?Ignore men, vote women?, The Daily Times...
?Ignore men, vote women?, The Daily Times
Date: January 1, 1970
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The first deputy speaker of Parliament has appealed to political parties in the country to filed and support women candidates during the forthcoming elections.
This article may be used to:
- Look at the media’s coverage of the representation of women and elections.
- Highlight the importance of multiple source stories.
Trainer’s notes
The news story covers the need to field women candidates in the forthcoming elections. The story covers the need for parties to field women candidates and that many organisations support this view.
The story relies on two sources, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and the executive director of an NGO lobbying for increased representation of women in government. The article does not provide reasons why it is important for women to be in government. None of the prospective candidates are interviewed either.
Using the interview with the women deputy speaker as the main anchor in the story creates perception that women’s representation in government is mainly the concern of women. This coupled with the headline that reads: ‘Ignore men, vote women’ creates the impression that women are in competition with men.
The story lacks depth. Current statistics on the number of women in parliament are not mentioned in the article. An interesting dimension would be a comparison with other countries in the region and against the SADC call for thirty percent women in government.
Training exercises
Exercise one: Discuss the following:
- How many women are there in your government?
- Are there strategies in place to increase the number of women in parliament?
- Why is it important to have women in government?
Exercise two: Read the article and discuss the following:
- What is the angle of the story?
- What voices and perspectives are missing?
- What additional information could enrich the story?
- Does the headline complement the story? Explain. Suggest an alternative headline.
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