We need policies that support women in arts

23 Sep, 2018 - 00:09 0 Views
We need policies that support women in arts Sandra Ndebele

The Sunday News

Sandra Ndebele

Sandra Ndebele

Raisedon Baya

DO we need affirmative action in the creative sector? We mean policies and programmes that deliberately seek to push and uplift women in the arts? These are the questions silently floating in the air in Zimbabwe. Well, the answer is a definite YES.

During the informal debates on the issue that go on every day many male artistes are of the opinion that no one, except a few individuals are advantaged and therefore there is no need to have affirmative action favouring women artistes.

But we all know every debate has two sides. We are of the opinion that there is serious need to push women artistes and make them more visible and bankable.

In the past many women have cried about many things. And rightly so. Women have cried about unfair working conditions.

Women have cried about sexual abuse. Women have cried about being objectified and later taken advantage of.

When Zimbabwe talks about the big five or even big ten artistes in the country no women artistes gets mentioned. When big foreign artistes come to play in the country rarely do you get female artistes as supporting acts?

The response from promoters is always the same. There are no female artistes big enough or popular enough to fit the bill or draw crowds. Well, the painful truth is no one but the sector itself will make female artistes big or bankable.

None but ourselves. Yes, we need policies that deliberately push women to higher levels. Let’s create our big female stars.

Let’s support our women artistes. First we need to create a conducive environment for women artistes to work in.

Women artistes need to be protected, they need to feel safe and free to explore their creativity and talent. Women artistes need to be respected. They need to succeed, not because they are beautiful and connected but because they have talent.

A casual glance at the sector will tell you we have big women artistes. Stars in their own right like Sandra Ndebele, Fungisai, Dudu Manhenga, Rute Mbangwa, Ammara Brown, Edith WeUtonga, and a few others. But how many times have these performed at bigger concerts? How many of them have supported an international act?

How many have headlined big concerts? None if you ask me. And that says a lot. Women artistes are not making waves not because they are not talented or hungry enough but because they are not being supported.

And they need support. They need policies that encourage them to grow. They need opportunities that push them up.

We can say all we want but the truth is women need more support if they are to make it.

They need skills development programmes. They need support with family matters. They need programmes that recognise and encourage family participation. If we do it right we will soon have many shows headlined by women. We will also have many women featuring among the top five or top ten Zimbabwean artistes.

We will have women stars inspiring the young girls in schools.

Crying for women to be on posters is not enough. Activists who seriously want to see women artistes prosper need to scream for meaning change, not just to see women on posters.

Many a time posters have actually been used to abuse women, especially when we portray them as nothing but sex objects just to sell a show. Women need to come together and make a united noise.

A united voice will make many people listen. Only then will we start to see proper change.

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