Working with media regulators in Botswana and Malawi

Gender mainstreaming in media regulation has been central to Gender Links’ efforts to achieve equality in and through the media. It has also been central to the fight for freedom of expression and critical to citizenship, participation, and responsive governance. GL believes that it is thus important to extend support for the development of gender policies for regulatory authorities.

Work with regulators is based on a regional pilot with media regulators in Botswana, DRC, Mauritius, Malawi and Tanzania. The aim of the project has been to provide support to media regulators in creating gender policies, using research and tools developed as part of GL’s policy and research portfolio.

In the next few months, Gender Links will build on the work already done through the regional pilot. The Press Council of Botswana (PCB) and the Media Council of Malawi (MCM), with support from Gender Links, will forge ahead with finalising the draft gender code of ethics. The two bodies will convene meetings for their members to review the draft documents and offer suggestions on how to operationalise the documents.

The Press Council of Botswana, which is a membership-driven organisation, has circulated its draft gender code of ethics to its members. It is bringing them together for a working meeting on 1 February to push for adoption of this document. The Council has requested support from Gender Links to put forward a case to its members around the importance of having a gender code of ethics.

In Malawi, Gender Links will support the MCM in finalising its draft policy document as well as exploring strategies to strengthen its work. The council has not yet circulated this draft document to its membership. As part of the workshop, Gender Links will train media and regulators on the importance of gender and media literacy as well as equip them with skills to mainstream gender into all their operations.