Postcolonial Imbusa

Mutale Mulenga Kaunda is postdoctoral research fellow at the Desmond Tutu Center in Religion and Social Justice at the University of Western Cape.

• Introduction: An African Feminist Postcolonial Appraisal of Bemba Women’s Marital Agency in ImbusaChapter One: Coloniality of ImbusaChapter Two: Locating Bemba Women on The Copperbelt Province Chapter Three: Precolonial Indigenous Imbusa TeachingsChapter Four: Post colonizing Imbusa: Reclaiming and Reconstituting Bemba Women’s AgencyChapter Five: Bemba Women and Imbusa in Corporate or Public Spheres Chapter Six: Bemba Women Imbusa and MarriageConclusion: Bemba Women’s Agency Between Tradition and ModernityBibliographyAbout the Author

This important and much-needed book underscores the way in which the imbusa curriculum among the Bemba was core in preparing women for their roles in marriage. Kaunda recognizes the importance of the curriculum and notes its shortcomings in modern society. Using a post-colonial reading, Kaunda meticulously analyzes the imbusa Curriculum and with thoughtful insights, sheds light on how society moves away from reinforcing submission and unequal power dynamics within a marriage, emphasizing on partnership in marriage. This does not take away the marriage preparation of both bride and groom separately as the separate teaching maintains a female space of solidarity. Thus decolonizing the imbusa curriculum is about reclaiming indigenous African voices and knowledge.