Paulina Chiziane

Paulina Chiziane is a Mozambican novelist born in 1955 in Manjacaze, Gaza Province. She is the first Mozambican woman to publish a novel and is considered the mother of Mozambican fiction. Her work draws on traditional Mozambican oral culture, on the stories of women, and on the social and political history of Mozambique before and after independence. Chiziane published her debut novel Balada de Amor ao Vento (Ballad of Love to the Wind) in 1990. Her major works include Ventos do Apocalipse (1999), O Sétimo Juramento (2000), Niketche: Uma História de Poligamia (2002), and O Alegre Canto da Perdiz (2008). Her fiction confronts the subordination of women in Mozambican society with honesty and passion, while celebrating the richness of Mozambican culture. She received the Prémio Camões in 2021, becoming the first Mozambican to receive the prize and only the second African woman. The prize honored a lifetime of literary courage and cultural advocacy. Chiziane is one of the most important voices in African Lusophone literature and a central figure in Mozambican cultural life. Her work has been translated into several languages.