Anna Chitando (PhD) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Languages and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Culture and Heritage Studies at the Zimbabwe Open University. She holds a Doctor of Literature and Philosophy in English from the University of South Africa. Her research interests include African literature, children's literature, peacebuilding, and gender studies.Eunice Karanja Kamaara, a professor of Ethics with over thirty-year experience in transformative research for holistic health development, holds a Master of Science in International Health Research Ethics and a doctorate in African Christian Ethics. She co-directs the African Character Initiation Programme (ACIP), a community participatory organization which mentors adolescents to lead with character values for holistic health and wellbeing. ACIP is recognized by the World Health Organization among the Top 30 Africa Health Innovations http://innov.afro.who.int/innovators/professor-eunice-kamaara-25 She also co-directs the Chaplaincy Training Centre at Mo University/Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital which mainstreams spirituality in teaching, research, and care in hospital settings.Ezra Chitando serves as Professor of History and Phenomenology of Religion at the University of Zimbabwe. He is also extraordinary professor at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Social Action, University of the Western Cape, South Africa and Knowledge Management Advisor at Faith to Action Network.

• SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction 1: Contemporary African Women: An Appreciation SECTION 2: EMPOWERING IMAGES OF AFRICAN WOMEN IN LITERARY WORKS 2: ‘Like flowers blooming from an ice bucket’: Contemporary Anglophone Cameroonian Women Writers 3: Sex, Resistance and Agency: (Queer) Young Women in Selected North African Novels and Films 4: African Women’s Autonomy as Represented in Selected African Literature 5: Interrogating the Contradictory Portrayal of Women in African Drama Using Uche Nwaozuzu’s Ajari and Ebibi SECTION 3: AFRICAN WOMEN NAVIGATING MULTIPLE PANDEMICS AND CLIMATE CHANGE 6: Women, Spirituality/Religion, and Pandemics in Africa 7: Feminine Wisdom as a Resource for Facing Pandemics in Africa 8: Catholic Religious Women and COVID-19: Tracing the Role of Sr Astridah Banda -A Dominican Religious Sister - in Curbing the Pandemic in Zambia 9: Christian Women and the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria 10: Women’s Leadership in the Face of COVID-19: The Case of Agnes Mahomva in Zimbabwe 11: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s Rhetorical Leadership: The Fight to Rebuild Liberia, Empower Women and Conquer Ebola 12: Young African Women’s Responses to the Impact of Climate Change 13: Catholic Women Navigating the Challenges of Climate Change in Rural Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe: An Appreciative Inquiry Approach SECTION 4: DEFYING THE ODDS: AFRICAN WOMEN IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS 14: Overcoming Difficulties as a Woman Scientist in Africa 15: The Trajectory of Rwandan Women in Science and Technology: From the Colonial Period to the Digital Era (1894 – 2023) 16: DePatriarchalizing the Media Coverage of Science in Uganda: Recovering Women’s Voices 17: African Women and Leadership in Science Academies 18: Eastern Market Women Activism in Colonial Nigeria: A Historical Perspective 19: Globalization and African Women: Challenges and Opportunities 20: Pathways to Power: Religiosity, Economic Opportunities, and IlParakuyo Maasai Women SECTION 5: AFRICAN WOMEN IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP, ACADEMIA AND POLITICS 21: Thriving in New Lands: Migrant Women Doing Business in South Africa 22: Church Women and Entrepreneurship: A Case Study of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe, Western Diocese 23: The Role of Young Women in Promoting Economic Development in Africa 24: Women in Higher Education Management in Africa: Trends, Policies and Practices 25: An Unbalanced Equation: Exploring Gender Disparity among Academics in Southeast Universities, Nigeria 26: Women’s Political Participation and the Place of Patriarchy in Political Institutions in Osun State, Nigeria 27: Young Professional Women’s Performative Agency in Challenging Media (Mis) Representations of Women in Politics: The Case of Zimbabwe SECTION 6: AFRICAN WOMEN THRIVING IN HISTORICAL TIMES, OLDER AGE, DIPLOMACY AND RELIGION 28: Empowering Images of Older Women in African Literature 29: Women’s Experiences of Growing Older in a Rural Economy in Ghana 30: The Role of Elderly Women in Botswana: A Perspective from African Theological Feminist Gerontolgy 31: Young African Women’s leadership in Religious Studies and Theology: A Review with Special Reference to the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of KwaZulu-Natal 32: Aluta Continua! African Women Theologians’ Contributions to Inclusive Theological Education: Towards the African Union’s Agenda 2063 33: Calling the Church to Account: A Theological Response to the Silent Pandemic of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Women in Nigeria’s Mainline Evangelical Churches 34: African Women in Diplomacy and the Quest for Gender Justice

Anna Chitando (PhD) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Languages and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Culture and Heritage Studies at the Zimbabwe Open University. She holds a Doctor of Literature and Philosophy in English from the University of South Africa. Her research interests include African literature, children's literature, peacebuilding, and gender studies.Eunice Karanja Kamaara, a professor of Ethics with over thirty-year experience in transformative research for holistic health development, holds a Master of Science in International Health Research Ethics and a doctorate in African Christian Ethics. She co-directs the African Character Initiation Programme (ACIP), a community participatory organization which mentors adolescents to lead with character values for holistic health and wellbeing. ACIP is recognized by the World Health Organization among the Top 30 Africa Health Innovations http://innov.afro.who.int/innovators/professor-eunice-kamaara-25 She also co-directs the Chaplaincy Training Centre at Mo University/Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital which mainstreams spirituality in teaching, research, and care in hospital settings.Ezra Chitando serves as Professor of History and Phenomenology of Religion at the University of Zimbabwe. He is also extraordinary professor at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Social Action, University of the Western Cape, South Africa and Knowledge Management Advisor at Faith to Action Network.

• SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction 1: Contemporary African Women: An Appreciation SECTION 2: EMPOWERING IMAGES OF AFRICAN WOMEN IN LITERARY WORKS 2: ‘Like flowers blooming from an ice bucket’: Contemporary Anglophone Cameroonian Women Writers 3: Sex, Resistance and Agency: (Queer) Young Women in Selected North African Novels and Films 4: African Women’s Autonomy as Represented in Selected African Literature 5: Interrogating the Contradictory Portrayal of Women in African Drama Using Uche Nwaozuzu’s Ajari and Ebibi SECTION 3: AFRICAN WOMEN NAVIGATING MULTIPLE PANDEMICS AND CLIMATE CHANGE 6: Women, Spirituality/Religion, and Pandemics in Africa 7: Feminine Wisdom as a Resource for Facing Pandemics in Africa 8: Catholic Religious Women and COVID-19: Tracing the Role of Sr Astridah Banda -A Dominican Religious Sister - in Curbing the Pandemic in Zambia 9: Christian Women and the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria 10: Women’s Leadership in the Face of COVID-19: The Case of Agnes Mahomva in Zimbabwe 11: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s Rhetorical Leadership: The Fight to Rebuild Liberia, Empower Women and Conquer Ebola 12: Young African Women’s Responses to the Impact of Climate Change 13: Catholic Women Navigating the Challenges of Climate Change in Rural Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe: An Appreciative Inquiry Approach SECTION 4: DEFYING THE ODDS: AFRICAN WOMEN IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS 14: Overcoming Difficulties as a Woman Scientist in Africa 15: The Trajectory of Rwandan Women in Science and Technology: From the Colonial Period to the Digital Era (1894 – 2023) 16: DePatriarchalizing the Media Coverage of Science in Uganda: Recovering Women’s Voices 17: African Women and Leadership in Science Academies 18: Eastern Market Women Activism in Colonial Nigeria: A Historical Perspective 19: Globalization and African Women: Challenges and Opportunities 20: Pathways to Power: Religiosity, Economic Opportunities, and IlParakuyo Maasai Women SECTION 5: AFRICAN WOMEN IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP, ACADEMIA AND POLITICS 21: Thriving in New Lands: Migrant Women Doing Business in South Africa 22: Church Women and Entrepreneurship: A Case Study of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe, Western Diocese 23: The Role of Young Women in Promoting Economic Development in Africa 24: Women in Higher Education Management in Africa: Trends, Policies and Practices 25: An Unbalanced Equation: Exploring Gender Disparity among Academics in Southeast Universities, Nigeria 26: Women’s Political Participation and the Place of Patriarchy in Political Institutions in Osun State, Nigeria 27: Young Professional Women’s Performative Agency in Challenging Media (Mis) Representations of Women in Politics: The Case of Zimbabwe SECTION 6: AFRICAN WOMEN THRIVING IN HISTORICAL TIMES, OLDER AGE, DIPLOMACY AND RELIGION 28: Empowering Images of Older Women in African Literature 29: Women’s Experiences of Growing Older in a Rural Economy in Ghana 30: The Role of Elderly Women in Botswana: A Perspective from African Theological Feminist Gerontolgy 31: Young African Women’s leadership in Religious Studies and Theology: A Review with Special Reference to the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of KwaZulu-Natal 32: Aluta Continua! African Women Theologians’ Contributions to Inclusive Theological Education: Towards the African Union’s Agenda 2063 33: Calling the Church to Account: A Theological Response to the Silent Pandemic of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Women in Nigeria’s Mainline Evangelical Churches 34: African Women in Diplomacy and the Quest for Gender Justice