The Sunday News
Rebecca Nyathi
SHE is a talented lady and that is indisputable. She rocked and still rocks the cameras with her acting skills.
Sarah Mpofu-Sibanda, is not just an actress, she is a mother, wife and businesswoman too and admits that the tasks have not been a walk in the park. She is the founder and owner of Fingers Modelling Agency in Bulawayo. And with all that responsibility she has managed to keep her career in the arts industry intact, something a lot more women have failed to do.
Mpofu-Sibanda notes that she started acting at a tender age. She said a career in the arts was not for the weak minded but the real passionate and strong willed saying that was the reason why most women failed to make the grade.
“I started acting at a very tender age in a play written by our former President Canaan Banana. I then met Cont Mhlanga who taught me a lot of things, he is actually my mentor. Then I became well known after starring on the local drama Amakorokoza as Tashi that attracted a lot of viewership on national television,” she said.
Since then she has been known as Tashi.
The mother of four added that after Amakorokoza she did stage theatre to the extent of representing the country in South Africa and also worked on a movie titled Sinners during the days when there was talk of a group of women who were indecently assaulting men.
Tashi said as a woman in the arts industry she faced a lot of challenges and she believes that the challenges were more likely the same as those other women face.
“It’s still not easy for women to break through in the arts world all because of certain stereotypes and fear of being negatively judged by consumers of arts products and relatives alike. People have that archaic belief that whatever one does especially women when acting depicts their real life. There is also a belief that women have to ‘lean’ on their male counterparts to make it in the industry. Such thinking is unfortunate and it makes the arts industry especially theatre not very generous to women,” she said.
Tashi says a lot of people looked at her with a cynical eye, as they thought she was not going to make it to where she is now.
The Bulawayo-born actress added that she was not in acting only as being a mother was her first job.
“I have a lot of responsibilities. I am a mother, a businesswoman, a farmer and an actor. I work mostly with females, help where I can because I believe a candle loses nothing by lighting another candle and I learn from teaching because by teaching I open up to others. I also believe by educating a woman you will be educating a nation and women have to do away with this pull-her-down syndrome, they must stand up and support each other,” said Tashi.
Former Miss Nust, Sibonginkosi Siphethokuhle Ncube speaks of the good works of Tashi as she started off at Fingers Modelling Agency and now is the brains behind Miss Kasi which is to be held later this month.
She said women in the arts have to be strong because once in the spotlight a lot of people would have nothing nice to say.
“Women should appreciate the role played by other women. By doing this we will be supporting each other and also we as women should help each other not in this industry only but in every other discipline,” she said.
