19 Nov 2020

Research conducted by Inter-Parliamentary Union has reportedly shown that Women’s Political Participation (WPP) is one of the most problematic areas of reporting as women are often underrepresented and sometimes, misinterpreted in the media. 

Speaking during a media training on reporting on Women’s Political Participation in Botswana, Gender Links Country Manager, Ms Onneetse Makhumalo said the overarching objective of the training was to contribute to the enhancement of WPP in Africa, with a view of advancing the goal of gender equality in politics and governance. 

Ms Makhumalo added that the training session was part of the key interventions for the International Idea led consortium, ‘Enhancing the Inclusion of Women in Political Participation in Africa’ project, which would also be hosted in Eswatini and Zimbabwe.

“Gender Links and its consortium partners seek to equip the media with the necessary skills to shift current media practices and influence long term understandings in order to ensure gender responsive media coverage of women’s political participation,” she explained.

Sharing the same sentiments, a facilitator at the training, Ms Pamela Dube, elucidated that one of the most powerful tools for politicians was the media, as it played a critical role in the efficacy of women in politics.

She highlighted that the issues confronting women politicians and the media were two-fold, with the first being, for the most part, simply ignored.

“The media is a terrain most women politicians feel threatened by, as the coverage seems to push them off the news agenda. Women politicians in elections face constant public scrutiny, cutthroat smear campaigns and numerous sexist and insensitive portrayal,” she said. 

She, therefore, challenged media practitioners, as the fourth arm of democracy, to uphold the important role of ensuring that all democratic principles were upheld, especially during elections, when a person’s vote is equivalent to their voice. Ends