149heads benefited or were disadvantaged by the lack of or entry intovarious forms of marital relationships. It was the widespread view thatmarriage had a positive effect on the life chances of a woman that mademany Masvingo female family heads to hold on to marital hope, despitetheir experiences that revealed the many disadvantages of marriage.NETWORKING AS SURVIVAL STRATEGYMaguire (1983) observed that networking involved the purposefulestablishment of connections linking individuals. Galvin (1991, 104),following Barnes (1969), considered social networks as situations in which"an individual may know and interact with a number of people, some ofwhom may know and interact with each other and some of whom maynot". This is what Barnes called "concrete interpersonal relationships".The sample of women discussed in this study included the kinds ofrelationships some of the women were forging with men or could establishwith them. Rogers and Vertovec (1995) have argued that network analysisis possibly the most appropriate study of social relations such as thosethat will be discussed in this study.Barnes (1969) distinguished between total and partial networks; atotal network being "an interconnected chain" of individuals andimmaterial things (Barnes, 1969, 56). On the other hand, Barnes (1969,57) regarded a partial network as "any extract of the total network basedon some criterion applicable throughout the whole network". Some ofthe networks considered by Barnes as "partial" are kinship, marriage,friendship, and political and religious networks. Total networksincorporated all types of relations, unlike partial networks that focusedon one type of relationship. It becomes clear for some of this study'srespondents that marriage and gendered friendship relations were beingexploited as a survival strategy. The fact that such gendered relationshipscould result in material benefits flowing to the women was evident amongwomen living with men in mapoto relationships or in the case of widowswho managed to inherit property. Not surprisingly, therefore, some womenstrove to establish relationships with men in order to gain access tovarious material benefits. In general, most women, possibly because ofpast problems in their marriages, had negative views about married life,although they still strove to establish some kind of intimate relationshipwith a man.The alliances or relationships the women sought to establish withmen were those that would enable them to interact with men on theirown terms. They were, thus, determined to forge new types of partnershipswith men, in which the man moved in with the woman on condition thathe would contribute towards rent, food, and domestic labour. It was not150 MARRIAGE AS A SURVIVAL STRATEGYsex that featured uppermost in their relationship with men. All therespondents who cohabited with men indicated that they preferred thatthese relationships should remain informal. They did not want to tiethemselves down or, in their words, to "hang themselves" by entering aformalised relationship. Their decision to cohabit was a conscious one asit freed them from what they perceived as the limiting and constrainingeffects of marriage. As noted by Mapetla and Machai (1998, 176), theadvantages of informal relationships to the women are that "men whobecome bossy or are stingy with money are not tolerated ... When theybecome unemployed and are a liability, they . . . expel them". Suchoptions would not be possible in a formalised relationship. Yet, at thesame time, the women continued to regard the marital option as thedesired goal but remained cautious not to hastily formalise relationshipsthat might result in a foreclosure of other survival options.Bridge (1995), Mitchell (1969) and other writers on social networkshave considered social networks as resources that people turn to in theirdaily lives, especially in times of need. Sharma (1986) regarded networksas useful household survival resources, repaired and maintained even formarried couples, primarily by women. Bridge (1995), Werbner (1995),and Grieco (1995) emphasised that networks have economic and socialbenefits, functioning both as cultural capital and as an effective exchangesystem. In the case of the women of Masvingo, such networks broughtthem various benefits such as financial and other forms of aid, gifts,swapping favours, and emotional support. What has, however, been lackingin scholarship on social networks so far is an analysis of informal maritalunions and relationships of women and men who enter some form ofpartnership. Usually, the direction of flow of resources is greater inmapoto unions than in formal marriage relationships. According toMasvingo female household heads, mapoto relationships offered a saferhome environment because women were less abused than in a formalmarriage and they remained independent to make their own decisions.Moreover, they had the power to end a relationship should the man failto 'deliver1.While the impression given above is that a mapoto relationship hasseveral positive attributes, it would be misleading to argue that suchrelationships have no negative aspects. In the light of the AIDS pandemic,mapoto relationships have the potential of becoming death traps. Whenquestioned on this issue, the women of Masvingo said that they werefully aware of the ravages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. They argued,however, that they had no choice as they were driven to enter mapotounions by poverty and not, primarily, by the need for sexual gratification.They felt, however, that they were in a better situation than women informal marriages who were "sitting ducks" in the face of HIV/AIDS andV. N. MUZVIDZIWA 151who could not insist on safe sexual practices as they themselves could. Ifthe mapoto women engaged in unprotected sex, it was not because theyhad no choice but because other considerations outweighed perceiveddangers. Discussions with the Masvingo women in mapoto relationshipsrevealed that they had more opportunities for practising safe sex thanmight appear at first sight.Apart from the fact that formal marriages have the potential ofexposing wives to HIV/AIDS infection because of the fact that the rightsand obligations of married persons make it hard for parties to insist onsafe sexual practices, formal marriage networks can also be disruptive,burdensome, and a strain on meagre resources such as money, time andspace. This was clearly evident in the case of married women in Masvingowho were the family breadwinners and who, sometimes, had to bear thedouble burden of looking after retrenched husbands and trying to maintaindomestic peace by constantly reassuring the non-working husband that,despite being unemployed, he was still the legitimate head of thehousehold. Sometimes, this situation took a heavy toll on the marriedwoman's mental and physical health. Moreover, married women weresometimes abused by their husbands who sought to mask their sense ofinferiority arising from the fact that they were no longer the breadwinnersin the family by resorting to violence against their wives. In such situations,formal marriages proved to be problematic to the wives and their children.This is not to say that women in mapoto relationships can not also beabused. Indeed, some of the women interviewed for this study were inabusive mapoto relationships, but mapoto offered women easieropportunities to opt out of the relationship than those in formal marriagesdid.The above observations notwithstanding, marital hope and marriageremained an attractive survival option for most of the women. Thewomen's perceptions of issues were not motivated by any genderawareness but resulted from their day-to-day lived experiences and theneed to cope with the concrete problems they faced on a continuousbasis in town. Though they appreciated the benefits of married life, suchas the fact that widows sometimes inherited houses and other propertywhen their husbands died, they also knew the disadvantages. Given thissituation, it is useful to analyse the degree to which gendered networksprovided survival options for poor women in Masvingo.GENDERED NETWORKSThe majority of women in the sample under study indicated that theywould prefer to enter a more stable social relationship with a man if thatchance came their way. In other words, despite their negative perceptions152 MARRIAGE AS A SURVIVAL STRATEGYof marriage, marital hope remained a desired goal. That they werecohabiting with men and maintaining various gendered networks was theresult of their need to adapt to changing and harsh economic conditions.Social relationships with men could, therefore, be seen as a form of socialcapital that made it possible for the women to continue to stay in town.The research suggested that social networks based on maritalrelationships were in a state of flux, as 62% of the women interviewed hadbeen married at some point in their lives. They were now widows,divorcees or in a mapoto relationship. The temporary nature of themarital status of many female household heads became clear in the yearit took to carry out the research for this study, as shifts and changes inmarital status were already taking place in the studied sample. In otherwords, gendered networks were not characterised by permanence. Thosewhose marriages broke down for one reason or another often foundthemselves in strained circumstances as they lost all claim to houses andother properties and did not have jobs from which they could deriveincome with which to sustain themselves. They, thus, experienced rapiddownward social mobility. Indeed, one recently divorced woman foodvendor confessed that she had never experienced what it was to be inabject poverty until after her divorce. Despite the temporary and, attimes, problematic nature of marital unions, the perceived potentialbenefits possibly explain why many of the women interviewed still sawmarriage as desirable and a strategy that would enable them to cope withpoverty.THE ROLE OF MARRIAGE AMONGST THE SHONA PEOPLEWhile not every one of the respondents was Shona by ethnicity, 82% wereShona, 8% Ndebele, 6% Malawian and 4% Shangaan. It is reasonable,therefore, to base the following discussion on the Shona perception ofmarriage as that group comprised the overwhelming majority of thoseinterviewed, particularly since Shona marriage values seemed to influencethe values, attitudes and perceptions of the respondents.Chavunduka (1979) and Geifand (1984) observed that, despite thechanges brought about by colonialism and capitalist development, amongthe Shona, marriage is a social commitment that establishes a socialrelationship not just between two people, but also among families andfriends. Thus, among the Shona, one marries not just one's partner, butalso the relatives of one's partner, be they blood relatives, friends,colleagues, or acquaintances at church or clubs. The Shona people seemarriage as a group affair, for through marriage, a person reaffirmshis/her commitment to the well being of the group. To a certain extent,this explains the dominance of marital hope and pursuit of strategies toV. N. MUZVIDZIWA 153realise some form of marital hope by some women. While traditionalShona marriage has undergone many changes over the last one hundredyears, an important principle that has survived the test of time is paymentof bride-wealth. Chavunduka (1979) noted that bride-wealth legalises themarriage union, and it acts as an insurance against marital dissolution.The Shona did not recognise unions where bride-wealth negotiationswere not entered into and saw such couples as living in a mapoto union.In the event of death of one of the spouses in such a relationship, thesurviving spouse was not treated as a widow or widower, but as anoutsider without any rights including mourning rights over the deadspouse.From the interviews with the women, it became clear that the wayShona people perceive illness, death, and marriage had considerableinfluence on the way the women tended to cling on to marital hope.Remaining single or being divorced was seen as resulting from bad luckdue to evil spirits or failure to appease one's ancestral spirits. Indeed,some of the respondents rationalised their situations in these terms. Itwas therefore important for a person to continue to hold on to maritalhope as a sign that one had not accepted the dominance of bad spiritsand bad luck as determinants of one's life, for it was like a curse to die asa spinster. Traditionally, a bachelor or spinster was buried together witha rat or maize cob and one's spirit was condemned to wonder forever inthe woods. In other words, for the Shona people, marriage entitled one,even if childless, to a permanent place as one of the ancestors. In the lightof Shona perceptions of and the status accorded to marriage, the behaviourof this study's respondents who placed a premium on marital hope andpursuit of marriage as a survival strategy was very rational.MARRIAGE AS SURVIVAL STRATEGYObbo (1986, 193) linked urban women's twofold goals to their ability "toestablish their own economic and social credibility . . . and to protectthemselves against what they perceive as material and status vulnerabilitythat results from divorce, widowhood, or remaining single". Women try,often successfully, to improve their social and economic status throughestablishing various types of relationships with men. While concedingthat the strategy of manipulating womanhood and motherhood as atransactional tool did not always work for all women, Obbo argued that itenabled some women to access financial and material resources(sometimes including housing) from their lovers, even though this mightnot result in marriage. This strategy worked for some of this study'srespondents. Indeed, one respondent lived mostly on maintenance money,while those in mapoto relationships and some prostitutes equally pursuedthis strategy.154 MARRIAGE AS A SURVIVAL STRATEGYObbo noted that there were instances when some of the traditionalmarital links in heterosexual relationships lent themselves to feministstrategies. Women's autonomy and empowerment could still be pursued,as was the case for widows who inherited urban houses that had beenregistered in the names of their deceased spouses. This was possiblewhere a supportive legal framework existed, such as the MatrimonialCauses Act in Zimbabwe. On their part, Oppong and Abu (1987, 77)observed that "most women perceived marriage as very important for awoman's economic status and quite important for her personal happinessand companionship". However, they emphasised that the reality, basedon their study in Ghana, was that only a minority derived economic orsocial status from marriage, and marital happiness remained more adesired than achieved goal. They also observed that women who broughtresourcefulness and good incomes as well as material resources intomarital relationships were able to achieve some degree of autonomy. AllMasvingo respondents living with men in mapoto relationships had areasonably positive view of the mapoto arrangement irrespective of theirpoverty category. In all mapoto cases, the men contributed to thehousehold budget and the women retained their autonomy and controlover the use of their incomes. This suggested the possibility that the highlevel of marital hope amongst the Masvingo women was being maintainedin the context of a "radical traditionalist" feminist perspective in which"wifehood", motherhood, and radicalising "traditions" were options thatwere useful in the pursuit of independence and autonomy.Thus, marital strategy was not something necessarily tied toheterosexual reproductive relationships but, as noted by Amadiume (1987)and Lee-Smith (1996), same sex marriages (woman to woman) could beused in new contexts as useful strategies for accessing resources.Amadiume (1987) emphasised that, in pre-colonial and contemporaryAfrica, the Nnobi of Eastern Nigeria and many other ethnic groups, suchas the Babamba Mindossi, and Mboshi of the Congo region, the Mende ofSierra Leone, Venda of Southern Africa and the Luba of Katanga, hadflexible gender systems1' that allowed women access to economicresources and positions of power through institutions such as 'male-daughters' and 'female-husbands' which allowed them to pursueheterosexual relations within the context of same-sex relationships.Favourable matriarchal ideologies guaranteed some women importantpositions of power. For instance, among the traditional Lovedu inGender system refers to a process of reconstruction of relationships between men andwomen on the basis of negotiations over a gender contract. Gender systems throughsocialization perpetuate hierarchical relations in society.V. N. MUZVIDZIWA 155northeastern Transvaal, the queen acted as "female husband" who didnot officially marry although she could have children. Through her "wives",she had affinal links with her subjects (Amadiume, 1987).Powerful women could enhance their status by forging "woman towoman" marriages that allowed the circulation of gifts and wealth, accessto power, and the establishment of affinal relationships through particulartypes of relationships with other women. "Woman-to-woman" marriageshad developed as a response to the constraints of patrilineal inheritance;a strategy that enabled some women to control land and property.When daughters performed roles usually monopolised by their malekin, they were classified as men for the purposes of power, and thisenabled the "male daughters" to establish an independent economicbase and to gain a monopoly in terms of ritual access to the gods andpolitical matters. Amadiume argued that sex did not correspond to genderroles. Female roles did not always give rise to female subordination, forthere were instances in which the pursuit of such roles gave rise topowerful positions for some women, which has important implications interms of how women negotiate their feminine roles in urban Africa today.The actual techniques or strategies and the kind of trade-offs that womenhave made in such societies as the Nnobi could have positive implicationswhen viewing female heads of households in African societies today.In Masvingo, respondents' personal social networks had become animportant resource to which the women turned as an aid in their strategiesto stay in town, especially when they had failed to pursue the maritalstrategy successfully. However, unlike the situation depicted inAmadiume's study, same-sex marital relationships were not observed,although there were respondents who acted like "male-daughters" in thatthey contributed to the socio-economic survival of their fathers and/orbrothers' households. Some respondents pursued this strategy as part oftheir double-rooted option to ease their re-entry into the village shouldthat be necessary. This undermines the view that only sons are critical tothe survival of the household.This study found out that Masvingo female household heads adoptedmultiple survival strategies in order to continue staying in town. Maritalhope and marriage remained useful survival options. Among therespondents, 52% thought that single-mother households acted in thebest interest of the children's welfare and that single mothers had thefreedom and independence to maximise their chances of making a living.However, despite these positive ratings of single motherhood, 66% ofMasvingo respondents also had a strong desire to marry or remarry.They noted that the pressure to sustain one's household under difficultcircumstances was high for female heads, for there was generally onlyone breadwinner in such households.156 MARRIAGE AS A SURVIVAL STRATEGYHowever, 42% of the respondents noted that marriage did not createa partnership that pooled incomes vital (or household maintenance. Only22% of the respondents believed that marriage could raise the status of awoman, and only 14% saw economic advantages in marriage for women.Masvingo respondents unanimously agreed about the stressful nature ofmarriage for women. In their view, marriage denied women autonomyand independence because a woman's opinions and suggestions wereoften ridiculed or ignored by men, while the woman was reduced to astate of dependence. 72% per cent thought that most women hadfrustrating marriage experiences. Only 12% of Masvingo female householdheads felt that marriage had no disadvantages; yet, the desire for marriageremained strong for two-thirds of the respondents. This apparentlycontradictory stance can be accounted for by the fact that, despite itsshortcomings, marriage remained a desirable strategy to cope with andmanage poverty in the long term.MAPOTO AS SURVIVAL STRATEGYThis section discusses cohabitation or mapoto as a form of marriage.Amongst the issues raised in the discussion are the perceived role ofsocialisation and mupfuhwira in such unions, mapoto as a survival strategy,HFV/A1DS pandemic, and the question of 'exploited' men in mapoto unions.SocialisationMararike (1994) noted that every society has cultural rallying points inthe form of symbols, rituals, norms, and various forms of religious worship,which motivate people to commit themselves to the ideals of their society.Amongst the Shona, a very high value was placed on marriage to theextent that its variants in the form of mapoto were seen as a better optionin the face of a formal marriage not materialising. While mapoto, especiallyin the urban context, had become widespread through socialisation,respondents had internalised a value system that placed a premium onformalised marriages. The idiom of the language used in formal maritalunions dominated mapoto relationships. The mapoto couples were referredto as husband and wife and, to a large extent, they perceived themselvesas such. In the absence of a formalised marital union, mapoto became theacceptable substitute.SURVIVAL STRATEGYAs noted above, through socialisation, Masvingo respondents consideredmarital unions as proper for the enjoyment of conjugal relationships. AsChavunduka (1979) argues, sometimes, in the urban context, even whereV. N. MUZVIDZIWA 157bride-wealth had not been paid, parents and traditional courts treatedmapoto relationships as if they were recognised unions and demandedpayment of maintenance and bride-wealth in cases where a couple hadstayed together for some time. To the mapoto couple, it was clear thatthis type of union was becoming the norm amongst both women ofindependent means and the poor. Mapoto relationships were consideredideal in that they offered a much safer home environment.In the case of marital abuse, a woman could easily opt out. Men inmapoto had to deliver, both in material and emotional terms, lest theyfound themselves kicked out or abandoned by the women. Because mapotomen do not pay bride-wealth, they lack the traditional recognised claimsover the women and, hence, can only maintain the relationship on thebasis of mutual respect and understanding of their partners.Mapoto was a survival option for a minority of the Masvingorespondents. It guaranteed the flow of material resources in addition tooffering emotional support. In mapoto, while the man was not consideredthe head of household, he was still expected to act as a provider or tocontribute to household maintenance. Mapoto enabled people to poolresources and enjoy conjugal rights at the same time. For some women,therefore, mapoto created space that enabled them to cope with urbanexistence. The way mapoto unions operated demonstrated that theseforms of marital union played an important role and had become one ofthe strategies for urban survival amongst some of the women. Moreimportantly, mapoto relationships were characterised by a notable degreeof equality between the partners, making it possible for couples in theseunions to negotiate their way.HIV/AIDS AND MAPOTO UNIONSRegarding concerns about the dangers posed by mapoto in the light ofthe HIV/AIDS pandemic raised earlier, the point to emphasise is that thewomen of Masvingo believed that they had better control of their bodiesin mapoto relationships than women in formalised marital unions did.They argued that, in a mapoto relationship, a woman was in a betterposition to insist on safe sexual practices. Thus, contrary to thewidespread belief that mapoto unions are a death trap, they maintainedthat, in fact, such relationships are not only a source of economic andemotional support for the women involved with them, but also offered arelatively viable and safe survival option for women facing difficultconditions in the urban environment, characterised by increasing poverty."EXPLOITED MEN"In the light of the above discussion regarding the role of mapoto, thequestion that arises is what makes men enter these unions which appear158 MARRIAGE AS A SURVIVAL STRATEGYheavily loaded in favour of women and which undermine their traditionalrole as heads of households and the dominant marriage partners? Part ofthe answer to this question can be found in Shona society's perception ofbehaviour and human relationships. Chavunduka (1979), Gelfand (1984),and Mararike (1998) noted that Shona people attributed the bizarrebehaviour of men in marriage or marital relationships to bewitchment by"tricky" women. Mapoto women are often seen as money sharks that luremen to their side through charms and use of herbs; otherwise known askupfuhwira (administering love portions). The effects of mupfuhwira on amapoto man are believed to be similar to married men under the spell oftheir wives. Mararike (1998, 90) noted that, under such situations "thewomen create, out of their husbands, clients who are subservient andserviceable to their interests and agendas". It then follows that, in orderto free mapoto men from the disorienting effects of mupfuhwira, theintervention of medicine men is needed. While mupfuhwira might be seenas disadvantageous to men, it clearly serves a useful purpose for themapoto women and ensures that they cope with the demands of town life.MARITAL STRATEGY: EXPERIENCES OF MASVINGO FEMALE HEADS OFHOUSEHOLD RESPONDENTSThe experience of the women of Masvingo who were interviewed for thisstudy showed that the pursuit of the marital strategy had had differentoutcomes for different individuals at different times. The five case studiesdiscussed below reveal the varied experiences of the women, with somelosing and others gaining "husbands" over time.Respondent X was a never-married 24-year-old mother of a two-year-old daughter. She lived under conditions of extreme overcrowding in herparents' four-roomed Mucheke house. Her household had 16 persons(her paternal grandmother, father and mother, six sisters, a brother agedten, herself, her daughter, and four of her sisters' children). This 16-person household used two rooms: a bedroom and a dining/sitting room.Two lodger families consisting of eight people occupied the other tworooms (a kitchen and a spare bedroom).X was financially independent, but contributed to the joint budget ofthe composite household. She was born and grew up in Masvingo. Sheearned an income of Z$400 per month from peddling shopping (carrier)bags, which she had begun selling in 1993. In 1994, X spent nine monthsin Mberengwa communal area in the Midlands Province, at the ruralhomestead of her boyfriend who was in the Army and who had promisedto marry her, following her pregnancy with him. The promised marriagedid not materialise as the soldier boyfriend reneged on his promise.Meanwhile, during her stay with her would-be parents-in-law, she receivedV. N. MUZVIDZIWA 159little material and financial support from him. She had, therefore, decidedto return to Masvingo.At the time of the interview, she was receiving a monthly childmaintenance allowance of between Z$100 and Z$150 from the soldier. Shehad obtained a passport in April 1995 with the intention of engaging incross-border trading in South Africa. Although her marriage plans failedto materialise, X had done everything she could to show her seriousintention to marry. Her situation illustrated the predicament of manyZimbabwean women who have tried their best to get married but havebeen unsuccessful.Respondent W was a 34-year-old widow and a mother of four sonswho depended on rentals for her income. By the end of 1995, she was"climbing out" of poverty. Her eldest boy, a 14-year-old, was in the firstyear of Secondary school (Form One) and the youngest eight-year-oldwas in grade three. All her children stayed with her. She had become theowner of a four-roomed house after the death of her husband in 1994.Before the husband's death, the family had used the entire house, butnow she had to rent out some of the rooms.At the beginning of 1995, W's household was in dire financial need.She depended on a rental income of Z$240 per month for the two roomsshe was letting out to a five-person household and two-person household,respectively and from income derived from the sale of vegetables fromher house garden, mostly to neighbours. Her husband had not allowedher to obtain a passport, since he thought cross-border women tradersengaged in immoral sexual activities. W was thus denied the chance todevelop her business skills during her husband's lifetime. Her first everpassport was issued at the end of February 1995 and she started cross-border trading at the end of April 1995. Her first trip to Pretoria, undertakenwith a neighbour, was a fiasco. However, all her subsequent monthlycross-border trips to South Africa had been fruitful.W's case illustrates how, in some cases, potential entrepreneurialwomen may be thwarted and never allowed to develop their skills becauseof their husbands' negative attitudes towards cross-border trading.However, W's marriage had given her access into the housing rentalmarket when she lost her husband, illustrating that the marital strategyhas both benefits and disadvantages.Respondent V was a 29-year-old divorcee and a mother of eight-year-old twins. She depended on income from food vending. She operatedfrom two sites in the town centre, one an illegal pavement site justoutside a major Department Store (Balmain) and, the other, at the legallydesignated site opposite Aroma Bakery. Each day, she left the bulk of herday's orders at the legally designated site and only carried a small quantityto the other site so that she would not lose much should the police160 MARRIAGE AS A SURVIVAL STRATEGYimpound the goods for unlicensed vending. In addition, she employedtwo salespersons who moved around town with small amounts of wares.Although she was a legally registered vendor, she was not immune toarrests since anybody who operated outside the designated zone wasdeemed an illegal operator. She had registered on the Council's housingwaiting list and was quite optimistic that she would soon be allocated astand on which to build a house.V hoped to re-marry if a suitable partner came along. From September1995, she lived in a mapoto relationship. She had entered this relationshipwith her eyes "wide open", and appeared to be maintaining her autonomyand independence. Her business operations were apparently unaffectedby the mapoto relationship. She acknowledged that her partnercontributed to the household budget and that this had enabled her tosave what she earned from her vending business. V's case demonstratesthat mapoto unions were likely to be beneficial for women who werefinancially secure as they could supplement their incomes and even savetheir earnings because of the financial contributions from their mapotopartners.Respondent GD was a 45-year old mother of six, who also dependedon income from her food vending business. She was a recent entrant intofood vending, having started vending food in 1992. She also crocheteditems for the cross-border trade on a part-time basis. GD lived with a manin a mapoto union. She had had four children from her previous marriageand two from the mapoto relationship. GD lived as a lodger iri one room.She shared the premises with her mapoto partner and four children, twoof whom were her deceased sister's daughters. GD's three school goingchildren from the earlier marriage lived with their maternal uncle in therural areas, while her oldest child had married and moved out.GD maintained contact with her village, which she visited at leastthree times a year and to which she sent money every two months. Afterthe death of her husband, she had returned to her village of origin whereshe had built herself a two-roomed homestead as she intended to retireto the village in her old age. While her mapoto partner contributed to thehousehold budget, she was responsible for meeting most of thehousehold's expenses. The relationship allowed her to retain herautonomy and, therefore, she did not intend to formalise the relationshipdespite the birth of two children and the cordial relationship she hadwith her partner, as that would undermine her independence. She,however, cherished the emotional support she enjoyed from therelationship.GD did not want to face the same experience that she had gonethrough following her husband's death. Her affines had taken all theproperty she and her husband had accumulated over a period of twelveV. N. MUZVIDZIWA 161years. Among the items taken were her marital home, six cattle, severalgoats, and the family fields. She had returned to her parental villageempty handed and had had to start all over again.GD's case showed that, in some cases, the marital strategy hadnegative consequences, particularly in case of widowhood. While shehad had a reasonably good life while her husband was alive, she losteverything at his death. In contrast, in mapoto relationships, there wasno danger of a woman losing property to her partner's affines in case ofhis death. It seems, therefore, that mapoto unions enabled women toenjoy emotional and economic benefits from their partners without therisk of loss of independence and control of their resources.Respondent Z was a 27-year-old, never-married, childless barprostitute and a one-room lodger. She also did part-time knitting andcrocheting for a cross-border trader she had been introduced to by aclient. She remitted money and material goods to her kin in her homevillage and contributed to the education of her brother's children. Shevisited her village at least three times a year. She was double-rooted inthe sense that she maintained links with her village of origin.As a bar prostitute, Z serviced mostly two kinds of male clients, the"one-off", and the 'urban-regular' clients. With two of her 'urban-regulars',she was offering a more personalised service that included provision offood and laundry services. She sometimes gave her "urban-regulars" adiscount and preferential treatment compared to her "one-off" clients.Marital hopes appeared to influence her relationships with her regularclients. A proto-mapoto relationship seemed to emerge in her dealingswith the two regular clients. Members of her prostitute networks referredto some of her "urban-regulars" as "murume wasisi Z" (Sister Z's'husband'). Although a fulltime prostitute, Z still hoped to marry andseemed to have been guided by this hope in her dealing with her "urban-regulars", demonstrating that, even for her, marriage was highly regardedas a survival option in the urban context.LESSONS FROM THE CASE STUDIESWhat emerges from the above case studies is that marital hope andmarital strategy remained central concerns in the Masvingo women'slives. This has implications in terms of how the marriage institution andthe issue of women's empowerment are understood. While it has beenthe tradition of the Shona people to frown upon women involved in non-formal marital unions such as mapoto, there seems to be a need forsociety to learn to accept such unions. Given the various experiences ofthe women of Masvingo who were interviewed for this study, there isneed for society to develop strategies that incorporate both formal162 MARRIAGE AS A SURVIVAL STRATEGYmarriage and informal marriage arrangements as acceptable options forwomen. As the above case studies reveal, female headship of householdsdoes not necessarily imply a rejection of marriage. In fact, as shown, in allcases discussed above, women preferred to be married and remainedhopeful that they would attain this goal someday.The central concern for the women discussed in this study was thatof accessing resources that would ensure that their households survivedin town. The women were not motivated by a high degree of genderconsciousness; they had practical needs that had to be met and they didwhatever was necessary to survive. The above five cases suggest that anindigenous feminism embracing the marital strategy needs to be adopted,for, as long as the central concern of any strategy is to improve the livesof women, such a strategy could still be deemed to be feminist inorientation.Foucault's (1972; 1978; 1979) notions of power, discipline, sexuality,and surveillance are useful in understanding the situation of the fivecases described above. In Foucault's concept, discipline is part of theprocess of socialisation that women go through in society. Throughsurveillance, discipline oriented women to develop self-control and livean ordered way of life based on female subordination. Women who didnot conform to the image of a good woman were severely punished andshunned. By pursuing the marital strategy, the female heads of householdswere, thus, acting according to societal expectations. In a society likeZimbabwe where identity is tied to marital status, it made sense for manywomen to hold on to marital hope as a means of trying to resolve anapparent contradiction arising out of their status as heads of households.In some cases, such as those of widows, marital hope and pursuit of themarital strategy produced tangible benefits such as access to a housefollowing the death of their husbands. This produced contradictoryresponses amongst the women as shown by the fact that, even in cases ofapparent spousal abuse, the women tended to cling on to the relationship.Foucault's notion of surveillance is useful in understanding the livedexperiences of female heads of households in Masvingo. The womenwere under the constant watchful eye of officials and society at large.Foucault's main argument is that there exists a strong relationship betweenpower and sexuality. Generally, women are seen as subordinate to themen. Institutions contribute to women's oppression and subordinationby failing to question the system of gender inequality in society. Thechoice of urban permanency by widows could, thus, be explained interms of their desire to free themselves from the constraining effects oftradition and patriarchy.V. N. MUZVIDZIWA 163CONCLUSIONThe article has sought to contribute to an understanding of male/femalerelations, in the context of changing rural-urban environments byinvestigating how some women survive outside formal marriage. However,in the light of changing disease patterns such as HIV/AIDS, furtherquestions must be addressed in relation to the implications of "loose"sexual relationships to health issues, especially in the light of the factthat many people regard such sexual relationships as a death trap. Asshown, for some Masvingo women, these sexual relationships are essentialfor their survival in the face of increasing poverty.The study has also suggested that there is no direct relationshipbetween marital status and women's levels of income. Five of the Masvingowomen interviewed who were gradually improving their economic statuswere divorcees. This suggests that a woman's socio-economic status isnot necessarily linked to her marital status. Yet, the perception of thesingle female household heads was that marriage would improve theireconomic status. Indeed, even amongst the Masvingo prostitutes, maritalhope remained a strong survival strategy. In addition to sexual favours,prostitutes provided regular customers with other services such aslaundry services and food provision in relationships very similar tomcipoto. It was clear that, at times, prostitute-client relationships weretransformed into rnapoto unions. Mapoto and prostitution thus both fellwithin the ambit of the marital strategies that female-heads of householdsadopted in order to survive in town.What might appear as a contradictory response amongst the Masvingowomen is, in fact, a rational response to their lived experiences. Most ofthe women had seen and could weigh the benefits as opposed todisadvantages of marriage and they were convinced that marriageremained a viable option. They did not glorify marriage as such, but itremained a major survival strategy, which some women hoped to accessin times of need.BibliographyAMADIUME, 1. (1987) Male Daughters, Female Husbands: Gender and Sex inan African Society (London, Zed Books).BARNES, J. A. 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