Greatest Woman Of All Time - Mrs. Mutubuki

Affectionately known as ‘mama’ or Mrs. Mutubuki by her former students and colleagues, she has for 32 years challenged the establishment that sought to discriminate and deprive the girl child’s right to education at Fletcher High School (FHS).

Laurentia Mutubuki

Laura House boarding (Source: Ropa Mutubuki)

The founder of Laura House boarding for Fletcher girls in Gweru, Zimbabwe; Laurentia Mutubuki has been described by thousands as the greatest woman of all time.

She joined the school in May 1982 the same year they started enrolling female students. The then headmaster Mr. Chimombe was very positive about taking in female students but the problem came with other headmasters that followed for example Mr. Mhlanga and Mr. Nyanhongo who wanted to return the former Fletcher ‘all boys legacy’ by removing all female students from the school. This was nicknamed the ‘Pangolin Era’ meaning ‘the special students’. Mhlanga cut down the number of classes to only two just to accommodate boys only. Mrs. Mutubuki challenged this decision.

“I fought tooth and nail to make sure that girls continued their education at Fletcher,” she said. “At a point there was only one A’ Level female in the whole school and that was one of my daughters,” Mrs. Mutubuki recalled.

Mrs. Mutubuki was supported by other female teachers such as Mrs. Chigidi and Mrs. Muchibwa. Eventually female students were allowed back to the school, however not without much segregation and harassment from male students. Mrs. Mutubuki's daughter Mukai Henrietta Mutubuki-Kumirai expressed in an interview her experience as an only A' Level female student at that time and how she dealt with the different types of boys at the school. 

“There were some very nice boys who would see you as one of their friends but there were those who would verbally abuse me. I used to ignore those who hailed insults at me and go on with my studies,” said Mukai.

However, she didn’t take it lightly when others groped her. She said, “There was also the aggressive type of boys who felt a girl’s place should be in the kitchen. These boys were hostile ... and I literally beat them up in fist fights, and did not take crap from anybody.”

For Mukai, learning with boys only had its advantages in that it equipped her for the future where she went on to study in a male dominated field and excelled exceptionally. She is now a qualified senior quantity surveyor in the United Arab Emirates. One of the disadvantages was the inability to make and keep female friends.

Fletcher High School was built in 1957 as a boys school and till today only offers boarding facilities for boys. Female students have been day scholars (meaning they have to commute from home to school everyday).

After realising that the head-girl had missed school for a whole week because she couldn't afford the bus fare, Mrs. Mutubuki in 2001 established Laura House boarding (a separate boarding facility for girls). This was the case with a number of other female students, male included. The Mutubuki family had a property and house just next door to their current residence; which was just lying idle and uninhabited. This then became the boarding house premises anchored by the mission statement; 'Empowering the girl child's academic excellence and personality.' "I want to promote the diligence, dignity and success of the girl child,” Mrs. Mutubuki said.

Mrs. Mutubuki (right) with some of the students at Laura House. (Source: Ropa Mutubuki)

In the first year Mrs. Mutubuki accommodated up to 20 A’ Level female students. In the beginning she faced a lot of challenges which included non-availability of furniture such as beds, tables and chairs; cutlery, utensils and transport to take them to and from school. For the whole first year, she didn't charge the students for anything, in-fact she provided for them completely free of charge.

Students in their rooms (Source: Ropa Mutubuki)

“I housed them for free for the whole year. I used my savings to take care of them, feed, pay the bills and transport them to and from school,” said Mrs. Mutubuki. Her intentions were to make sure that the girls could have a place where they could concentrate with their studies and be able to pass their examinations. This was a real commitment for the betterment of the girl child. 

Mrs. Mutubuki felt that it was ethically wrong for her to charge her students whom she taught in school. As a result, some of her teacher friends at Fletcher High for example the late Mrs. Shumba insisted that she charge the students and even helped in setting the boarding fee. However, Mrs. Mutubuki could only agree to a nominal fee which resulted in her not retaining any much profit.

Over the years Laura House has grown to accommodate Forms 1 to 6 with students coming from across Zimbabwe and some with parents who work outside the country. This boarding facility has greatly improved the female students pass rates at Fletcher and has even excelled above their male counterparts. In 2013 for example, the highest A’ Level students were from Laura House with 14 points – meaning they attained 2As and 1B. These were Chidochashe Ncube and Mawonei Mabika. Rumbidzai Chonyera attained 13 points while Honest Mazorodze and Anesu Mwata attained 12 points, Natsai Mushonga, Pamela Mutasa and Rachel Machopo attained 11 points. In year 2012 Shylette Chikadzi got 13 points and Shamaine Mutizira, Alberta Zhou and Pauline Ngwenya achived 10 points. The students have proceeded for their higher education at universities across the world including Russia, China, Poland, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Some of the A' Level Students & Mrs. Mutubuki (Source: Ropa Mutubuki)

With the establishment of Laura House, there has been a marked increase of female students taking up previously male dominated science subjects at A’ Level like Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. Laura House has managed to attract the crème de la crème of female students across the country which has had a ripple effect of an improved pass rate for Fletcher.

The House currently has 65 students but has a capacity of up to 80. The students are allowed to attend a church of their choice on the weekends.

Electricity is readily available for the students to study through an inverter. For cooking, the boarding house uses electricity but in the event of power surges, there is a back-up of firewood and gas. There is a borehole at the boarding house and this allows the students access to uninterrupted water supply.

Dining Room. Round hut is for cooking with firewood

Top: Kitchen Bottom: Dining & Study

Mrs. Mutubuki now a retired teacher was a national examiner as she started marking Zimbabwe Junior Certificate Language 2 in the early 1980s and went on to mark A’ Level Shona from the mid 80s. In this light and with her more than 40 years teaching experience, she is in the process of transforming the boarding house into a Girls Academy (boarding school) which will enrol Form 1 to Form 6 female students. Her husband Edias Mutubuki has been instrumental in the growth of the boarding facility by among other things extension of the house, electrification, water supply and food production.

Below is a video by Ropa Mutubuki of the girls on the lighter side.