Latwell Nyangu
Award winning Zimbabwean actor Tapiwa Gambura has dropped another short film, Not Your Bride: A Woman’s Constitution, that will tackle child marriages.
In an interview, Tapiwa expressed her desire to be the voice for the voiceless women across Africa.
“I wanted to work on a story that talk about real stories whilst showing that there are women in the country who are taking urgency.
“Talking about things are difficult in child marriages, difficult things that women have to go through in Zimbabwe.
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“There is a lot of pain, suffering but you still see women from those communities who have urgency towards them and who want to make a difference and it was also important that i pass the mic and use the platform I have for other people to speak.”
The teenager said it’s her role to listen and speak on behalf.
“So my role is to help us or listen to things that women have for long wanted to speak about.
“It was nerve wrecking but I don’t know if I am really satisfied but as an artist you are never satisfied.
“I am really honoured to work with Ruvimbo Topodzi because she is such an inspiration.
“She has stood up above all the forces that try and press her.
“This film speaks for itself and my role was to take a back seat and allow Ruvimbo to tell her story,” she said.
Added Tapiwa:
“I made the film with Topodzi Foundation to explore Zimbabwe’s relationship with Child Marriages and the journey we are taking to eradicating them in the country.
“This story follows Ruvimbo Topodzi’s journey to self-empowerment as she learnt to find her voice against her father, her abusive first husband and eventually the Zimbabwean Constitution.
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“Ruvimbo refused to be another statistic for the cases of Child Marriages in Zimbabwe, and although she was married at 15, she eventually took a stand at the age of 16 to leave her marriage and challenge the legal age of consent in Zimbabwe from 16 to 18,” she said.
However, Ruvimbo, alongside her second husband is the founder of the Topodzi Foundation Trust that aims to educate child brides, as well as provide them and young women with means of economic independence so that they can fend for themselves amidst the patriarchal society.
Tapiwa scooped a top prize at last year’s Jozi Film Festival (JFF) with her documentary, Redefining the Road after another one, Bvudzi: A hair affair.
All her films explore women’s plights.
Meanwhile, Tapiwa has landed a place at University of Columbia and is starting in September 2020.
The university has enrolled top figures like Barak Obama, Theodore Roosevelt, Alicia Keys, Katie Holmes among others.
– HMETRO
