Pasha 112: The struggles of women doing stand-up in Zimbabwe

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Being a comedian in Zimbabwe is no easy profession, particularly if you’re a woman. The problems women face range from violence – for example, Samantha Kureya, known on stage as Gonyeti, was abducted and tortured by masked gunmen – through to attitudes that frown on women taking to the stage.

But Zimbabwe’s women stand-up comedians are fighting the patriarchy. Munya Guramatunhu and Sharon Chideu are taking on the stand-up comedy scene with jokes about men, sex and motherhood.

In today’s episode of Pasha, Amanda Källstig, a doctoral researcher at the University of Manchester, first takes us through her research on stand-up comedy in Zimbabwe and the women who are taking on the industry. And Munya and Sharon share their experiences of being women doing stand-up in Zimbabwe. They wrap up with some light-hearted chats on men, women, dating and sex.

Read more:
Women stand-up comedians in Zimbabwe talk about sex -- and the patriarchy

Photo:

“Sharon Chideu aka Magi.” by Sharon Chideu

Music:
“Happy African Village” by John Bartmann, found on FreeMusicArchive.org licensed under CC0 1.

“Ambient Piano Loop 11 (Ambiance)” by Erokia found on Freesound licensed under Attribution Noncommercial License..