A South Sudanese dance group is hoping to empower women to connect with their culture while exercising and having fun.
The Yirol Women’s Dancing Group has partnered with VicHealth to run four dance sessions to mark This Girl Can Week.
The sessions, which run until November 15, feature traditional dancing from the Yirol sub-tribe.
The week, which runs from November 10-17, aims to demonstrate the incredible things that happen when women get active together and encourages women of all backgrounds to get active while finding joy, community, and connection.
Yirol Women’s Dancing Group co-ordinator Sobur Dhieu said the dance group was initially started by her mum in 2021 following the covid lockdowns to encourage South Sudanese women to reconnect with their community and look after their physical and mental health.
The program was revived by Ms Dhieu for This Girl Can Week, with the support of the African Youth Initiative.
She hopes the dance sessions will hihglight the importance of creating culturally safe spaces for women to be active.
“When you move to a new country, you lose some of the things that make your life special. To be able to learn your culture and pass down your knowledge is one of the things that empowers me,” she said.
The group held its first session last week, attracting women, young girls and boys – something that particularly impressed Ms Dhieu.
“It was really great for the boys to be empowered to express themselves through dance,” she said.
Yirol Women’s Dancing Group meets on Fridays, from 6.30pm, at African Youth Initiative, Graham Street, Melton.
