Details

While many countries in Africa continue to have antiquated laws when it comes to women’s rights, even where progressive laws exist, or are being proposed, there is a wide gap between paper rights and reality. The ability of media and journalists to report on legal frameworks and related issues is essential to holding leaders accountable to such legal commitments. From 3-7 December 2007, the KAS Media Programme in partnership with CMFD (Community Media for Development) Productions, brought together 8 women radio journalists in Maputo, Mozambique to improve knowledge and skills to effectively report on women’s rights within legal frameworks.

With insight provided by facilitators from Gender and Media Network Southern Africa, Women and Law in Southern Africa and Oxfam, the participants explored both international frameworks such as the Africa Union Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, to national Mozambican laws such as the Family Law and proposed Domestic Violence Law.

The combination of knowledge building and hands on technical skills training helped each of the women to improve their ability to report on the gap between reality and rhetoric. “Now I know the rights of the woman, the protocol, how to make interviews and a good news articles,” mentioned one participant. This activity is particularly timely as there is an ongoing campaign to popularise the Africa Union Protocol, and in August 2008 the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State will once again be called on review the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. Rather than report on women’s rights in an abstract manner, this workshop focused on building the capacity of the journalists to explore and inform people about what their political leaders have promised.

In countries such as Mozambique, radio continues to be the primary source of information for the population. Equipping radio journalists to better inform listeners is essential to a civil society and informed citizenry that can advocate for their rights in a democracy.

The following two samples give an impression of the promising results of the workshop:

Radio Segment 1

Radio Segment 2