Disability representation in selected Zimbabwean Chishona novels and plays.
Authors:   ,   University of KwaZulu-Natal, Hapanyengwi Loveness 
Published: February 2024

The issue of disability is a bone of contention in Zimbabwe and worldwide. People with disabilities (PWD) are looked down upon and are always viewed with a negative eye. Attempts have been made at both the international and national levels to address this problem. Internationally, Zimbabwe is a state party to the Convention of the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPWD) (2006). The convention is an attempt by the United Nations (UN) to change attitudes and approaches to persons with disabilities. Locally the government of Zimbabwe in its constitution of (2013, p.10) section 83 recognises the worthiness of persons with disabilities and as such calls for their protection and dignity. Despite these efforts, nothing has come to fruition as no significant change has been realised people with disabilities continue to be marginalised. Literature has a role to play in shaping attitudes and perceptions towards disability in society and as such, there is a need to look at what it communicates about disability in case it could be a contributory factor. This study explores the depiction of disability in selected ChiShona novels and plays with a view to answering the following questions. (i) How is disability represented in selected ChiShona novels and plays within the context of Vumunhu? (ii) What factors explain the selected ChiShona novel and play authors’ perception of, and attitudes towards disability? and (iii) Why do ChiShona writers create characters with a disability? The study used Vumunhu/ Unhu/ Ubuntu as its Theoretical framework realising that Vumunhu places value on respect for human life and dignity. Hence the study sought to find out if authors recognise the worthiness of characters with disabilities as human beings in their depiction of such characters. The study sought to find out if artists create characters with disabilities with due respect and dignity as any other characters. In an effort to answer the above questions the study adopted literary analysis as a research methodology which encompassed document analysis, critical discourse analysis as well as the translation method as research methods. The research established that disability is underrepresented in most of the studied texts. This underrepresentation is reflected in the limited number of texts that discuss disability and the inadequate fictional space that is accorded characters with disabilities in the studied texts. Another major finding of the study is that the depiction of disability is largely negative and derogatory terms are used to address those with disabilities in most of the texts, an indication that the majority of authors’ depiction of disability is not in line with the principles of Vumunhu. The study demonstrated that disability and characters with disabilities are included in literary works as a literary device which contributes to the negative depiction of disability. The study also concluded that most authors parade abuses and ill-treatment of persons with disabilities without offering solutions to the abuses something which defeats their purpose of writing. The study mainly recommends that the ChiShona language that is used with regard to disabilities should be revised. Old ChiShona terms that communicate negative attitudes towards disabilities should be discarded and new terms that promote positive attitudes and that reflect respect in line with Vumunhu should be coined to replace the derogatory ones. To this end all policies on disability should be implemented absolutely and measures should be put in place to ensure that all published literary works that articulate disability issues promote positive attitudes towards disability and that characters with disabilities are accorded due respect.