The Sunday Mail
Prince Mushawevato
THE two-day Harare International Women’s Day Festival (HIWD), which seeks to celebrate women for their economic, social and political contributions; begins this Friday at Rainbow Towers.
It ends on March 4.
The festival will be headlined by a gig dubbed “Mwanasikana Anokosha Concert” that will see top local female artistes taking to the stage to mesmerise their fans.
Various fun events will help celebrate and inspire the audiences as well as give them time to reflect on how their opinions are influenced by society.
Among the performing artistes at the red carpet event are Hope Masike, Mokoomba, Edith Weutonga, Diana Samkange, Tamy Moyo, Sipiti — an all-female group and product of the music crossroads.
Furthermore, Chipawo, various learning institutions, DJs, poets and comedians will perform at the event. Stereotype busting performances are expected alongside wise words from a number of speakers.
HIWD festival director Kudzai Guvamombe said apart from bringing gender-based issues to the fore, the concert will also be held to support the “Hope Pad Campaign”.
“We expect people from all walks of life, male and female, to attend this event.
“The campaign is the brainchild of musician Hope Masike and maintains that access to sanitary ware is a basic right for every woman.
“The ‘Hope Pad Campaign’ seeks to raise funds to purchase sanitary pads for girls from less privileged communities,” revealed Guvamombe.
Apart from this, there will be an all white party that will see over 50 male and female disc jockeys and artistes coming together to say, “Yes to parity and no to gender-based violence”.
The all-white themed event will be hosted by MC Stansplash, Afro poetic, Geraldine and Tasha Apple.
“This will be the biggest gathering of people. Already DJs and artistes have made clips that are currently circulating on social media saying no to gender-based violence and this is in line with the objective of the festival,” added Guvamombe.
“White represents a clean slate, understanding that we all have a past but we also have a future so let’s start afresh.”
Also running concurrently with events on the main stage will be an Expo where exhibitors are invited to engage festival visitors.
According to the festival executive director, the primary focus of the festival is to ensure that women’s achievements are acknowledged, at the same time making sure that their issues are brought to the fore.
Thousands of visitors (both local and regional) are expected to attend the two-day event.
“The festival aims to create the largest gathering of people, all gender, race and age, celebrating achievements by women,” said the executive director.
“This is an opportunity for corporates to profile their product offering without gender bias.
“As the only top drawer Expo in Zimbabwe where the women are showcasing their ability to stand out and be seen, corporates and individuals are therefore encouraged to be part of this event as they can grand stand while supporting a positive cause.”
The festival is being held in partnership with organisations like Zimpapers, Executive Synergies and Rainbow Towers.
