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Name of monitor: Patricia Mahachi
Name of Television station: SABC 3
Name of programme: News @ 9
Date of broadcast: 04/12/2018
Genre: News
Time: Time of broadcast: 21:00:21:30
GBV focus: Implicit
Gem Classification: Gender Aware but neglects issues of GBV against LGBTQ community
Story number: 3
Theme: GBV and Gender Equality
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jATnR74sDz0
Headline
16 day of activism against Gender Based Violence
Description
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is a politician and Executive Director of UN Women. Mlambo-Ngcuka speaking to the SABC News during the 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence, said the appointment of Danai Gurira as UN goodwill global ambassador was a welcome development in fighting GBV. She said she has been working on gender and wrote a play about women in Liberia and explained the role they played to end conflict. The play featured actress like Lupita Nyongo. Phumzile said Danai is very concerned about young women and her crucial role as the global ambassador is to be an inspiration to young people and inspire them to achieve greatness in life.
Mlambo-Ngcuka spoke about the HEforSHE Campaign, and mentioned that it has had an impact in popularising issues of Gender. She mentioned that there has been progress since the inception of the campaign and explained that more men who are in leadership positions are standing for gender equality. They support issues against unequal pay, inclusion of women in decision making in their workplace and sexual harassment. She went on to say as the world observes 16 days of activism against gender based violence, women and children lament the lack of leadership in combating the scourge.
In her interview with SABC news she spoke about the strides the organisation has made in South Africa, collaborating with shebeen owners and South African Council of churches to address the issues of violence amongst communities. She also highlighted challenges being faced by countries in trying to popularise issues of gender equality. Some countries water down legislations that address violence and legislation to do with women’s choices when it comes to termination of pregnancy. Other countries are not willing to advance and invest in policies that would address the minimum wage that impact women.
Analysis
This is a gender aware story. The news item has a balanced level of fairness across both genders and covers all sides to the story. It does not regard gender as women issues only but as affecting both males and females in community. Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka highlights how women played a formidable role to end the conflict which was happening in Libya. Women are seen as heroines and this article speaks for human rights which is inclusive of both genders and benefits for both.
It highlight the need for a collaborative effort by the governments, organisations, businesses and individuals in creating awareness on gender issues to end GBV. The story sums progress made so far in creating awareness and also the challenges faced. She indicated that there is still legislation that discriminates against women around the world, an area which needs to be addressed by policy makers.
Although the story is gender aware, it still promotes the idea that GBV only affects women and ignores the plight of the LGBTQ community. Although GBV affects women and girls disproportionately, it is also an LGBTQ issue, and this is not addressed in the story.
The language used is fair and visuals are relevant for this story. This story shows that for change to happen it has to start at a grassroots level. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka also spoke about working with churches and shebeen owners who are at the core of the issue. The involvement of a young woman celebrity Danai Gurira is of paramount importance because it enables young people to feel free to express their problems or to speak up against violence and they have a good role model to look up to. It is interesting that the interview referred to Wakanda, the fictional country home to the Black Panther superhero in the marvel comics. This movie was integral to representation as it is one of the first times a blockbuster film has shown strong, black, female superheroes. This reference highlights the intersectionality of the feminist struggle as young black girls do not often see themselves represented in the media, especially as superheroes.
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📝Read the emotional article by @nokwe_mnomiya, with a personal plea: 🇿🇦Breaking the cycle of violence!https://t.co/6kPcu2Whwm pic.twitter.com/d60tsBqJwx
— Gender Links (@GenderLinks) December 17, 2024
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