An Asymmetrical Dialectic of Oppression and Act of Political Warfare in Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions

The study locates an asymmetrical dialectic of oppression in Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions. It reveals Nyasha, Tambu, Lucia, Maiguru, and Ma’Shingayi’s experiences with racist-sexist dimensions in the context of a typical Shona society in colonial Rhodesia and England. The study locates cultural and political inscriptions on women’s body and sexuality and the mutually-constitutive intersections which socio-culturally and politically regulate women characters’ beliefs and body. Nyasha goes against existing political dynamics and exhibits subversive body performativeness to claim/redefine her identity and sexuality. It bespeaks of an act of political warfare. She deliberately dismantles the barriers that prohibit entrance to domains reserved for specific gender and race. As such, Nyasha’s relation with her society and the hierarchical structure of race and gender in which her identity is embedded unequivocally signify political implications. This is because Nyasha’s race, gender, and sexuality constitute her social and political identities.