SABC 2 VENDA NEWS 22/01/2019

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Name of monitor: Petronell Ngonyama
Name of Television station: News
Name of programme: Venda news
Date of broadcast: 22 January 2019
Time: 17:30
Genre: News
Theme: IEC
Skills: Portrayal, sources
GBV focus explicit or implicit: Implicit
Gem Classification: Gender Blind
Link: Artefact

Description:
This shows historical footprints where women were written off or totally forgotten. Although the number of women prisons in South Africa is small in compared to the overall prison population, women inmates seem to be neglected or ignored.
The news clip is shows the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) assisting male prisoners to register their votes in order to vote. Several inmates were interviewed to get their perspective on the matter and on how will voting help them as inmates.

This then raises the question of where the women inmates are, when they get equal representation in matters concerning them also as they are eligible to what male inmates get.

Context
It is a standalone scene, with male inmates registering to vote. It does not have a follow up of events.

Why it has been given this GEM classification:
The scene is classified as gender blind. It does not cover the viewpoints of women inmates but are quoted to being happy but those of the men dominate. There is no balance of sources in the news scene. And also, no equal balance of women representatives. Although, the argument does not erase the matter of women being forbidden to vote, the question arises in terms of the policy frameworks in female prisons.

Instead of the constitution dealing with the rights of prisoners generally they should see how the needs of female inmates are met. Thus in terms of equal representation one of the employees pf of Correctional service in the women prison should have voiced what women go through in prison and how voting will help them.

According to Lisa Vetten, researcher and analyst at the Wits Institute for social and Economic Research said, “the imprisonment of women in Africa; that women are invisible and neglected when prison rules and policies are formulated. Prison facilities are designed in men’s needs in mind as a result, are inadequate for the needs of pregnant women and children”.

This means that the needs of women are not catered for in prison. Women are in need of a lot of health care facilities. For them not being overshadowed by male prisoners could unveil a lot of policy formulation.

Title:
“IEC allows prisoners to vote” this tittle has relevance in the story prisoners get a chance to be interviewed but lacks the voices of female inmates.

Focus:
The focus is not on Gender Based Violence but on giving prisoners a chance to voice out their concern on what is going on in South Africa by voting.

People in the news item:
There are six people in the news clip, five males and one female. They all act as sources however the number of sources is not balanced, there should been women who were interviewed about the matter.

Language
The language use by the news anchor and the voice over was understandable as the news programme is spoken in vernacular.

Visuals
The image does shows relevance of the news story. It also displays inmates being assisted with the registration process of voting with all the required documents and members of the IEC they are present which gives relevance to the story.

Angles and perspective
The sources in a manner that has relevance to what the story is about, members of the IEC spoke of the importance of allowing inmates to vote, the prison authority also got the chance to view their concern and the inmates spoke of how they feel to be part of the whole voting process. However, the perspective of female inmates was overshadowed. Having three inmate sources who are males without a woman does not cover all the prisoners their voices must be heard too.

Intersectionality
The scene does show discrimination against gender. There are female inmates in south Africa and it seems like they do not get coverage like male inmates. The reporter should have made it a point that he gets the viewpoints of female prisoners as the commission is allowing them to partake in the voting process.

Conclusion:
The news clip did not have a balance of sources; however, the viewpoints of the sources when interviewed matched what the topic is about but lacked the perspective of female inmates. This shows that the males are considered as people who are meant to vote, and women are side lined in important matters.

The department of Correctional Service and the media should make it a point that they give equal representation on inmates whether female or male. The overshadowing of women makes it difficult for them to voice out their concerns.