Religion, Gender, and the COVID-19 pandemic: Opportunities and opportunism in the use of herbal medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe

Unethical behaviours emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic have received limited attention in terms of research. During the COVID-19 pandemic, with imposed COVID-19 protocols, the general populace had to find genuine survival opportunities, particularly from Mother Earth. However, opportunistic tendencies also emerged, pitting them against genuine ways of survival. Unscrupulous businesspeople, both male and female, devised ways of making the most out of the tragic situation, among them herbalists who took advantage of the earth’s pharmacy of natural herbs and fleecing mainly women who are the most caregivers in Zimbabwe. This opportunistic behaviour included the overpricing of essential commodities as well as the much sought-after indigenous herbal medicines. Unfortunately, such opportunistic behaviours cut across the gender divide, intersecting all sectors of society, including the church and other forms of religious worship. This article examines the different opportunities and opportunism Zimbabwe’s herbal religious entrepreneurs, both men and women practiced in view of investigating how Zimbabwean culture was affected by such behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research is largely qualitative and utilises a sample of purposively selected entrepreneurs, both men and women, in African Indigenous religion in Harare’s oldest high-density suburb of Mbare. The location was conveniently selected because it is Zimbabwe's most populous bus terminal. It is also the busiest in terms of numerous indigenous religious entrepreneurs who sell their herbal medicines at Mbare Musika. It is hoped that the opportunities and opportunism brought on by COVID-19 will be put under the spotlight to show how they both benefited and harmed Zimbabwean society. The study is informed by Ubuntu/Unhu philosophy, which implies being properly socialised in indigenous African culture that frowns on opportunism. The paper recommends that opportunism during pandemics exacerbates the challenges and difficulties faced by communities and proposes some mitigatory strategies that can be adopted to eliminate this culture and uphold the Zimbabwean culture of Ubuntu.