Diversity Exchange, Issue 20, September 2011

Date: September 20, 2011

Diversity Exchange

Issue 20 | September 2011

Contents

Editor’s Note

by Saeanna Chingamuka

This month’s edition has come out at a time when media practitioners including journalists, media educators and media activists are in Cape Town to attend the first Pan African Conference on Access to Information. The GMDC seminars have sought to give a voice to citizens on the draft Declaration on Access to Information. In August, we convened three seminars in Namibia, and South Africa (with the Media Institute of Southern Africa) and in Tanzania on the topic “what has gender got to do with media freedom and access to information?” The seminar in South Africa coincided with the meeting of experts drafting the Declaration. Suggestions made included several references to unequal access to information; language; audience preferences; media literacy and other areas pertinent to gender. Read more…


		GMDC News

Gender contributions to the draft Declaration on Access to Information

In August, Gender Links and partners hosted three seminars in three different countries namely Namibia, Tanzania and South Africa. The seminar discussions were based on the question “What has gender got to do with media freedom and access to information?” Read more…

Africa Information and Media Summit: 17-19 September 2011

To mark the 20th year of the Windhoek Declaration, the Windhoek +20 Campaign on Access to Information in Africa is convening the Pan African Conference on Access to Information (PACAI). The conference will run from 17 to 19 September 2011 in Cape Town. Read more…

Sex sells, but does the public really buy that?

Several incidents in recent months have put the issue of the limits to freedom of expression under the spotlight. The phone hacking scandal in Britain showed that some media houses are ready to scrape the bottom of the barrel when it comes to getting information. What is the motivation: critical information of public interest, or greed and cheap sensation? Read more…

You and I can help end hate crimes

Has hate speech instigated the killings and “corrective rapes” of lesbians? A seminar on “Equality, hate speech and attacks on lesbians” held at the beginning of Women’s Month explored the uncomfortable boundaries of this question. The Institute for the Advancement of Journalism (IAJ) and the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) supported by Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) hosted a panel Read more…

Poster Women: A case study of India

In 2006 Zubaan began a new and fascinating project: Poster Women, a visual mapping of the women’s movement in India through the posters the movement had produced. The idea was to ask what the history of the movement would look like through its posters and the visual images Read more…

Update on the media Centres of Excellence project

The GL media Centres of Excellence project has continued to gather momentum in the last few months with several media houses signing Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with GL. Following the planning and conceptualization meeting in May 2011, seven media houses in Tanzania have since signed MOUs Read more…


		Partner News

Call for applications: Internship January-June 2012

A leading regional NGO working on gender equality offers an exciting opportunity to work as an intern in one of its programme areas. Gender Links (GL) is providing a six month long internship programme, which commences on the 13th of January 2011. Read more…


		GL Opinion & Commentaries

Southern Africa: We must protect women from cyber violence

There is more to cyber violence than pornography, which seems to be the most talked about form of online violence against women. We need to actively engage women and civil society organisations on these other issues, such as emotional abuse, cyber-stalking and identity theft. The anonymity of the internet provides protection from identification and retribution and makes it easier to mount a campaign of abuse against someone, even from the other side of the world. The internet can be both a tool for empowering and for terrorising women. They need to be given the tools to help reinforce the former and prevent the latter. Read more…

South Africa: Domestic violence must be included in crime stats

Last week South African Police Minister Nathi Mthetwa released annual crime statistics for 2010-2011. On average, crime has decreased and the murder rate dropped by 6.5%. However, it was shocking to read there was a 5.6% increase in the number of women murdered last year. This while police claim violence against women and children is a priority. In the ten years since the 1998 Domestic Violence Act (DVA) came into force, domestic violence remains a crime which receives scant attention and is not logged in South Africa Police Services (SAPS) annual crime statistics. Most domestic violence cases are recorded as assault or assault with the intention to cause grievous bodily harm. Read more…

Southern Africa: The terrifying epidemic of body enhancement junkies

In the 1980ââ‚¬â„¢s, many African women had black patches on their cheeks due to the side effects of a popular skin lightener on the market at that time. The largest numbers of people using skin lighteners in Southern Africa are women. However, men also use the products in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Tanzania. Of late, I have seen a number of adverts for skin lighteners in newspapers and on posters, even tied to trees on street corners. These are supposedly aimed at giving women a nudge in the direction which presumably will help them see ââ‚¬Å“desired results.ââ‚¬ Read more…


		Seminars

Gender, media freedom and access to information

Three seminars were held during the month of August in Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania. These were moulded around Access to Information debates currently underway. Read more…


		Upcoming Events

Pan African Conference on Access to Information Conference, 17-19 September, Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town, South Africa

15th Highway Africa Conference, 17-19 September, Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town, South Africa


		GMDC Databases

Clippings

Marching against gender based violence – Mmegi

A march against gender based violence will start today at 7 am from BBS Mall to the Main Mall and will be led by Kgosi Arnold Somolekae of the Broadhurst Customary Court. The march, organised by the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, is the culmination of three day seminar to create a platform for interactive discussions with Faith Based Organisations (FBO) on gender based violence. Read more…

Sowetan says ‘Sorry, Ferial’ over ‘black snake’ – The Namibian

The Sowetan newspaper apologised to City Press editor Ferial Haffajee yesterday for publishing a column that called her a black snake. ââ‚¬Å“In his latest column [Eric] Miyeni crossed the line between robust debate and the condonation of violence,ââ‚¬ said Sowetan and Sunday World general manager Justice Malala and Avusa editor-in-chief Mondli Makhanya in a statement on page 15. Titled, ââ‚¬ËœSorry, Ferial and Allââ‚¬â„¢, the pair apologised not only for the column, but also for their slow public response to the saga. Read more…

Women sabotage themselves – Mail & Guardian

Like Nikiwe Bikitsha (ââ‚¬Å“Itââ‚¬â„¢s time to start campaigning for a female presidentââ‚¬ , August 12), I am increasingly despondent about the lack of voices in South Africa calling for a woman president. The ANC Womenââ‚¬â„¢s League has repeatedly failed to put this subject on the nationââ‚¬â„¢s agenda. But the responsibility for raising the issue of female leadership in the highest echelons of government is not only that of the ANC Womenââ‚¬â„¢s League. It is a matter for all South Africans, across the gender divide. Read more…

Research

Newsroom ethics in Africa: Quest for a normative framework

Newsroom studies in Africa are peppered with tales of unethical reporting practices, conflict of interest, and corruption. These problems have undermined the credibility of the media and limited editorial autonomy. While some scholars call for a return to African ethical roots as a panacea; others hanker for greater professionalism in the African media industry. The two approaches underscore the Afro-centric values versus Eurocentric values debate that has characterized much of the postcolonial discourses. This study offers an overview of the state of newsroom studies since the mid-1990s when Francis Kasoma identified two needs in Africa, namely, for journalism ethics and for African ethics (Afri-ethics). Read more…

The foundations of African ethics (Afriethics) and the professional practice of journalism: The case for society-centred media morality

The impact of the information superhighway on journalism education in Africa is addressed by the author. The theme of this paper is that the communal approach should be used in solving moral problems in journalism. The individualism and divisionism that permeate the practise of journalism in Africa today should be discarded since they are not only unAfrican but also professionally unhealthy. The article asserts that African journalism would have an inbuilt self-correcting mechanism that facilitates journalists counseling one another. Read more…

Journalism ethics revisited: A comparison of ethics codes in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Muslim Asia

Formal journalism ethics, as laid out in codes of ethics by journalism associations and the like, is part of a wider debate on media ethics that has been triggered in the Middle East due to the advent of global media in the region. This study compares journalism codes from Europe and the Islamic world in order to revisit the widespread academic assumption of a deep divide between Western and Oriental philosophies of journalism that has played a role in many debates on political communication in the area. The analysis shows that there is a broad intercultural consensus that standards of truth and objectivity should be central values of journalism. Read more…

Case Studies

Sexist, racist ad pulled down in Mozambique

The latest advertisement for the popular dark beer Laurentina Preta shows a headless and legless black woman, generous hips and bosom, tiny waist, clad in tight bodysuit with the Laurentina logo right on her pubis. A popular myth in Mozambique is that dark beer enhances sexual potency, hence the brand’s association with sex in its ads. This one appeared in the first week of September on billboards and as full page ads in daily newspapers. The umbrella of women’s group Foro Mulher and the League for Human Rights jointly called a press conference to denounce the ad. Two days later, Cervejas de Mocambique announced its withdrawal, “given that the ad is creating a polemic in the midst of society.” Read more…

“Sexy” women at work? – Sunday Independent, Daily Sun

Women continue to challenge the stereotype that a woman’s place is in the kitchen by breaking boundaries in the workplace. Many choose “unusual” career paths that tend to be dominated by men. While there might be challenges to working in these jobs, women prove that they excel in these positions. They make significant contributions to society in these ways, but the media rarely reports on their successes. It is only on special occasions such as Women’s Month that South African media report on these noteworthy issues. Read more…

Uplift women, says Acting President – The Herald

Acting President of ZANU-PF, Joice Mujuru, has called for concerted efforts in uplifting women as they are key in contributing to economic growth and sustainable development in Zimbabwe. Mujuru said gender justice and gender balance was key in the development of any country. The lack of women represented in various higher-level institutions call for more concerted efforts in uplifting the cause of gender equality. Mujuru emphasised that sustainable development cannot be achieved without the pre-requisite of gender equality. This article is gender aware as it is written in gender sensitive language and challenges the stereotype that women cannot succeed in higher-level political positions. The article is commendable as it pushes forward the cause of gender equality. Read more…

Publications

The War at Home – GBV Indicators Project

Over half the women of Gauteng (51.3%) have experienced some form of violence (emotional, economic, physical or sexual) in their lifetime and 75.5% of men in the province admit to perpetrating some form of violence against women. The survey in South Africa’s most densely populated and cosmopolitan province shows that while political conflict in the country has subsided, homes are and communities are still far from safe, especially for women. Read more…

Black, white and grey: Ethics in South African journalism

In South Africa, the debate about journalism ethics has taken particular turns in recent years. Issues of transformation and race have sparked heated debates in the profession, and there have been calls for the ethical codes of journalistic practice to be revisited, to bring them into line with the new South African reality. This book grew out of these discussions. Read more…

Strategising online activism: A toolkit

Strategising online activism: A toolkit was designed for and by women activists but can be used by everyone. Key chapters include: strategising and planning your online activism; creating your campaign’s identity; social networking and security on the internet. The guide provides practical and accessible step-by-step advice, yet keeping a political and feminist eye. It was developed by APC’s women’s programme (APC WNSP) and our partner Violence is Not our Culture (VNC). Read more…


		Internships				Members

Internships

Ticha Tsedu

My name is Mukondeleli Ticha Tsedu, born in Limpopo, South Africa and raised in the city of gold. I recently completed my Bachelor of Social Science at the University of Cape Town where my majors include public administration, sociology and media studies. On a personal note my dad has been a major role model in my life because, from his humble beginnings he has become one of the country’s most respected journalists. Read more…

Members

Malawi Institute of Journalism

The Malawi Institute of Journalism (MIJ) is a leading training institution for professional journalism. MIJ is the only training institution in the region with its own radio station and a news paper. With over 10 years of experience MIJ is committed to maintaining excellence in developing media independence and professionalism. Read more…

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Diversity Exchange, Issue 20, September 2011

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