Navigating Marginalisation Through Collective Agency: Adolescent Girls and the Praxis of Ubuntu in Zimbabwean Mining Communities

This qualitative study examines how adolescent girls in Zimbabwe’s Zvishavane mining district respond to economic insecurity, gendered exploitation and weak protection systems. It focuses on collective agency grounded in Ubuntu. The study draws on interviews, focus group discussions and participatory mapping with 29 girls and six community stakeholders. Ubuntu emerged not only as an ethic of mutual care and shared responsibility, but also as a practical support system through which girls pursued safety, dignity and future goals. Girls’ agency was both protective and aspirational. It included immediate safety strategies and longer-term educational and livelihood goals. This agency developed through peer networks, families and trusted community figures. The study argues that thriving under adversity is a collective achievement. Empowerment initiatives should therefore move beyond individual models and strengthen Ubuntu-informed networks of care. Future research should use longitudinal and participatory methods to examine how collective agency develops across settings.