Edith Gondwe

For a long time African countries have been looking down upon women. Such perceptions have made women and girls that would have contributed to the development of the country to look down upon themselves. It is encouraging to note that women who are now in power are fighting for the welfare of their fellow women.

My stories shows how one Minister of Gender, Children, disability and social welfare Patricia Kaliati fights for the rights and well being of Women and Children, she managed to lobby Members of Parliament to move the marriage age of girls from 15 to 18 years through the marriage bill that was tabled in parliament. Gender Awareness Rating Please rate your article or programme on GL ’s Gender and Media (GEM) Awareness Index. Judges will verify the rating. Please rate 1 to 10 where 1=weak; 10=excellent SCORE (1-10) 1. The subject is either specifically about gender or one in which gender is mainstreamed. 9 2. Women and men (boys and girls) views are consulted equally and given equal weight. 7 3. The article/programme consults the views of those who make decisions as well as those affected. 9 4. Male and female sources are treated with dignity and respect. 8 5. The article/programme challenges gender stereotypes and embraces diversity. 8 6. The article/programme prompts gender awareness through informed public debate. 6 7. Relevant statistics are disaggregated by gender. 5 8. The article/programme takes a rights based approach. 7 9. The article/programme provides fresh views on everyday news. 9 10. The article/programme is bold and courageous. 8 TOTAL 76 Background * Why did you produce the story? What problem or context is it responding to? -200 words My first My first story on ‘Kaliati wants justice for vulnerable people ’ was written upon concerns by people with albinism that were facing a lot of problems in the society including killings and abductions. In my story i was so much interested to know what the responsible ministry and government is doing about that. And it managed to highlight what the ministry is doing to address the challenges. The other story on ‘Kaliati blasts NGOs ’ i was interested to find out what the ministry will do with the contradictions that are there in the constitution and the marriage bill that has just been passed in parliament on the marriage age of a girl child. The aim of the story was to get a clear picture of what is going to happen in that case where the constitution states that marriage age is 15 while the bill says 18. And it was so interesting to get different reactions on the matter which created debate. Key objectives* What did you hope to achieve with this coverage? -100 words In my first story wanted to call for more effort from government even other stakeholders to protect vulnerable people more especially albinos. To inform the public on what government is doing on the matter. Lobby for more support for vulnerable people. In my second story I

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