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[QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 36506, member: 636"]
Air Force leaders held a funeral parade for their first female Air Vice Marshal at Manyame Base on Tuesday. Winnie Mandeya broke many barriers during her career as the first woman in several key air force jobs. She left school at 15 to join freedom fighters and survived the Nyadzonya attacks before helping build barracks along the river.

ZDF Commander General Sibanda praised her courage for fighting gender stereotypes when she joined the liberation forces before reaching adulthood. Her brother called her a family connector whose absence created a gap hard to fill. After military training in Tanzania in 1976, she worked in medical teams in Gaza Province, Mozambique.

She returned to Zimbabwe among the final group of patients after independence in 1980. In 2022, President Mnangagwa promoted her to Air Vice Marshal for her groundbreaking service. Family members are gathering at her Borrowdale home, and burial plans are coming later.
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