Mukwahepo: Woman Soldier Mother

The memoirs of Mukwahepo as a woman, soldier and mother beeing trained militarily by SWAPO, who was then sent to care for young Namibians who had left the country in the mid-1970s.
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978-99916-42-19-2
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Title: Mukwahepo
Subtitle: Woman Soldier Mother
Author: Ellen Ndeshi Namhila
Genre: Memoires
Publisher: University of Namibia Press
Windhoek, Namibia 2013
ISBN 9789991642192 / ISBN 978-99916-42-19-2
Softcover, 15 x 21 cm, 158 pages

Description:

Mukwahepo: Woman Soldier Mother is a fascinating report that fills a gap not only in the history of the liberation struggle but also the very neglected history of how liberation movements dealt with the transition to the post-liberation period. In 1963 Aguste Mukwahepo Yalmmanuel left her home in Namibia and followed her fiance across the border into Angola. They survived hunger and war and eventually made their way to Tanzania. There, Mukwahepo became the first woman to undergo military training with SWAPO. For nine years she was the only woman in SWAPO's Kongwa camp. She was then thrust into a more traditional women's role, taking care of children in the SWAPO camps in Zambia and Angola. Through a series of interviews, Ellen Ndeshi Namhila recorded and translated Mukwahepos remarkable story. This book preserves the oral history of not only the 'dominant male voice among the colonised people of Namibia, but brings to light the hidden voice, the untold and forgotten story of an ordinary woman and the outstanding role she played during the struggle. At independence, Aguste Mukwahepo Yalmmanuel returned to Namibia with five children. One by one their parents came to reclaim them, until she was left alone. Already in her fifties, and with little education, Mukwahepo could not get employment. She survived on handouts until the Government introduced a pension and other benefits for veterans.

Content: Mukwahepo: Woman Soldier Mother

Introduction
Map
Woman
Life-changing Words
The Journey into Exile
Soldier
Military Training in Kongwa
Mother
Zambia
Angola
The Coming of Independence
Mukwahepo
Returning Home
Life in Independent Namibia
About the Author
Acknowledgements