Summary

The letter-writer remembers a discussion she had with her daughter about “lobola,” or “bride price” as it is called in English. Zenzele rejected the practice because she believed that it was a way of purchasing women. However, the letter-writer corrected her daughter’s western-influenced notion, defending lobolo as a ceremony and way of paying tribute to the parents of the bride. Zenzele eventually reached a compromise, saying that she understood the importance of lobola though she disliked the Zimbabwean men who use checks and credit cards to pay it as though “they are paying for a pack of beer or a phone bill” (34). Zenzele went on to criticize the practice of women taking their husband’s last names and the widespread condoning of catcalling.

Two weeks later, Zenzele asked her mother what she thinks it means to be “an African woman” (38). The letter-writer thinks...