I know my rights, Public Eye

Rural women, when they do appear in the media, are portrayed as poor, powerless, victims, and they have become the image of poverty and marginalisation worldwide. This has led to a narrow interpretation of the rural woman, and her role in society is devalued and caricatured. The media’s oversimplification of the rural woman creates a distortion of  the complexity of individuals and their experiences.

The stereotypical image of the rural woman in the media results from the perspective the media chooses to report from: the depiction of women only as victims of crime or poverty; women making news only when they are embroiled in controversy or conflict; etc.

Rural women also are not accessed by the media, and their voices are silenced by the prejudices and biases of journalists who believe these women have nothing to say.

Training tip: Ask the trainees to write on cards one reason why journalists do not interview women from the rural areas on political, economic and social issues. Take the cards and place them on the wall or on a flip chart and discuss the pointers raised. In a gender and media workshop by an international news agency for journalists in Africa, this exercise yielded answers such as ‘rural women are uneducated’; ‘rural women do not know anything about economics’; ‘rural women do not know anything’; among others.

The case study however provides a different depiction of a rural woman and also covers an issue often marginalised in the media – people living with mental disabilities.

Through her own voice, Maletlotlo Fosere tells how she learned to fight for the rights of her daughter and other children living with physical and mental disabilities. And, she also is portrayed as a confident and knowledgeable woman who understands her civil rights and her role as a citizen to keep government officials accountable.

The story does not focus on her role as a mother alone, but portrays her as a mother-turn-activist. The news value is appropriately placed, not on an event, but the on the issue of how a woman becomes aware of and exercises her rights for change.

The headline, ‘I know my rights’ reinforces the portrayal of Fosere as a rural woman who is empowered and who wants to empower others. The story also reflects how the efforts of people in a community can lead to change.

The story could have been more tightly edited, and more direct quotes from Fosere, instead of the reported speech which is more predominant in the story, would have made the issues more illuminating for the reader.

Background information and sex disaggregated data on girls and boys living with mental disabilities;  perspectives on the different rights violations and challenges they face in the society; and other voices on the role Fosere has played, also would have enhanced the depth and context of the story.

Fosere is shown as an active participant in changing circumstances before her, as oppose to the general media image of women as victims of their circumstances.

Exercise one: Read the case study and discuss the following:

1. Who is speaking?
    

2. Who is being spoken about? In what way?
    

3. What are the news values that are inherent in this story? (Is it about the rich and powerful or the poor; about those similar or dissimilar to us; about something far away or close by?)
    

4. Does the story focus on events or on situations and processes?
    

5. How relevant and appropriate are these values for our society at this time?