As she makes her way to the stage, dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, tugs at her braided hair and closes the zip of her blue jacket, you could be fooled into thinking this is just an over-zealous fan. But, when she climbs onto the stage, straps the guitar across her shoulders and takes up a sweet melody, theres no doubting that Patience Sinamane is the star of the show.
So electric are these performances that for 30 minutes revellers in the small mining town of Kadoma lose themselves and their worries in the experience.
The 30-year-old primary school teacher says that music is not just a hobby or a career, but a vocation. I am very serious about my music and it means everything to me so much that I dont need to be paid to sing, she said. Sinamane, a devout Christian who began singing when she was a little girl, believes that music is so much more than entertainment, booze, bright lights and paparazzi. It is about being a social commentator and healing wounds.
I believe that there is a song for every situation. When something happens, I find solace in a song, said the mother-of-one. The guitarist cum vocalist says she was inspired by her mother, who teaches music. It was her uncle, Garikai Chikwenhere, who taught her to play the rhythm guitar. However, not all is rosy for Sinamane, who is also a member of the praise and worship team at the Global Word Ministries International Church in Kadoma. She constantly has to fight and stand her ground on issues of harassment at work.
Sexual harassment is one of the occupational hazards for female musicians in Zimbabwe. If it is not the band owners abusing female musicians, it is the fans. There are, however, other band owners, like Albert Mazendame of Aqualang, who are men of integrity, says Sinamane.
I have never had a problem with Mazendame or any of the band members, but the fans [are a different matter]. There is something that happens when one is one stage and suddenly you become irresistible and some people think that it is their right to take you home with them, especially if they have bought you a drink, she said. During the Kadoma Music Festival held at Chequers last month, one male fan shouted obscenities at Sinamane while she performed. The rowdy fan was threatening to be intimate with the musician and infect her with HIV.
Sexual harassment is a criminal offence, but it seems very few people are aware of the law or feel able to use it. Some musicians are calling for a code of conduct that will protect up-and-coming musicians like Sinamane.
Post published in: Music