the style interview:By Sharon Sibindi
Patience “Pat” Phiri, a mother, entrepreneur, socialite and media personality all rolled into one, has launched an online show Queening With The Empress (#QWTE), which is aimed at voicing out women’s issues.
Women all over the world have faced issues of lack of representation and have suffered more of abuses such as gender-based violence. According to UN Women, women have faced harmful practices such as forced virginity testing and marriage by abduction, and this reinforces women’s inferior position in society. UN Women-Zimbabwe states that about half of women have experienced physical or sexual violence and one in three suffer sexual violence before reaching the age of 18. However, via #QWTE, hosted on online platform CITEZW, Phiri aims to strike a perfect balance between tradition and modernity, which many seem to struggle with and also voice out some of these issues, which most women’s inner voices no longer whisper about, but howl.
Phiri, known among her peers as Empress Patience or ShebasBaby in entertainment circles, says if all this is not fixed, no one will and there is need to make sure legacies are left for coming generations. Standard Style reporter Sharon Sibindi (SS) caught up with Phiri (PP), who shared more about the aims and future of #QWTE.
Below are excerpts from the interview.
SS: Can you briefly outline a background about yourself?
PP: Born in Hwange, raised in Bulawayo, I am a true city girl. Both my parents — sadly both late now — were from Filabusi, which is why I am a proud Godlwayo girl. I come from a family that loves hard work. I was raised by my amazing mother and she was a woman that was well ahead of her time as she opened my eyes to all the possibilities out there. For that, I am eternally grateful. I have an older brother and sister, I am the baby of the family and I love it. Last-borns have all the fun.
SS: You recently featured on a talk show, which seems to be keeping almost everyone on their toes. Can you tell us more about it?
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PP: Television has always been my first love and the universe conspired to land me my current show. Queening With The Empress is an engaging show that focuses on issues affecting women, with special emphasis on Zimbabwean women. On the show, there are no topics that are out of bounds, we talk about it all — politics, tradition, health, culture, religion, everything. #QWTE also seeks to strike a perfect balance between tradition and modernity — which is something many people are struggling with at the moment — me included.
SS: Queening With The Empress — what made you decide on or inspire the title? And who is the Queen here?
PP: The title of the show was a product of teamwork and it came about during a brainstorming session. I consider myself a Queen and I have carried the title to social media streets where I am known as Empress Patience, so it was really a play on words that stays true to me. The tagline is Step into my Queendom. Just to be clear, I am the Queen!
SS: What made you decide to focus on the women issues? Is it something you have gone through?
PP: I am a woman so the lived experiences shared on #QTWE are from myself and other women walking the walk. The story of women and their survival must be told and not swept under the carpet.
SS: Why now and what’s with the timing?
PP: The best answer is that the universe deemed it so. Like I said, it was an opportunity that literally fell on my lap and it has been an awesome ride.
SS: You mentioned that it brings in women’s voices, so far what are the topical issues and critical issues, which they have brought and how do you think these should be addressed and why?
PP: On #QWTE, we have discussed the role of women in society because it is said women are the heart of society yet they are going through the most abuse — rape, murder — you name it. There is need to learn how to communicate better and stiffer penalties for perpetrators of such crimes so a message is sent that enough is enough! The current Covid-19 pandemic that is sweeping through the globe is affecting women negatively as they cannot provide for their families at this time. They also have to worry about venturing out to get water for their homes, being care-givers, queuing for mealie-meal, among other things, risking infection. Sadly, there has also been a spike in domestic violence. A woman’s work is never done!
SS: Do you think the show is of help?
PP: Will the show help? That’s my prayer. I hope it starts much needed conversations so that we as a people can do better, from right at the top to the grassroots. Zimbabwe is our country and if we don’t fix it, who will? We need to make sure we leave great legacies for the coming generations.
SS: Who is your targeted audience and have you faced any challenges in the production of the show?
PP: While #QWTE focuses on women, it is important for everyone to tune in on Thursday mornings to watch as they will come away wiser and definitely entertained. As a team, we have turned challenges into lessons, case in point making sure there is a show each Thursday even in these tough times of lockdowns, social distancing, staying at home.
SS: How long has the show been running and how has been the response so far?
PP: #QWTE started in March 2020 and the response so far has been overwhelming. It can only get bigger and better when we finally win the fight against Covid-19 and the lockdown is lifted.
SS:Where can one watch the show and for how long will it run?
PP: #QWTE is an online show so you can catch it on CITEZW social media platforms. New shows are every Thursday at 10am. Check out the past shows on YouTube. We plan to run as long as there are stories to share!
SS: What’s the future for the show? Will one see it going international, making waves like The Tyra Banks Show, 3Talk and Ophra Winfrey Show, among others?
PP: #QWTE’s future looks bright as we plan to be a force to be reckoned with in our storytelling of women’s lives. We plan to keep rising and rising until lambs become lions, from our mouths to God’s ears.
SS: Your parting shot.
PP: Thank you to the amazing crew behind the scenes, for making me look great every week. Thank you to our growing audiences. Thank to our past and future guests. All these people play a fundamental part in growing the #QWTE brand. Siyabonga.
