(from Women's Media Watch newsletter 'Looking Out', January 2012. Vol 8 No.1)

"Women’s Media Watch launched its new Training Manual “Whose Perspective? A Guide to Gender-Aware Analysis of Media Content in November, 2011. Click here to read an excerpt.

Whose Perspective? boasts a high quality eye-catching, full-colour design, accessible language and practical exercises, grounded in solid research. These features combine to show how the media work and how they construct our gendered reality. The Manual encourages media professionals and citizens to create media messages which counter gender stereotypes and challenge the use of sexism and violence. It show to use a ‘gender lens’ to interact with media".

Contact: wmwjam@hotmail.com

Looking beyond the 16 days

Fiji, 9 December 2011.

“I have five children going to primary school next year and I have been told to pay $35 per term per child. I don’t know how I'll manage to send them next year," said Talei as her concerns shifted from the annual 16days campaign to getting her children back to school in 2012. She did not mention Christmas.

Talei was part of a group of rural women from Naleba and Vatulutu communities in Labasa who were on air with Generation Next Labasa on FemTALK 89.2FM this week.

Across in Nausori, a forty minute plane ride away, Kinismere Bora lamented similar concerns: “Before I used to pay $10 for my child’s school fees but from next year I have to pay $30 per term.”

As the 16 Days campaign wraps women who attend the daily interactive dialogue and broadcasts continue to talk about their issues which are linked to their human security and human rights.

They claim their right to define development which puts access to water and electricity, safety, health services, transport, food security at the forefront of their families priorities.

In a safe space that the community radio provides they have discussed the prevalence of domestic violence,  child abuse, child labour. They talk about their fears as one group highlights an incident of a recent gang rape.

As mothers they recognise the need to involve children in awareness workshops and programmes to enhance their safety and protection.

The annual 16days campaign maybe coming to an end but it continues to unveil the reality that these are daily realities which need to be prioritized:

“We should have more NGOs with more awareness for women in the rural areas, it should not be yearly but monthly, especially on violence against women to give women the opportunity to discuss,” said Kinismere.

This certainly defines the work that must continue in rural communities - enabling women to define and claim their Peace and Human Security.

....
Sharon Bhagwan Rolls
femLINKPACIFIC
www.femlinkpacific.org.fj

Hãy phát triên phong trào lón manh. Hãy tham gia cùng chúng tôi!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZJL0joGXRI&feature=youtu.be

Research Centre for Gender, Family and Environment in Development (CGFED)

Hanoi, Vietnam.  www.cgfed.org.vn

 *Chọn Công bằng - Trọn Yêu thương*

Diary of a Community Radio Campaign: November 25 – December 10, 2011

05 December 2011

Operating a community radio network is more than about managing regulatory systems, producing programmes, arranging broadcast logs and rosters, and coordinating women to attend the interactive dialogue sessions. It is also about managing technical operations.

But as Femlink Pacific's Generation Next team assigned to the Nausori broadcast are finding out, the show does go on, even though the transmitter is down.

And according to Eleni Nabalarua, the interactive dialogue with members of the Jyoti Mahila Mandal who travelled in from Vuci to Vunimono, just engaging in dialogue and sharing their stories for a radio programme was just as important as participating in a radio broadcast:

“Women still come into to Nausori and we continue to listen as they share their individual stories of issues that they face within their communities. ... One lady said she would like more advertisements on human rights education and the services of the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre because domestic violence is prevalent within their community.”

As Jima Luvunkaoro and Paulin Fong Chowdhury reported today, the Jyoti Mahila Mandal is a small mothers club which was formed just over two years ago. While they met initially to share “bhajans and lok geet” (traditional and religious songs), they have found that working together they are able to raise money singing at local events. The money they raise supports family and community projects.  

Living in a settlement a slow 30 minute walk from the main road, the women shared that like many women in rural settlements across Fiji, one of their daily challenges is having to carry groceries and household supplies from the main road to their homes because taxi drivers refuse to drive the women to their homes.

The members of the Jyoti Mahila Mandal also highlighted the need for improvements to access to health facilities especially dispensaries.

The right to development , defining ones human security clearly a reason why the "Radio Show Must Go On"

...
Sharon Bhagwan Rolls
femLINKPACIFIC
 

Research Centre for Gender, Family and Environment in Development (CGFED) in Vietnam continues to expand and grow the movement to fight violence against women through the campaign “Take back the tech”. on technology-related violence against girls and women.

CGFED is translating the "Take back the tech" documents and adding subtitles in Vietnamese for the video clip. Following that, we will distribute it to networks and organisations working on gender or violence against women in Vietnam.

CaoThuy, CGFED, Vietnam. www.cgfed.org.vn

More Young Women Join FemLINKPACIFIC’s Community Radio Network for 16 Days Campaign

23 November 2011

“As a young woman you can make a difference. My message for the 16 days of activism is for my community to be free from violence especially violence against women and girls,” says young mum Ana Rakacikaci. As a mother of 9 and 5 year olds, her priorities are food prices, preventing teenage pregnancies and drug and substance abuse:  

“I know through this women’s mobile radio, awareness can be raised to help women especially young women to be informed. I am passionate about equality amongst women and girls. I would like them to be empowered through the medium where their voices can be heard.”

She is part of a group of ten young women are claiming their role as Peacebuilders, communicators, radio producers and broadcasters as they undergo training at FemLINKPACIFIC’s community media centre in Suva in the lead up to the 16days campaign to Eliminate Violence Against Women.

The 10 new volunteers, who have been brought together in conjunction with the Catholic Women’s League are learning about community radio, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace and Security) and other gender equality and women’s human rights commitments as their prepare to take to the airwaves alongside Generation Next members.

Already their scripts are demonstrating that community radio is a platform for women and their communities to address the barriers to women’s participation in peacebuilding, which are linked to their human security and development priorities.

This is the third year for the 16 Days of Community Radio campaign organised by FemLINKPACIFIC and the first time that broadcasts will be simultaneously conducted in 3 centres including 2 rural centres – Nausori and Labasa which signifies the launch of the organisation’s women-led community radio network with the Generation Next Project for Young Women Producers and Broadcasters.

FemLINKPACIFIC’s innovative community radio initiative ‘Fem’TALK 89.2FM’ has been operating since 2003, empowering and building the skills of young women broadcasters and opening space for Fiji women’s voices to be heard on key policy decisions.

Fem’TALK 89.2FM also provides young women with skills and confidence to engage in national-level debates as interviewers, producers and broadcasters of the community radio broadcasts as well as production of other media initiatives such as digital stories and through the use of social media.

For more information please contact:

Sharon Bhagwan Rolls (Sharon@femlinkpacific.org.fj)


 

28 October 2011

“Tell the stories. Let the world know. Create the visibility. Use the Peace Portal,” said Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, as he responded to the concern raised by panelists in a public roundtable (NY, 27 October) organized by GPPAC in the lead up to today’s UN Security Council Open Debate on Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace and Security)

The roundtable was an opportunity to call for greater accountability from member states and the UN system through the tangible, well resourced national and regional action plans based on UNSCR1325 and linked to existing human rights commitments including CEDAW.

These plans, would be build on the indicators, or the proof of the added value of involving women as mediators, negotiators, as dialogue facilitators and civil society agents for human security. These are the tangible indicators, which pre-date and have informed the adoption of UNSCR1325.  These are the indicators which need to be adapted now 11 years on since October 31, 2000:

“It is time to break down the visible and invisible walls,” says Chowdhury, adding that the glass ceiling between commitment and action is 11 years too late.  

There also remains serious concern that despite the evidence, such as through the data available from the Global Media Monitoring Project, the stereotypical portrayal of women as victims continues to be perpetuated in many public media outlets and is not contributing to the transformative change needed to build sustainable and gender inclusive peace.

To make the change requires the equitable allocation and distribution human and financial resources, technical and institutional resources to build on the acknowledgment and recognition of the her-story of work as Peacebuilders and Peace Educators. It does require member states and UN agencies to improve their collaboration, to build on the work of peace activists and civil society analysts dedicated to peacebuilding and conflict prevention.   

Through the presentations participants, including representatives from UN agencies and member states, were reminded that women in countries like Bougainville, Solomon Islands and Sri Lanka have brokered peace; women continue to provide a space to console and support communities using peace vigils and inter-personal communication; women use community media forms to reach across ethnic and armed divisions, and that the work for peace transcends from our homes to beyond national and even regional borders.

...
Sharon Bhagwan Rolls
Executive Director
femLINKPACIFIC
www.femlinkpacific.org.fj


 

October 26, 2011
New York

“We get your newsletter” said Nanette Braun as she welcomed FemLINKPACIFIC representatives to an interactive dialogue with the media and communications team based at UN Women HQ in midtown Manhattan today.

She was referring to FemLINKPacific's EMegazine “The Thirteen 25 Report” which has been one of our media platforms to communicate to media, policy and CSO partners about the implementation of UNSCR1325, and other gender equality commitments.

We were there as members of the GPPAC Gender Focal Points network coming together in the lead up to the annual Open Debate on UNSCR1325.
 
Peace and Security is now one of the core programme areas of UN Women, and Braun reiterated what is possible with enhanced relationships between at the grassroots, national and regional offices of UN Women, as well as media networks.

There has been a sea change, since 2002, when it comes to the portrayal of women in the peace and sphere. It is reflected in the media coverage and enhanced visibility of sexual gender based violence:

“There has been a shift, a policy shift including at the inter-governmental level, so it is not impossible, “she said highlighting the catalytic role of the first edition of Women, War, Peace co authored by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Elisabeth Rehn.

Braun also agreed that there is a still a need to transform the portrayal of women, more than just as victims:
“The media is an opportunity to enhance the visibility of what we are doing as Peacewomen activists”, said Veena Singh Bryar of FemLINKPACIFIC, “(in our work) We would like to reach the media as well as governments.”

“We want to enhance women’s visibility of women’s efforts in preventive action in dialogue and mediation stressed Gesa Bent the Gender Coordinator of GPPAC in The Hague “(as) we look at highlighting the work to prevent.”

The dialogue was an opportunity to highlight the work of the global network from the 15 regions “The core of our work is Preventive Action,” explained Carmen Gatmaytan of IID based in Mindanao, who highlighted that media, and communications are integrated into the work at the national and regional efforts, such as through the GPPAC Peace Portal.

It was agreed that content development, is a valuable way to communicate civil society action, particularly for Women, Peace and Security and enhance women’s visibilities:

“We want to create a media platform for what is happening in the field, not just the work of UN Women,” said Oisika Chakrabati the Media Specialist based at UN Women Headquarters, “ (so) it is exciting to hear what you are all doing on the ground, we want to learn about your work, whether it is suitcase radio, and how you are working with journalists on the ground, and their situation,” adding that she acknowledged that in many global south communities, the daily reality of the digital divide means social media as well as other online media forms is not accessible.

..
Sharon Bhagwan Rolls
Executive Director
femLINKPACIFIC
www.femlinkpacific.org.fj
 

The Hindu, an English daily newspaper in India, uses the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) findings to underscore an increasing presence of women in the news.

A story on The Hindu online version introduces an all-female production team of a program aired by a prominent network. The story recounts the successes and struggles that women in present society face in the media world in India. Although based out of India, the article and its contents are representative of an entire demographic of females across the world and the common successes and struggles they face as well. It brings to light the determination and dedication of women in the field by focusing on the achievements of these women and the things they’ve had to put on hold for their careers.

Read the story on The Hindu website here: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/life/article2208027.ece

The GMMP is continuing its expansion and influence in educating a variety of audiences on the importance of gender monitoring and the GMMP’s findings. The GMMP is now part of ‘The Issues’ series, which is a series of high quality resource books on contemporary social issues for schools, colleges and libraries. These resource books are used in various courses in the U.K. including the GCSE, A-levels and further education.

The GMMP is featured in The Issues: The Media. (Volume 210, 2011. Independence Education Publishers, Cambridge, U.K.), in a section dedicated to ‘Who makes the news’ and briefly highlights the important findings of the latest GMMP. It introduces the GMMP project and continues to list the important findings on female and male portrayal in print, broadcast and internet media. The section through this information draws attention to the inequality of gender portrayal and calls for awareness on the issue.

For more information on this volume and the series, find details at the publisher's website .

If you would like to order an online subscription of the series you can find the subscription order form here or email the team at issues@independence.co.uk