The rise of the #MeToo movement has enabled some women to stand up for themselves, uncovering systemic sexual harassment and discrimination, which has made certain industries reassess their operations.
Rapper Victorine Kaaronda, known as Emvee K, disclosed that passes have been made on her, where music producers wanted sexual favours for them to boost her musical career.
“It does get to a point where one is alone with either producer or music executive; it can be a fellow artist or people with money, or people who look like they have money. You also find those with a certain social status,” she shared on the Juvenile Podcast with John Ikondja.
Emvee K added the situation is bad, awkward and uncomfortable that the scenario made her angry, and she almost physically had an altercation with someone who was making advances on her.
This and many other unrevealed cases show that women are primarily belittled and misjudged in the music industry because of society’s rigid notions and expectations.
Emvee K wondered why a man would want to have intimacy to propel or boost a female artist’s career.
The presenter of the podcast said these are the types of engagements that need to be highlighted in the industry to create a more conducive environment for female artists.
“The issue of females being taken advantage of in the entertainment industry is a serious one but it doesn’t see any light because of fear and many other reasons. But it’s a real issue, and I hope to talk to more people to help young girls aspiring to learn more about the challenges they’ll encounter,” noted Ikondja.
He added: “We are interviewing influential people from different industries like entertainment, business and health sectors. We are trying to get their experiences, including the negatives and positives so that the young can learn from them. We find that we do not have a platform in the country where people can be themselves and talk about real issues they experience in the real world.”
The journalism and media graduate stated there are a lot of influential people lined up to shoot an episode – many have volunteered to come onto the platform to speak out but would not want to jinx (spoil) the moment.
Podcasting is becoming popular, where one can listen to an episode in their comfort due to its nature of accessibility and the intimacy it builds between the hosts and the listener or viewer.
- psiririka@nepc.com.na