violence and economic exclusion, many street vendors do not identify with or feel represented by feminist work. Most people do not know enough about feminism to see the connection with their everyday struggles. Feminism is rarely mentioned in everyday conversations at home or on the streets, nor is it expressed in language that is easily understood or relevant to the local context. This lack of grassroots engagement partly stems from feminist movements’ failure to translate their gains into accessible, relatable strategies for women in the informal economy ­women whose struggles are rarely reflected in legislative victories or mainstream feminist discourse. Without subtracting from their efforts, it can be said that feminists have also been slow to apply postmodern feminist perspectives. According to these perspectives, women are differentiated by race, education, class, ethnicity, religion, ability/disability, age, marital status and sexual orientation, as well as other intersecting categories of domination. While some direct connections may exist, there is a general lack of engagement with grassroots women. Just as female street vendors do not“see” or“know” feminists, or are sceptical about them, mainstream feminists do not sufficiently engage with female street vendors, nor do they articulate demands coming directly from them. We argue that mainstream feminism in Zimbabwe was built on a foundation that did not embrace an intersectional perspective. This leads to the homogenisation of women and the articulation of the worldview of dominant women, thereby maintaining pre-existing inequities. Feminists have yet to incorporate the matrix of domination xxi , whereby women do not experience gender inequities in the same way because their levels of vulnerability differ due to their diverse experiences stemming from their intersecting identities. Instead, middle-class feminists have adopted an elitist approach to agenda-setting and their work, thereby marginalising street vendors. The elitism of the feminism that informs feminist work is confirmed by a quick profiling of top memberships in the organisations that drove the movement from the 1980s onwards. These organisations are dominated by educated women with the capacity to question patriarchy in ways informed by‘traditional’ xxii feminist theoretical standpoints. Just as traditional feminism is marked by its dissonance from the experiences of African, Third World, black, and‘low’ class women, the grounding of Zimbabwe’s main-stream feminist work in elitist, educated, middle-class perspectives has unintentionally excluded women such as street vendors. However, as African, Black American an Latina women have developed their own feminist movements to articulate experiences that were not captured by traditional Western feminist work, female street vendors are distancing their experiences from mainstream feminist work. An examination of the structures regulating affiliation to most key organizations further support the existence of dissonances. These organisations emphasise academic qualifications, yet most female street vendors did not complete secondary education. Of those who did, very few passed five Ordinary Level subjects and, fewer progressed the level of advanced secondary education. Elderly vendors and those with hearing and speech impairments are even less educated than the others, and communication barriers further exclude the latter. Therefore, these affiliation requirements exclude female street vendors and their unique experiences. Literature which sees feminism in Zimbabwe as‘privatised’,‘elitist’ or the concern of‘educated middle-class women’ articulates this reality xxiii . Bridging the gaps and mapping the way forward 1. Forge strategic alliances between feminist organisations and women informal traders, grounded on lived experiences. To promote gender equity and, ultimately, equality, femi­nist work must be redefined in consultation and collabo­ration with street vendors, through a rethinking driven by a more explicitly inclusive agenda informed by the con­cept of intersectionality. This will ensure the inclusion of street vendors of all ages, trades, levels of education, marital statuses and disabilities, marking a significant shift in feminist engagement informed by diversity. 2. Localize feminist principles- bodily autonomy, self- care, economic rights- for grassroots feminist knowledge dissemination. Feminist Knowledge should be made collectively accessi­ble, so that street vendors not only learn about feminism but see themselves central to its meaning and power. Training peer educators within the informal economy to deliver feminist political education on street corners transforms these spaces into sites of learning and Feminism and the Informal Sector 7