Chronicle Editor
Mbulelo Mpofu, Showbiz Reporter
ANNUALLY, the world sets aside March 8 as a special day to celebrate women from all walks of life, bringing to the fore, issues of gender equality and women’s emancipation to drive transformative socio-economic change.
This year’s United Nations’ International Women’s Day theme is, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality” which aligns with the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-67) which started on Monday in New York, United States of America and ends on March 17.
Back home, to celebrate feminine excellence, Harare will host the “Lift me up conference” today where Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Honourable Monica Mustvangwa will give a keynote address and Victoria Falls Afro-centric artiste, Cingi (born Cinginkosi Ncube) will perform.
Cingi, who is passionate about activism work for women, children and human rights told Chronicle Showbiz that attending the conference will afford her a chance to broaden her scope and widen her digital knowledge.
“We live in a digital world where digital skills are a must-have and I believe as women, we should be at the front of the line acquiring those skills. Actively participating in this year’s International Women’s Day celebrations affords me the chance to widen my knowledge in the digital sphere and network with different like-minded personnel. This will give me a competitive edge and I’m ready to perform and learn also.
“Amid all the palpable negativity surrounding women, I see a lot of beauty to celebrate and this has largely been due to how I was raised. From a family of five where we all are women, my father always raised us to be powerful women who cannot be hindered on gender grounds. He celebrated us every day and every month, a sign that these celebrations are not a gender battle, but rather a reminder that both genders complement each other,” said the Vuka hit-maker.
Cingi refused to see women as oppressed beings but rather, looked beyond the physical.
“I celebrate International Women’s Day as a day of triumph for women, beyond the struggles that we face every day. We are more than what we are subjected to sometimes and we have to continue spreading the message of love this Women’s Month. My message to fellow women would be to stop pity-partying ourselves and looking at ourselves as the lesser gender with limits, rather, we should go about our daily business with pride. We are capable of so much more,” she said.
The Lift me up conference will be characterised by speeches, panel discussions, entertainment, free coding, web design, application-creation lessons, and mentorship to equip women with requisite industry-standard skillsets.
The all-female panel will include Susan Makore, Faith Zaba, Chiedza Mugabe, Tatenda Machirori, Henrica Makulu, Samantha Sibanda, Vanessa Kambasha, and American personal trainer and life coach Gabriela McLain.
Cingi hopes to host a live acoustic session in November in Bulawayo and/or Victoria Falls as well as release an album/EP to be accompanied by a live DVD.
Some of the popular technological inventions have been attributed to women’s excellence. These include fibre optic cables necessary for internet connectivity which were a result of Dr Shirley Jackson’s research in telecommunication, the late Grace Hooper’s COBOL computer language which is the first universal programming language as well as Esther Takeuchi who invented the silver vanadium oxide (SVO) batteries used to power up implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). – @MbuleloMpofu
Online Reporter