Albinism and Gender-Based Violence in Women’s Writing from Southern Africa: Meg Vandermerwe’s Zebra Crossing (2013) and Petina Gappah’s The Book of Memory (2015)

Abstract

Women with albinism in sub-Saharan Africa are among the most vulnerable members of their societies. However, the impact of gender-based violence on women with albinism has received little critical attention, and the same is true of its cultural representation. This chapter focuses on the work of two women writers from South Africa and Zimbabwe who have produced innovative works of fiction that explore the impact of gender-based violence on women with albinism. Meg Vandermerwe’s Zebra Crossing (2013) and Petina Gappah’s The Book of Memory (2015) portray forms of gender-based violence, which range from verbal and psychological abuse and humiliation, to physical harm. While the selected novels highlight the realities confronted by many people with albinism in Southern African contexts, they are also a powerful expression of the need for political action to address the particular challenges faced by women with albinism and the wider social issues that shape their experiences. This chapter examines the narrative strategies through which Vandermerwe and Gappah explore the multiple forms of gender-based violence their protagonists are faced with, and underscores the counter-discourses they present.