A THREAT TO THE NATION AND A THREAT TO THE MEN - THE BANNING OF DEPO-PROVERA IN ZIMBABWE, 1981

In this paper, I discuss the prohibition of the injectible contracepti ve Depo-Provera in Zimbabwe in 1981 by analysing the confluence of eve nts which led both to its popularity amongst Zimbabwean women and to t he suspicion in which it was held by many Zimbabwean men. I argue that the prohibition of Depo-Provera must be seen both as an act of nation alist self-assertion by the newly victorious majority government under ZANU (PF) and also as a significant moment in the gendered politics o f reproduction in Zimbabwe. During the era of the white minority gover nment in the 1960s and 1970s, Depo-Provera was constructed by Africans as a form of medical colonisation of African women's bodies and becau se of its centrality to the white regime's population control strategi es, as a weapon for cutting down the African nation by preventing futu re generations of Zimbabweans from being born. At the same time, Depo- Provera was associated with 'subversive' conduct by women, as Depo ena bled these women, with the assistance of sympathetic family planning w orkers, to regulate their own fertility without the permission or know ledge of their husbands and other relatives. Consequently, despite the pernicious side effects and negative political connotations of Depo, it became the most popular contraceptive method among African women in the 1970s. I argue that national politics and fear of 'disorderly' wo men, along with the genuine health risks posed by the synthetic hormon es in Depo, led to its banning by the Minister of Health. This article is based on archival research in English and in Shona, and on intervi ews with former family planning educators and with middle-aged and eld erly Zimbabweans about their memories of the social dynamics which att ended the introduction of Depo into their communities.