The Feminist Bar Podcast

In this episode, host Tinatswe Mhaka sits with Dorothy, a queer Zimbabwean woman, to talk about what it means to love deeply in a world that makes no room for that love. Dorothy shares her story of finding intimacy, connection, and care with someone whose family could not accept the relationship because of her sexuality.
This conversation explores what it feels like to be loved, but not welcomed. What it means to lose a relationship because of homophobia and family pressure. And how we carry love after it ends — not as something broken, but as something we can still honour and learn from.
Together, Tinatswe and Dorothy reflect on grief, longing, survival, and the quiet power of choosing to live openly in the aftermath of loss.
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In this episode of The Feminist Bar: Love Series, we’re joined by storyteller and creative Shantae, who takes us through a love story that came back around — and didn’t end the way she hoped.
It’s a tender, honest reflection on trying again, believing again, and the courage it takes to walk away (again), even when you wanted it to work.
Shantae opens up about:    •    Why she chose to give love a second chance    •    What felt different — and what didn’t    •    The discomfort of hope meeting disappointment    •    The moment she knew it was time to let go    •    What she’s learned about patterns, expectations, and her own heart
This isn’t a story about a “failed” relationship — it’s about what it means to honour your intuition, to love deeply while staying rooted in self-worth, and to carry softness forward even when it hurts.
If you’ve ever gone back, tried again, or stayed too long — this one’s for you.

🌀 Episode: Coming Home to Yourself A Meditation for Presence, Self-Love & Deep Acceptance A soft return to your own presence. This meditation invites you into deep acceptance, gentle breath, and the quiet knowing that who you are is already enough. Listen when: You feel scattered, hard on yourself, or in need of a gentle reset. Integration exercise: Place one hand on your heart. Whisper something kind to yourself — and let it land. You can also download the journal prompts to deepen your reflection after listening. 🎧 Listen to more meditations : https://www.youtube.com/@feministvoiceszimbabwe 📘 Explore the Safety and Wellness Guides: https://feministvoiceszimbabwe.com/resources/ 📝 Access the journal prompts: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14zyGTejPf_LbfTuZ7SNsJW7Qb2RJUEUu/view?usp=drive_link About the SAFE Project This meditation is part of the SAFE Project (Safety, Access, Freedom, and Empowerment) by Feminist Voices Zimbabwe, created to support the safety and wellness of queer Zimbabweans. Built from real community stories, the project includes free, downloadable Safety and Wellness Guides covering personal safety, mental health, SRHR, coming out, domestic violence, and more — all rooted in care, survival, and resistance. This project was made possible with support from Purposeful. Facilitated by: Nkazi Khumalo — queer space holder, facilitator, and healing justice practitioner — whose gentle voice and presence offer warmth and safety in every session. I’m Nkazie — a non-binary psychospiritual coach, intuitive translator, and sacred space facilitator devoted to healing, embodiment, and liberation. My work lives at the intersection of emotional alchemy, nervous system regulation, and a deep soul remembrance. I guide you back to the wisdom of your body, the clarity of your intuition, and the truth that you are already whole. 🔗 Book services with Nkazie: https://nkazie.setmore.com/ 🎵 Music Credit: Soundtrack by Nowonderwhoo — thank you for the beautiful sounds that hold us. 📲 Follow Feminist Voices Zimbabwe: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter — @feministvoiceszw 🌐 Website — www.feministvoiceszimbabwe.com

🌀 Episode: Feel to Flow Emotional Presence & Somatic Release Let it move through you. This meditation offers a safe space to feel your emotions and release what’s ready to go — with breath, sound, and presence. Listen when: You feel emotionally full, blocked, or ready to let go. Integration exercise: Journal honestly: “What am I really feeling right now?” Then, let your breath carry the truth. For further processing, download the Feel to Flow journaling prompts. 🎧 Watch on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@feministvoiceszimbabwe
📘 Explore our Safety and Wellness resources: https://feministvoiceszimbabwe.com/resources/  About the SAFE Project Journal Prompts : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1li6tY2mLlHhR74dj05zt5hIfqc5x4YEs/view?usp=sharing
The SAFE Project by Feminist Voices Zimbabwe offers care and protection for queer Zimbabweans through affirming safety guides, meditations, and creative wellness tools. This meditation series is made possible through generous support from Purposeful. Facilitated by: Nkazi Khumalo — non-binary healing practitioner, intuitive coach, and space-holder committed to the emotional, spiritual, and embodied freedom of queer people. 🔗 Book services with Nkazie https://nkazie.setmore.com/
🎵 Music Credit: Nowonderwhoo
📲 Follow: @feministvoiceszw 
🌐 Visit: www.feministvoiceszimbabwe.com 

In this episode of The Feminist Bar, host Tinatswe Mhaka is joined by researcher and queer feminist Makanaka Tuwe for a rich conversation on belonging, home, and identity from an African feminist lens.
What does it mean to belong when you’re far from home? Together, Tinatswe and Makanaka unpack the complex emotional and political geographies of belonging—exploring how land, language, ancestry, and migration shape how we define home.
The episode reflects on navigating the diaspora as queer African feminists, grappling with distance and the longing for roots, while also embracing chosen homes for safety, freedom, and opportunity. From ritual and food to storytelling and digital activism, they speak to the practices that help us stay connected to our ancestors, communities, and selves across borders.
This is a conversation about holding multiple identities at once, critiquing home while still loving it, and building new definitions of where and how we belong.
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In this episode of The Feminist Bar, host Tinatswe Mhaka is joined by Gloria Chikaonda to explore what it means to create feminist art, content, and education in a digital age that often feels like it’s turning against us.
As social media expands access to storytelling and political discourse, it also becomes a battleground—where feminist creators face algorithmic suppression, coordinated harassment, and pushback from anti-woke, red pill, and reactionary movements.
Together, Tinatswe and Gloria unpack the paradox of digital platforms: increased visibility comes with increased vulnerability. They reflect on how parasocial dynamics, virality, ego, and burnout shape the work—and what strategies can help feminist creators resist co-optation, censorship, and fatigue.
From alternative platforms and digital security to community-led learning and archiving, this episode is a call to imagine new ways of creating and resisting in the face of a growing digital backlash.
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In this solo episode of The Feminist Bar, host Tinatswe Mhaka steps behind the mic for a reflective check-in. She shares thoughts on the current season of the podcast, the state of the development and NGO space, and the emotional weight of doing feminist work in spaces that are often extractive, underfunded, and contradictory.
Tinatswe also offers some self-care strategies that are helping her navigate burnout and disillusionment, and shares a personal review of The Right to Sex by Amia Srinivasan—unpacking what resonated, what challenged her, and how the book speaks to contemporary feminist discourse on desire, access, and autonomy.
It’s a quiet, personal, and grounding episode for anyone needing a moment to pause, process, and realign.
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In this episode of The Feminist Bar, host Tinatswe Mhaka and guest Michelle Mudawarima explore how society frames our understanding of money and how those narratives shape our personal relationships with spending, saving, and survival.
The conversation dives into what it means to live within our means, how systemic barriers impact financial literacy, and how we can rethink financial empowerment through personal journeys, transformation, and collective care.They unpack the myths around money, the realities of navigating financial responsibility under capitalism, and how to build healthier, values-aligned relationships with money without shame or elitism.
Tune in for a reflective, practical conversation about transforming how we approach financial literacy, survival, and abundance in a world that was never built with us in mind.
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In this episode of The Feminist Bar, host Tinatswe Mhaka is joined by Dumi Gatsha for a powerful conversation on what solidarity really means in the midst of increasing political violence, burnout, and donor fatigue. Together, they explore how movements can resist division and co-optation while navigating scarcity, repression, and the emotional toll of doing this work.
Dumi brings lived experience and political insight to a timely conversation on the contradictions of being praised but unsupported, the ways funding politics shape access and visibility, and how competition can fracture movements meant to thrive through collaboration. What does it take to build lasting solidarity under fire? What happens when survival requires performance? And can movements still resist without losing their edge?
This episode holds space for hard truths about activism, while also imagining funding and solidarity models that are honest, inclusive, and sustainable.
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Hi everyone :) 
Welcome to Behind the Bar, a personal segment to share and discuss what has been going on with the pod and behind the scenes. Episodes will be back next week, and here is some of what's been on my mind. Let's get into the second half of the season with a bang.