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By Tafadzwa Muranganwa
A recently held show dubbed ‘Flip Side’ hosted by Patsime Trust in partnership with Savanna Trust is likely to stoke controversy as it seeks to advocate for sex workers’ rights.
The 3-days show which ended on Saturday evening at Jasen Mphepo Little Theatre highlighted the harrowing experiences that sex workers endure.
The play revolves around one character -Wadza which was played by Karen Muradzikwa, an orphan who got raped by her uncle while at the age of 13, and the perpetrator was not arrested. She gets married at the age of 18 to an abusive husband.
This then forces her to leave her 2 children to stay with her grandmother while she seeks employment in the city. She works briefly as a maid but the measly wage forces her to join the ‘oldest’ profession.
However, plying her trade is not a bag of roses. She often meets some clients who are not willing to pay despite getting the ‘services’. Owing to the criminalization of sex work, many times she and her colleagues are raided by the police who on several occasions then demand sex in exchange for freedom.
There are times when she is forced to have unprotected sex, leaving her vulnerable to STIs. Wadza recalls how nurses embarrassed her for being infected with an STI and she tells her colleague that because of that incident, chances of her going to a health treatment centre diminished.
According to revered playwright and actor Nyasha ‘Nash’ Mphepho, who stars in the play as a fetish police boss who is also in the habit of abusing the sex workers, ‘Flip Side’ is a complex story to set the tone on decriminalisation of sex work.
“This is an intriguing act which leaves people to ponder on decriminalising sex work so that sex workers are also protected.
“In a conservative society like ours, it’s not easy but the play can enlighten people a bit,” said Nash.
The other actors who complete the cast are Caedrick Msongelwa, Rumbidzai Karize, Ronald Sigeca, Mphilo Mubatapasango, and Tadius Mangava who directed the play.
The aftermath discussions by theatre enthusiasts who attended suggested that despite the morality tag on sex work, there was the need to provide safe spaces for sex workers.
Sex work in Zimbabwe is illegal but statistics are showing that more young women are resorting to it as a means of survival. They have been labelled as major drivers of HIV infections and perpetuating stigma associated with sex work may hamper efforts to reduce infections.