Artists Gender Awareness Workshop

Yesterday, over a hundred artists, men and women and gender activists gathered for a workshop in Harare.  The aim, to bring awareness and inform the artist of the need to fight gender based violence through art.

Berry Heart, Lorraine Mbodza, Albert Nyathi: PHOTO BY BATSIRAI E CHIGAMA

Organised by dub poet Albert Nyathi who was  selected country representative for the United Nations Women’s SARO Regional Creative Artist Advisory Council in October last year, the workshop brought together people from as far as Nyanga, Murewa and Harare.  Musasa, Culture Fund of Zimbabwe, Un Women Zim, Padare Enkundleni Men's Forum were some of the partners who made this workshop possible.

Speaking on behalf on the National Arts Council, Acting Director Nicholas Moyo hailed this initiative and pleaded with the artists, "Let's not ne the same people who sing against gender violence and be the ones found on the first page of H-Metro having battered our wives or girlfriends."

Lorraine  Mbodza of UN Women said the arts can be used as a tool that can influence mind-sets.  supporting her was Nakai Nengomasha of Padare who said, "Iwe neni tine basa, we need to be relevant in our society."

Nakai Nengomasha of Padare: PHOTO BY BATSIRAI E CHIGAMA

The highlight of the day was guest Berry Heart born  Keotshephile Motseonageng  who is the UN Women ambassador for Botswana who introduced herself by performing  her poetry, a piece entitled 'Child of my mother" in which she asks

when will girls own their bodies?

Speaking on how girls are raped and their lives broken,

colours of dress melting in a pool of blood

child of my mother our hearts will always touch

 



No woman can escape this she seemed to be saying, all women are affected somehow when one of them is violated.

 Keotshephile Motseonageng (Berry Heart) of Botswana, PHOTO BY BATSIRAI  CHIGAMA

Albert Nyathi whose term ends in 2015 then unpacked his three year plan that includes interaction with children in schools, universities and polytechnic institutions.  A recording of a double music & poetry cd and publication of short stories and poetry is also on the cards.  The second workshop is to be held in Bulawayo today.


One hopes that the interaction of artists and gender activists will bring sensitivity and informed works of art in the fight against gender based violence and lower the GBV statistics that have been catapulting in recent years with 2401 rape cases having been reported from January to October 2012.  Shocking.  The other stats unpacked by Netty Musanhu of Musasa , 1 out of 4 women in Zimbabwe  has been sexually abused and that 1 in every 7 has been mutilated. 

Further stats from Kubatana.net say that according to the ZDHS 2010-11, 42% of women in Zimbabwe have either experienced physical, emotional or sexual violence (or both) at some point in their lives. The National Baseline Survey on Life Experience of Adolescents (NBSLEA) further revealed that 32.5% of young women and girls age between 18 and 24 have experienced sexual violence prior to age 18 and of which only 2.7% received professional help from clinics or NGOs. UNICEF has partnered with Musasa, a small local NGO which provides support to survivors of GBV, in order to increase access to protection services for up to 1000 girls and 600 young women.

The stats are gory pointing that the safety of our society is in the hands of every citizen, artists included.

By Batsirai E Chigama
for Pamberi Trust