WOMEN IN THE MEDIA DEMAND COURSES ON GENDER RESPONSIVE REPORTING FOR JOURNALISTS

Margret Ssentamu, the Executive Director, UMWA speaking during the dialogue.
 
By Godwin Abedican
 
Arua
 
Through their umbrella body Uganda Media Women’s Association (UMWA), Women in the media are calling for a deliberate move by the National Curriculum Development Center (NCDC) to introduce gender related course units in the curriculum to protect women and female journalists threatened by the work environment.
 
Delivering her key note address during the UMWA dialogue on gender, media and inclusion, Lekuru Annet, the Executive Director (ED) Feminature Uganda, an organization that advocates for the rights of women, says that the curriculum that brings up journalists has stayed away from including what could help in gender responsive reporting and protection of female journalists and women in the media.
 
“Within journalism schools is that part of their curriculum now? Here in West Nile, we have media schools like Unite Media Consultants and Trainers (UMCAT). Do they have course units talking about gender equality or gender sensitive reporting?  Even back then when we were being mentored in to the media, there was nothing about gender mainstreaming or gender sensitive reporting. Perhaps it’s also time that these media schools revise their curriculums to include intentional topics on gender responsive reporting because that lays the foundation for journalists coming up to pay attention to these issues,” Lekuru called.

 
Lekuru Annet, ED Feminature Uganda while delivering her
Keynote speech.

In an interview with Aita Nancy, the Center Administrator for UMCAT-Arua study center (an institution that trains journalists) about how this could possibly be incorporated into the learning system as being advocated for, she said that, as an institution they have aspects which cater for that only that its not a course unit of its own.
 
“We have had the National Curriculum Development Center (NCDC) have course contents that can be followed and aligned to in relation to training journalists. However, the aspect of gender inclusion chips in other course units and contents such as Ethics in journalism and we also do have specialized reporting. To that level of tertiary that is where we have managed to have this included,” Aita said.
 
She however appeals that much as the push is being made for consideration for the protection of the women in the media, the same emphasis should also be put towards the men since they all face more or less the same challenges.
 
Aiita Nancy, the Center Admin UMCAT-Arua .
  
According to Margret Ssentamu, the Executive Director, Uganda Media Women’s Association they have made efforts through the National Curriculum Development Center towards enhancing a gender sensitive curriculum in media schools but the long bureaucracy stands as challenge in having an immediate outcome.
 
“Reviewing or imparting a media training curriculum to become gender inclusive, is a key issue. As UMWA, we did review the existing media training curriculum in Uganda and we found a lot of gender gaps. We went ahead and worked with NCDC but the process is long. We also reviewed the policies and law on media, we went to parliament and presented our case, but as you know the parliament of Uganda, they take that long and also the process can become costly in terms of time and other resources,” she revealed.

Women in the media face among other challenges gender bias in hiring, pay and under presentation in leadership roles despite the progresses made in recent years, being given less prestigious assignments or relegated to "soft" news topics, while men are assigned more challenging news topics, sexual harassment at workplace, exploitation and objectification sexually, stereotyping, online ne harassment and challenges in balancing their personal life and career.