adminEditor’s Musings
Wendy Nyakurerwa- Matinde
JUST a few housekeeping issues before we get into the core business of the day so that we speak the same language, literally.
It’s supposed to be female musicians or female leaders, not women musicians or women leaders; in the same way that we do not say men musicians or men leaders. I sincerely hope you get the drift.
Using “woman” as an adjective in place of “female” carries serious undertones of denigration.
But then again it can be sexist to point out someone’s sex in highlighting their career. Doing so implies that they aren’t in their ‘proper’ positions.
For instance, saying someone is a male nurse or a female doctor implies that it’s so unusual for them to be in that position, when it really isn’t. In such instances, being gender specific implies superiority or inferiority.
A driver is a driver – whether male or female — as their gender does not affect their skill.
Now that we are on the same page, we delve into the really murky waters as we celebrate Women’s Month.
Nauseating sexual innuendos
Local food outlets seem to be in a competition of releasing overtly offensive adverts. Recent adverts from a couple of chicken and burger franchises have evolved from being creative and catchy to being too explicit.
The adverts that often use social media as a vehicle to get around, portray women as sex objects, no matter how cliché that sounds.
Capitalising on current events such as the downfall of high profile people or popular scandals, the events are fused into the marketing campaign.
The companies outdo themselves in their use of sexual innuendo, slapping their target market right in the face without a care in the world. Such dirty money is bad for the integrity of any well-meaning organisation.
Moreover, the advertisers are not just despicable in their choice of words; they are also not very original in their creativity. Years back, Burger King ran an almost similar advert in Singapore.
They received a well-deserved backlash for doing so. The reaction can only be worse here in Zimbabwe.
Uncelebrated legends
Someone at Zimbabwe Football Association has been taking our female soccer stars for granted for far too long. That someone is none other than Zifa president, Mr Felton Kamambo.
Just before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted football across the world last year, the Mighty Warriors were doing the nation very proud and making historic qualifications into regional and international tournaments.
However, no matter how much they play, the nation does not seem to see them.
Imagine what this does to their morale.
You turn to their male counterparts and you have a completely different story. The Warriors have back-to-back Afcon qualifiers lined up for later this month. First they go to Botswana before hosting Zambia.
Recently they went to Cameroon for the Chan Tournament, where they performed badly by the way.
While the boys are gallivanting all over the continent, the Mighty Warriors do not have any fixture lined up, not even a friendly match.
Even the resumption of the national women’s soccer league is not even being discussed despite the partial relaxation of Covid-19 regulations.
Clearly, the first priority lies with the boys; which is not all bad, but what about the girls?
My verdict is that Mr Kamambo is neglecting our girls and sucking all the potential out of the women’s soccer.
Yes, someone had to say that.
And he can hide behind all that talk about Covid-19 and inadequate funds but this writer does not buy that.
By the way, are the Mighty Warriors or women’s soccer league matches ever properly marketed?
What is the justification for having no gate charges for the women’s soccer league matches while fans have to fork out the equivalent of between US$2 and US$5 to get into men’s matches?
Who is ever going to take the girls seriously when they battle for at least 90 minutes on a free pitch?
Are the female soccer stars less valuable than their male counterparts? For the sake of their morale, standard charges would be convenient. Just knowing that their matches are valued at par with those of their male counterparts will work wonders in boosting their spirits. But there is more dirt.
In any field of play, exposure and experience are crucial. Yet the local women’s soccer league has been idle for the past year.
Therefore when women’s regional tournaments eventually resume, the rusty Mighty Warriors will be forced to jump into these. The result is a very good but dejected team that doesn’t have the stamina to stand its ground on international matches.
How then do we expect the ladiesto bring in desirable results?
It doesn’t end there.
The Mighty Warriors are often reduced to beggars before and after their tournaments as payments don’t come easy for them.
Where is the Sports and Recreation Commission? Where is Mr Kamambo and his all-male board?
In times like this, it is very hard not to miss former Zimbabwe women’s football boss, Mavis Gumbo.
Till next week, let’s chew the cud.
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