DIVERSITY EXCHANGE

Issue 2

October 2009

Semenya: Still in the spotlight

A month ago the world turned Caster Semenya into an international phenomenon after she won the gold medal in the 800m in Berlin and subsequently had her sex called into question.  Prior to this leap into the media frenzy, Caster was just an 18 year old girl from Limpopo who liked to run. Caster was a girl who chose not to adhere to the socially accepted roles of how females should behave or dress. But who can pontificate on who Caster “is” or why she “chose” to transgress certain norms when it is precisely this penchant for categorization and rationalization that has turned her into a scapegoat to begin with. The public’s message is clear: it is not enough that Caster “is”, but that she must be put into the appropriate category for “what” she is.

Before the gender test results were officially in, there was a buzz across radio air waves and internet chat rooms, a buzz that echoed again and again, hermaphrodite.  The public placed Semenya on a platform, like a circus freak hovering above the water tank, inevitably due to be submerged once a skilled hand made union between the ball and the “hit me” sign. And so she was plunged in preemptively. With “scientific” findings to back up the media bloodlust, she has been stripped of her title, her dignity, and forbidden to race in the future.

Presently, as the public sleeps snugly in their beds, relieved that one more of life’s puzzles has been debunked, Caster has to face a different reality. Caster has lived all her life as herself, whatever that self may be. The self that was once female.

Other articles on Semenya:

Bitch Magazine
Al Jazeera
The St. Louis Post
New York Times, Magazine
Mail & Gaurdian
BBC

New Manager of the GMDC

Beginning on September 1st, Jennifer Elle Lewis took over as manager of the Gender and Media Diversity Centre. Jennifer comes to Johannesburg from New York City via the Dominican Republic where she worked for The United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW).  There, she coordinated their Gender Training Community of Practice, a virtual, global “think-tank” for networking, resource-sharing and idea-generation in the fields of Gender Research and Advocacy.  At the International Women’s Tribune Centre (IWTC), an NGO in consultative status with the United Nations, she was the Program Coordinator for the radio drama series, The Open Cage.  This series was broadcast in Uganda, and utilised community radio and UNSCR 1325 to break the silence surrounding sexual and gender-based violence.

She has worked at the grassroots level in rural Tanzania, where she organised a women’s collective to enable dialogue and empowerment for the survivors of rape and domestic abuse.  Jennifer holds a Masters of Arts in Gender Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, with an emphasis on Social Anthropology, sexuality and the body.

GMDC at Highway Africa

From September 6th - 8th, GMDC staff attended the  Highway Africa conference in Grahamstown, South Africa. Highway Africa is a partnership between Rhodes University (School of Journalism and Media Studies) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), with the support of several partners, development agencies and sponsors. This year marked a record attendance of 735 persons involved in the media sector from arcross the continent and the globe.

Kubi Rama, Deputy Director of Gender Links, was a panelist on a discussion on gender and elections, as well hosting a launch fo Gender Link's new publication, Glass Ceilings. As Highway Africa is well established and known throughout the region, it was a good time to network and forge potential partnerships with others in the media.

Gender in Media Education Audit steams ahead

The GMDC has spearheaded a study to investigate the extent to which gender has been mainstreamed in journalism and media education curriculum in 14 SADC countries. The study kicked off in September and findings will be discussed in February 2010. The data collected and compiled will assist in locating gaps in curriculum, staffing and percentages of males and female studying Media and Journalism in the region. These findings will  inform the ways forward for GL and  various training institutions.

The GMDC team has been busy collecting and compiling data across the region for the Gender in Media Education Audit (GIME). Over the past month team members have conducted research at various universities and polytechnics in Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland, Zambia and South Africa. During the month of October, The GIME audit will be conducted in Zimbabwe and throughout South Africa.

If you would like the GMDC team to meet your students and staff and share with them information about what the GMDC offers, send your request to Saeanna at gmdc@genderlinks.org.za

ZIMBABWE: Stop the abuse at ZBC
Padare/Enkundleni/Men's Forum on Gender
September 10, 2009

Padare /Enkundleni Men’s Forum on Gender notes with great dismay the sexual abuse rampant at the state controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. We have learnt with great shock that a memo has been circulated around studios instructing women not to put on miniskirts or trousers at work. We strongly feel this is an insult to the women concerned as this is a serious infringement on their right to freedom of choice thus being a serious sexual harassment act.

To read full article click here.

SOUTH AFRICA: Insensitive billboard from Teazers
Sikhonzile Ndlovu

Just how far must one go before their actions are deemed offensive? Who defines offensive? That must be the question on most motorists’ minds as they drive along Johannesburg’s Rivonia Road where there is a Teazers billboard depicting a naked woman with super sized breasts lying on her back with the pay-off line ‘No need for gender testing’.

Lolly Jackson the famous or is it ‘infamous’ teasers club owner has done it again, this time pushing the boundaries a bit too far in perpetuating gender stereotypes and also making fun of Caster Semenya’s ‘gender testing controversy’.

To say that this allusion to the Caster Semenya gender testing’ debacle is offensive is an understatement. Jackson unashamedly denies that this line has anything to do with Semenya’s agonizing ordeal at the International Athletics Federation and subsequently after the athlerics event.

TANZANIA: Tanzania Women of Achievement Awards
October 1, 2009

Frontline Management, a local Events and PR company introduces the Tanzania Women of Achievement Awards. These prestigious awards seek to recognize women in different sectors, currently working in the geographical boundaries of Tanzania...

“Tanzanian women have long been at the forefront of achieving political, economical and social equality in our country. They have worked passionately over many years for uplifting and increasing prosperity of their families and communities in general. It is due time that these efforts are acknowledged and commended “said Irene Kiwia, managing director of Frontline Management.

To read full article click here.

SOUTH AFRICA:
Photo submission, Glenda Muzenda

Meeting of cultures: creating meaning through the arts, September 23 - 25.

The fourth triennial World Summit on Arts and Culture (WSoAC) explored the various ways in which the arts can foster intercultural dialogue and social cohesion between multicultural communities.

The summit consisted of  symposiums, panel discussions, workshops, and roundtable discussions. With the following speakers: Professor Njabulo Ndebele, an academic and author; Dr Stojan Pelko, a film publicist; Lebo Mashile, a poet, writer and social commentator; Lee Suan Hiang, the senior adviser to the NAC; the Canadian minister of arts and culture, Lindsay Blackett; and the Pakistani theatre activist, Madeeha Gauhar, are some of the confirmed speakers.

For more information on this event, click here.

SADC Gender Protocol Baseline Barometer, Gender Links

While there has been some visible progress in attaining gender equality in the 15 countries of the SADC Community, notably in education and political decision making, there is still a long way to go to achieve the 28 targets of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. Gender Links has commissioned a large scale research project to assess where each of the SADC countries stands in terms of adopting the Protocol and meeting its mandates by 2015. This Barometer Baseline is the first study of its kind, and will be updated yearly.

This baseline Barometer provides a wealth of data against which progress will be measured by all those who cherish democracy in the region.

To learn more about the Barometer, click here.

Making Care Work Count - A Policy Analysis, GEMSA

GEMSA completed the Baseline Research on Making Care Work Count-A Policy Analysis. The Regional Report and Democratic Republic of Congo reports were launched in Kinshasa, DRC during the Heads of State Summit. GEMSA has received commendations for the reports that analysis existing gaps with the HIV and AIDS framework. The reports seeks to show that care work is not being given enough attention and support from governments and thus recommendations are being made to have care workers contributions be provisioned in the policies to alleviate the burden of care to mostly women in the sector of care giving. At least 90% of women working in this sector as care givers are not recognized or remunerated for their work; material and logistical support is unheard of in many countries in the SADC region making this a concern of unpaid labour of workers.

For more to the report, please click here.

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Title: Human Rights Under Threat: Four Perspectives on HIV, AIDS and the Law in Southern Africa. Viljoen and Precious eds.

Despite the fact that Southern Africa is the epicenter of the HIV epidemic, there is a shortage of research and reflection coming from the sub - rergion itself. With the support of Open Society initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), the AIDS and Human Rights Unit, based at the Centre for the Study of AIDS and the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, in 2006 engaged in a research project to give a voice to South African perspectives on issues pertaining to HIV, AIDS, law and human rights

Title: Freedom of Speech Abridged? – Cultural, Legal and Philosophical Challenges. A. Kierulf  and H. Ronning eds.

Freedom of Speech Abridged? Cultural, Legal and Philosophical Challenges contains eleven essays that recognise free speech as a fundamental value under fire in a time of globalization. The contributors are professionals in various fields working in the Nordic countries, who have been engaged over the years in debates on free speech issues from different angles.

Polygamy “I” Stories launch a hit!

On September 17th Gender Links, in partnership with the Commission on Gender Equality (CGE), Constitution Hill, and the Southern African HIV and AIDS Information Service (SAFAIDS), launched its new publication Polygamy "I" stories: The heart of the matter at the Women's Jail Atrium, Constitution Hill.

The collection of stories in this booklet present various scenarios of polygamous relationships, chronicling the current and past experiences lived by men and women across the Southern African Development Community region, including South Africa, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as Senegal. Each writer shares their own account of living in polygamous relationships and what this has meant for them as women, men and children.

The launch featured personal testimonies from individuals both for and against polygamy, key note speakers, as well as dramatic interpretations and a choir performance. As discussions on polygamy are critical in the context of a transforming continent, this event proved both necessary and vibrant. While, undoubtedly, this subject may be controversial at best, all participants involved responded passionately and respectfully to the subject at hand. As, the setting of the venue was also embedded with its own controversial history, this only made the event more potent and meaningful.

Regardless of one’s opinion on the subject of polygamy, the event proved to be an eye opening event for all.

Putting a gender agenda on FIFA 2010 World Cup
As part of its ongoing commitment to creating vibrant engagement on issues of gender, media and diversity the GMDC will be holding a series of debates on “Putting gender on the Soccer 2010 agenda”. The Soccer 2010 debates follow on from a series of debates in Botswana, South Africa and Zambia on gender and transformative leadership. The debates were held within the context of the ten elections in the SADC region in 2009 and 2010. Soccer 2010 is providing many opportunities and raising some serious concerns for citizens in the SADC region. To read the concept paper click here.

GMDC goes Social

Yes, folks. The GMDC is going Social... Networking, that is.

As the mission of the GMDC is to:

• engage in dialogues and exchanges on issues of Gender, Media and Diversity

• encourage inputs and knowledge from youth

• converse within the global forum

In the next month, the GMDC is joining forces with  and 

Check back in, and join in the discussions!

Gender and Media Progress Study: October – November  2009: In 2003, GL and MISA undertook the Gender and Media Baseline Study (GMBS), the largest study on gender in the editorial content of the media ever undertaken anywhere in the world. Covering 13 Southern African countries over a period of one month, the GMBS found that women constitute a mere 17 percent of news sources across all countries in the region and that they are portrayed in a limited range of roles, most often as sex objects or as victims of violence.  Between October and November 2009, partially in tandem with the GMMP, Gender Links will undertake media monitoring in 14 countries as part of the Media Action Plan (MAP) on HIV and AIDS and Gender. The monitoring exercise seeks to assess whether the policy roll, training and advocacy activities undertaken by Gender Links with the media in the region had a positive impact in increasing the quantity and quality of coverage of gender and HIV and AIDS. Further the data will be used as the basis for the roll out of gender policies and backstopping for gender, HIV and AIDS policies.

4th Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) 2009/ 2010: In November 2009, media monitors all the over world will participate in a massive, global effort to collect data on selected indicators of gender in their local news media. The media monitoring takes place this year in order to publish the results in time for key global processes scheduled for 2010, including the Beijing +15 review and the Millennium Development Goals Review Summit. Volunteers including women's rights organizations, media associations, academia and grassroots community organizations across the world will collaborate in a one-day global research on gender in their local news media. The GMMP is also the largest advocacy initiative in the world whose research results are applied as a tool for change towards gender equality in and through media. For more information, visit www.whomakesthenews.org.

Perspective:

Doreen Gaura, GMDC Intern:

Being an intern at Gender Links, particularly in the GMDC has been a myriad of experiences. Most of them good and very insightful. Learning is a passion of mine and I am glad to say that I have learnt a lot in the past few months that I have been here. The most important lesson I have learnt thus far however is to persevere because ours is anything but an easy quest but we push through against all odds and never give up. Being surrounded by great role models is also a plus. That and getting a chance to air my views on tv during the debates we hold at SABC International particularly the Caster Semenya debate.

International Federation of Journalists: On 30 and 31 May 2009, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) held a conference which was attended by 60 journalists from 45 countries around the globe titled: Ethics and Gender Equality in the Newsroom at the International Auditorium Boulevard du Roi Albert II, 5 1210 Bruxelles. To read the conference report, click here and to read the Ethics and Gender: Equality in the Newsroom Brussels Declaration, click here

SAFAIDS: SAFAIDS launched its three year project entitled "Changing the River's Flow - Challenging Gender Dynamics in a Cultural Context to address HIV" in collaboration with implementing partners in five southern African countries. The project acknowledges the fact that cultures are failing to keep up with our changing world. Knowing how to deal with these problems is not always self-evident. It is therefore important that we creatively imagine, or dream, solutions and alternatives that are life affirming. The metaphor "Changing the River's Flow" has been chosen as a leading theme for the project to encourage the 'dreamwork' that must necessarily accompany our work in the arena of culture and HIV.

Institute for the Advancement of Journalism:International Institute for Journalists and the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism will be hosting a summer academy for SADC journalists from 9th to 20th November 2009. For more information visit www.iaj.org.za

Join our Gem Community and participate in cyber dialogues, discussion forums and blogs. These forums are platforms for debates on gender, media and diversity issues.To join the community click here

If you would like to continue receiving Divesity Exchange e-newsletter send a blank e-mail with subject: subscribe to GMDCManager@genderlinks.org.za

Compiled by the GMDC team: Jennifer Elle Lewis GMDCManager@genderlinks.org.za and Saeanna  Chingamuka gmdc@genderlinks.org.za

Tel: 00 (0) 27 11 622 2877  Website: www.gmdc.org.za