From Dancing ‘ For a Living ’ to Dancing For ‘ Women ’ s Dignity ’

29-year-old Proud Mugunhu, a popular Zimbabwean dancer, has mesmerized crowds and onlookers with his dancing skills at events as he gyrates to gather sanitary pads in order to give them to girls and women who are too poor to afford them. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPSBy Jeffrey MoyoBULAWAYO, Dec 13 2023 (IPS) At first, he danced for money, but later on, he realized the need to dance for sanitary pads in order to help poor girls and women. Now, 29-year-old Proud Mugunhu conducts dance tutorials that earn him 100 pads from each session. Mugunhu started his commercial dancing in Zimbabwe’s Epworth informal settlement east of Harare, the country’s capital, where he said he grew up seeing poor girls and women making do without sanitary pads during menstruation. Now, Mugunhu, who has turned into a popular dancer, has become famed for combating period poverty. He (Mugunhu) does not only dance to please onlookers, but has now chosen to dance in order to be rewarded with sanitary pads to pass these on to the girls and women pounded by period poverty. In and outside Zimbabwe, Mugunhu now dances at events where he has struck deals to receive sanitary pads as payment in his war against rampant poverty. As a result, his dancing has seen many of the girls and women graduate from using rags to something that gives them dignity and confidence. “I started dancing in 2015—dancing commercially at weddings. I only began dancing for sanitary pads last year, and I am gathering as many sanitary ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa Development & Aid Featured Gender Headlines Health TerraViva United Nations Women's Health Youth IPS UN Bureau IPS UN Bureau Report Zimbabwe Source Type: news