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Flora Fadzai Sibanda, Chronicle Reporter
WOMEN from Bulawayo on Saturday had a glamorous belated women’s month celebration as they attended a red-carpet Women Phenomenal Indaba at a local hotel.
Dubbed ‘celebrating the woman behind the role’ the Indaba organised by Glam Party Events gave women time to reflect on how important they are and celebrate themselves outside the roles that are generally associated with them.
Unlike the common women’s month celebrations, we all know where people go for marches and lunch dates, this time they decided to go all out and be glamorous and experience the red carpet.
Some were dressed in feather dresses, while some wore long dresses with trails following behind them and shiny dresses, the only common thing that everyone could get was they had all gone out and put extra effort into making a statement and showing the powerful women they are behind the roles they play in their day to day lives.
The event had women from all walks of life and they shared their experiences and how they should tackle issues ranging from law, social life, mental issues, and business, that affect them.
Speaking at the event the Chief Executive Officer of Glam Party Events Mrs Nomvelo Sibanda said the idea for the Indaba came up when they hosted a Mother’s Day celebration last year and asked women what issues they would love to see being tackled at an Indaba.
She said from the responses, they decided to invite different speakers to do justice to the issues.
“The whole idea of this Indaba was to have every woman who attended the Indaba feel good about herself and be able to remember who she is behind all the roles she plays. We had about 50 women who attended the event and l can safely say they all had a positive thing to say about our event,” said Mrs Sibanda.
She said they are now planning a men’s Indaba because the boy child and men are now being forgotten and are falling prey to depression.
The event planner said she appreciated all the sponsors who came through to make the event a success.
“Women often forget who they are behind all the roles they play in their day-to-day lives. Some are mothers, wives, business owners, and some employees and they tend to focus more on being good at those roles, forgetting they need to take care of the woman who is behind all that hard work. I am glad today we were able to give them a chance to sit and rewind and dig deep to find the special woman who is beyond what everyone sees every day,” said Mrs Sibanda.
One of the women who attended the Indaba Mrs Sthandiweyinkosi Nkomo, a social scientist, said women’s month does not only speak to her as a woman who has worked with women from different backgrounds but also speaks to her as a working woman who feels side-lined.
She said because women are thought to be strong no one takes time to see if they are mentally fine and if they are still taking care of the woman behind the roles they are always playing.
“We have a sector of women who are working and have 9-5 jobs and they are being side-lined now as most people do not think about them and the issues that affect them. To me, this Indaba gives those women a space to talk and rewind and get a handle on all the problems they are facing. It gives one a chance to get input from other women through interactions on how they should tackle the day-to-day challenges they come across,” said Mrs Nkomo.
Another beneficiary of the Indaba was Mrs Makhosazana Ndiweni- Mackina said such Indaba are very important in teaching women how to take better care of themselves and collaborate with others they meet at such events.
She said women should always take note of such events because that is the only time they are able to remind themselves about the importance of self-love and self-care.
Mrs Nicolette Mdluli said the self-care Indaba is a place for women to unwind and share all the issues they are going through at home or work.
She said it is also a way of strengthening women behind all the roles that women have and to encourage each other.
“It’s a safe space to sit down as women and discuss how best we can tackle all the issues we come across every day. It’s really good to come together and be able to remind each other how to live our lives beyond the roles we are expected to play because of the busy schedules we all have. We tend to forget how to spoil ourselves and make ourselves feel good,” she said.
@flora_sibanda
Online Reporter