Tanzania: Gladness Munuo

Date: July 20, 2019

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Name	Gladness
Surname	Munuo
Country	Tanzania
Give a short history of the leader	I am a journalist by profession, but also I am a gender activist being a member of Tanzania Media Women’s Association (TAMWA) and founder of Gender and Media Southern Africa Tanzania Chapter (GEMSAT), i.e. where I generated interest on Gender issues including Gender mainstream in media. Through that, I participated several training on Gender issues and also Gender related to media. After that I managed to lecture on Gender and Media at the Media University students and short training to journalists. That is the forum that I started to date I am still doing Gender awareness to various community.
Objectives	Women in Tanzania to be free from GBV and be empowered economical, social and health.
Key activities	As a facilitator, I managed to equip journalists by 40% in Tanzania on all issues related to media and gender. Therefore, through that activities I use to make follow up after that especially by doing monitoring to cross check or to evaluate what have been done so far to the public by means of doing reporting to the media. At the same time, as a Facilitator I also do survey on the any impact and outcome of the certain information, because our main interest is to make sure all gaps information such as maternal health, food, education etc has to be raised and the government has to take action or not.
Key challenges	1. Facilitation and resources are very limited. In order to move from one point to another when it comes outreach services, it is always very difficult if you do not have fund to facilitate. It is not easy even to use media because you need to work with the media people. It is not easier even to use phone calls as you need air time etc; 2.There is a need of having various awareness forums among the Journalists and Communities, this is due to fact that some gender SADC issues are not known by media people, media houses and community. This is due to fact that new generation is increasing every day and 3. Few colleagues to support our work, this is due to fact that most of the activities are not well funded so even the fund to facilitate are too minimal.
Results
Change at the individual level	-Individually being a Gender Champion I am so awake and alert on each steps at my office and family level the first thing is to check whether Gender issues have been considered. -Through that services to the media, current I have been invited either to train groups of people or to participate in revision exercise of some published books which are gender imbalances; -Through Gender activist, I am chairing a Swissaid Board here in /tanzania.All these happened due to fact that I am a gender activist and I walk the talk such as do it physically.
Evidence of change at the individual level	A quote from Tanzania Interfaith Partnership (TIP) Executive Director to Ms.Saida Msumi,” I would recommend Gladness to review our Gender Policy at the Tanzania Interfaith Partnership”. Another quote from Gender Links, quoted the Media Manager Ms. Tarisai Nyamweda, “Gladness I do recommend your name to train Journalists in Tanzania on SRHR, therefore you shall attend a TOT for Gender and SRHR training in Johannesburg.”
Change at the household level	Consideration of girls to be educated is like a priority now days.This is due to more effort that myself I advocate to the family level. So, empowerment to girls to make sure that they attended schools it is still there, and more girls have been given a priorities now days. Another changes as a part of gender equality, I used to convince parents and guardians to make sure that, protection to children is priority. This is due to fact that VAC is increasing to the family level and our children can express themselves.
Evidence of change at the household level	One Mariam Richard a mother of 6 yrs girl child, the one I supported and she is now at Bahari English Medium Pre and Primary School, it is a second year since she was enrolled, so Mariam said ” May I thank God who brought around Madam Gladness and she helped one of my daughter to be supported fully at the expensive and best boarding school”. This is just an example of a GBV Victim that I supported one out of more women victims of GBV.
Change at institutional level	“After the training you gave us on Gender and Media Reporting, I can now manage to write good , well balanced stories that before”…words said by one of the trainees, He is so happy to get the knowledge and he also said that he used to write unbalanced stories and programs unknowingly. He is call Silvano Kahyera is worming with Mlimani Television (A television owned by the University of Dar es Salaam,
Evidence of change at institutional level	“After the training you gave us on Gender and Media Reporting, I can now manage to write good , well balanced stories that before”…words said by one of the trainees, He is so happy to get the knowledge and he also said that he used to write unbalanced stories and programs unknowingly. He is call Silvano Kahyera is worming with Mlimani Television (A television owned by the University of Dar es Salaam,
Change at a policy level	National Level: Media houses in Tanzania agreed that having a guideline or a policy will also help them to change from gender biasness to gender balance into all levels including employment and the work stuff,
Evidence of change at a policy level	Mwananchi Communication Limited(MCL): ” We are decided to make sure that women are encouraged to apply various posts at their company by also prepare lectures at the Journalism Collages, and we insisted women students to apply. We also invited them as interns during their vocation”. That is one way of make sure that our organisation implement Gender Policy and make sure that women and men are carrying equal participation and post…..words given by Mr.Bakari Machumu Director incharge of Media at MCL.
Capacity building	1. Roll out Gender and Media Policy to the Traditional/Mainstream and Community Media in Tanzania; 2. Train more that 100 journalists from private, government and religious media outlets on Gender, Investigative Journalism and SRHR Reporting; 3.Champion on organising different forums for media and gender including workshops and meetings; and 4.Participating at the survey and different research related to Gender and Media, health, women empowerment etc.
Lessons learned and shared	Collaboration with other stakeholders it is a good way of reaching targets. Working alone it is not easy, as the statement that said that,’If you want to walk fast, go alone; If you want to go far, walk with others’. ‘I always admiring that in ‘Unit there is Strength’ , So basically I learnt that it is good to collaborate,
Next Steps	-To continue educated journalists and community generally due to fact that new generation is increasing and they neef to be informed formally. -To work very closely with the Government such as the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children and Ministry of Information, Youth, Sports and Culture as the key ministries to support our agenda on Gender mainstreaming.