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Huge gender transformations are taking place on every level in Southern African. Women have moved into business; they are making valuable contributions to the economic and political development of their countries; and many women are changing the traditional role of women, which has broadened the participation of women in a wide variety of occupations and studies.
Even women’s participation in the mainstream media is increasing slowly, but paradoxically in community radio that should be more accessible, this is not so apparent. Women’s visibility in this medium, which should be close to the people, is still low.
Community radio is a crucial tool for change in new and young democracies. Women need to be a part of this change and theirs views are vital in establishing and changing a society. They need to help create images that reflect positive role models of equality between men and women, and break down damaging stereotypes that enforce the feeling of being secondary and enhance insecurity.
Gender is a significant historical force in determining complex social relations, as well as collective and individual entities in any society. Whether or not women and men engage in community media or not, is determined by how they perceive themselves as a person. Gender is not just an issue of sex, age, class or ethnicity, but also a series of conscious and subconscious individual aspirations and desires that can be voiced or withheld, depending on the attitude and traditions of the society where one resides.
To join the ranks of community media, one does not need a media education, only motivation, residence and/or knowledge of the targeted communities. And even when women do have education or experience, they lack faith in their own abilities because of the traditional patterns that still play a major role in our current day societies. This results in 80% of the producers being male, which influences the choice of the topics, the interviewees and the development of the programmes. For instance, women are often approached for soft news stories, while men get the hard events.
The voluntary character that is required due to the financial situation of community radios in general who struggle to find funds to stay alive also influences women’s participation. Women often have to run a household, take care of the children and earn a living. Time for voluntary participation in media is not first on their list.
Gender sensitivity is a well-known concept in the community radio sector. It is one of the commitments of their constitutions. But besides the difficulty of engaging women to produce programmes, manage stations or to be the sources of information, non- governmental organisations and/or other partners often automatically look for men.
It is up to the station, broadcast and/or programme managers to incite partners to look for women. By being aware of the gender balance of their teams, hiring women to reside in key positions and participating with non-governmental and community-based organisations, community radio stations can increase the active participation of women and give the voiceless a very important voice.
Two examples of community radio stations that have placed women in key positions are Bush Radio in Cape Town, South Africa and Katutura Community Radio in Windhoek, Namibia. Both have a female station manager and specific programmes on women’s rights. By collaborating with non-governmental organisations they are able to reach people that otherwise would never take the step to community radio. Their efforts, as well as those of other gender balanced community radio stations throughout the world, should be applauded. And others, which lag behind, should be pushed to emulate their footsteps.
Natasha Kyle has worked with community radio for a number of years and is currently with Katutura Community Radio in Namibia.
janine@genderlinks.org.za for more information.
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