Penina Muhando, also known as Penina Mlama (born 1948) is a Tanzanian Kiswahili playwright, and a theorist and practitioner of popular theatre

Theatre for development

Theatre for Development, or TfD, means live performance, or theater used as a development tool -- as in international development. TfD encompasses the following in-person activities, with people or "puppets", before an audience:* a spoken-word drama or comedy...

 in Tanzania.

Life

Born in Tanzania, Muhando gained a BA in theater arts, a BA in education, and a PhD in language and linguistics from the University of Dar es Salaam

University of Dar es Salaam

The University of Dar es Salaam is a university in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam. The university was born out of a decision taken in 1970 to split the then University of East Africa into three independent universities; Makerere University , University of Nairobi and University of Dar es...

. She rose to become professor and head of the Department of Theater Arts at the university.

Works

Plays

• Hatia [Guilt], 1972
• Tambueni haki zetu, 1973
• Heshima yangu, 1974
• Pambo [Decoration], 1975
• Fasihi na sanaa za maonyesho, 1976
• (with Amandina Lihamba and Ndyanao Balisidya) Harakati za ukombozi [Liberation Struggle], 1982
• Nguzo mama [Mother Pillar], 1982
• Abjadi yetu, 1983
• Lina ubani [Antidote to Rot], 1984
• Talaki si mke wangu [Woman, I Divorce You]

Other

• "Creating in the Mother-Tongue: The Challenges to the African Writer Today." Research in African Literatures 21.4 (1990): 5-14
• Women's participation in Communication for Development : the popular theatre alternative in Africa, 1991