THE Tanzania Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA TANZANIA) has continued its efforts to equip journalists with pre-requisite knowledge to promote gender equality and inclusiveness in their designated aired radio programmes.
Misa Tanzania in partnership with the Finnish Foundation for Media and Development well known by its Finnish acronym ‘Vikes’ is running a project to empower journalists from local radio in the country to create programmes that will transform and bring voice to gender perspectives.
Speaking after a reflection meeting on community radios engagement in gender-sensitive programmes, production and reporting held in Dodoma over the weekend, the Project Manager Neema Kasubiro said that thanks to the project, there are visible positive changes displayed in the production of gender programmes.
“After empowering the journalists by equipping them with new production techniques, some have reached the decision of establishing programmes on their radio stations to promote gender equality,” she explained.
Ms Neema said the project’s implementation is divided into various phases. The four-year project will be completed in 2024, and during that time, it is expected to focus more on improving content quality on gender topics to ensure journalists produce gender-inclusive programmes.
Speaking after listening to various gender-sensitive programmes produced by journalists from various local radios, the facilitator of the session, a veteran journalist Abubakar Famau reminded the group that in order for gender equality to be attained in the media, journalists must be prepared to engage the community in their programmes.
“If we engage both genders in a balanced and fair manner, I am confident the goal of gaining freedom of expression from a large group of women will be achieved,” expressed Mr Famau.
Mr Famau also urged local radio producers to follow the principles of production of such programmes, including the proper use of the Kiswahili language, so that they can convey the message to the audience as intended.
Famau noted that there are still problems with pronunciation and poor word choice for some radio presenters in the country, which could hinder the message deliverance.
“Some of the presenters are still confused in pronouncing L with R, we need to improve on that to make our programme worth it,” he insisted.
Journalists who participated in the project noted that despite the successes achieved since the start of the project, there were still challenges that needed to be addressed to achieve the goals.
The programme coordinator from the Mazingira FM Radio Station located in the Bunda District, Mara Region, Mr Edward Lucas, said the shortage of dedicated journalists to focus on gender issues had been a major challenge.
Mr Lucas said that the shortage of staff in his station prohibited the specialisation which could make a gender-sensitive journalist who may spend the entire time researching and producing a programme about the topic.
For her part, Glory Kusaga, a radio presenter for Uvinza FM Radio Station, said the presence of patriarchy in the community is still affecting women’s freedom to participate in radio content, thus hindering producers to produce gender-sensitive radio programmes.
“We desperately need the voices of both sexes to be heard in our programmes, but there are still women, especially in rural areas who cannot speak on the radio until they get their husbands’ permission,” she echoed, adding that the situation is preventing women from fully participating in the media dialogues.