LOCAL Afro-soul musician and prolific guitarist Tariro neGitare has urged fellow female musicians to up their game by believing in themselves and competing at the same level with their male counterparts if they are to make an impact in the music industry.
BY STEPHEN CHADENGA
Speaking at a recent public lecture organised by the Music Business, Musicology and Technology Society at the Midlands State University in Gweru, the songwriter said women artistes should not be intimidated by their male counterparts, but should compete at the same level.
“When women want to follow their passion for music and pursue a career out of it, they need to start believing that they are, indeed, equal to men and can do the same things men do,” Tariro neGitare said. The musician said society was often biased against female entertainers and there was need to change such perceptions by educating society about gender dynamics.
“There is a need to educate society on what it means to be a woman and to be gender sensitive, rather than to be gender biased,” she said.
Women in the music industry face many challenges, including stigmatisation, sexual abuse and lack of moral support and encouragement from their families, Tariro neGitare said.
Music Business, Musicology and Technology department chairperson Perminus Matiure, said women should be celebrated in society as they were the pillars of strength, care and love.
“Women have always been anchors of our society, for example, taking the Shona idiom musha mukadzi, which loosely translates to, a woman makes a home, is evidence enough of the importance and significance of women in our societies as they are the pillars of strength, care and love,” he said.
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Born Tariro Chaniwa in 1985, the songbird attended St John’s High School in Harare for her secondary education. She later obtained a diploma in personnel management from the Institute of Personnel Management Zimbabwe (IPMZ) before graduating with a Bsc (Hons) in Sociology and Gender Studies from the Women’s University in Africa.
She represented Zimbabwe at several Girl Guide events, including in Ghana and the United Kingdom. The songster also won the Baden Powell Award, the highest award for outstanding performance in girl guiding.
She started playing the guitar at 13 and has, over the years, rubbed shoulders on stage with top music acts, including the late national hero Oliver Mtukudzi, Stella Chiweshe, Jah Prayzah and Victor Kunonga.
