Uganda Media Women’s Association (UMWA), in consortium with other partners held the first women and media symposium in Uganda on Friday 24th, March 2023 at Imperial Royale Hotel Kampala.
Attracting over 150 female media and communications practitioners, the symposium was a half day dinner end engagement under the theme, Her Story: Self, Health and Wealth. UMWA, through the engagement also, exceptionally awarded distinguished women in media and communications.
Other partners were: Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), Pollicy, Nile Breweries Uganda Ltd, New Vision, Media Challenge Initiative (MCI), Soft Power News.
Key discussions pivoted on assessing the actualization status of the 1995 Beijing Platform of Action, an international protocol that calls for enhanced visibility and participation of women in media and other developing technologies. Also, areas of gender digital presence, safety and regulation for women, mentorship and career growth in newsrooms and economic empowerment were discussed.
Susan Ngongi Namondo, the UN Resident Coordinator in Uganda, advised female journalists to use the power of media to shape ideas that can better their lives.
“Like the conversations have been made on standing up for own self to advocate for change, I add voice to say that women journalists can exploit the digital age for immerse opportunities but also learn to be safe and secure while online,” emphasized the UN Resident Coordinator.
She also challenged the stereotype perceptions that value women less with least payment for their work. “Somehow, society has agreed that women are less. Because they are less they get less access to things,” she added.
Women Visibility, Online Gender Based Violence (OGBV) and Regulation
Bonnita Nyamwire, the Co-director research at Pollicy observed that female journalists are the most susceptible to Online Gender Based Violence and this variously occurs in different forms as such: Cyber bullying, trolling, stalking, gendered mis/disinformation, hacking, revenge pornography, among others.
“Our recent research on the safety of women, in particular women in media, online, indicates that women are four times more likely to experience online violence than their male counterparts. This has hindered their use of the digital space which further shrinks their scope of expression as journalists on a number of matters,” revealed Nyamwiire.
The Research co-director recommended that the government should institute and enforce policies and laws that counter online gender based violence against women while addressing, in collective effort of other stakeholders like civil society media organizations, the high digital illiteracy among women especially female journalists through capacity building programs.
She revealed that at Pollicy, there are small grants and trainings offered to female journalists to report on digital rights especially OGBV.
Recently, Pollicy partnered with UMWA to implement: “The Future of Work: Improving Digital Safety for Women at Work and Combating Gendered Disinformation,“ project that aimed at identifying the challenges among female journalists towards digital safety and security, and prevention of OGBV.
A needs assessment through Focus Group Discussions with over 30 women journalists across the country was conducted. Findings of which informed a capacity building of equally 30 journalists representative of all regions of Uganda on digital safety and security, data protection and privacy, OGBV, gendered Disinformation and Misinformation and the Legal framework around OGBV. By June 2023, female journalists trained shall be, through applications, provided for small grants to generate social change stories around OGBV and digital rights in Uganda.
Pollicy is a feminist civic technology collective whose work and research spans across the use and implementation of data and technology to engineer social change.
Understanding digital rights and regulation in Uganda
Edrine Wanyama, the Legal Officer CIPESA enlightened the female journalists at the symposium that there is a legal framework that speaks to issues of Online Gendered Violence, an abuse that is increasing for them.
That before, which, Article 29 of Uganda’s constitution in parcel with other international conventions guarantees for freedom of expression and thus each woman is inherently equal to the exercise of this right.
Similarly, he urged women to censor themselves from personal and intimate content sharing that would rather end up being used against them by ill-intended persons in society.
Wanyama revealed that CIPESA is increasingly committed to addressing the digital issues affecting equal and equitable digital access and use by women and within this year’s women’s month, it is speaking upon: Tech4Equality: Advocating for Gender Inclusive ICT and Governance policies. No wonder, their overtime support towards media work.
The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is one of two centres established under the Catalysing Access to Information and Communications Technologies in Africa (CATIA) initiative, which was funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID). CIPESA focuses on decision-making that facilitates the use of ICT in support of good governance, human rights and livelihoods.
Economic empowerment: Where is the money for women in media
Dr. Ruth Aisha Biyinzika, a project director at Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and Chairperson of council of the Directorate of Industrial training urged journalists especially female practitioners to learn living beyond the pay cheque of newsrooms and start side income activities.
“Journalists are one of the worst paid workers in the country and many times the small earned is not self-sustaining. However, they forget to realize that they are the wealthiest people ever living because of the social capital and network they possess with their nature of work, contacts of which can build wealth,” said Dr. Biyinzika
Furthermore, Dr. Biyinzika said that journalists should upgrade their skills to improve their employability like learning new skills going digital to create more awareness about what they do, and make an extra income out of it.
She also stated that the president on 8th March 2023 launched a USD217m (about Shs816b)project for women with the major focus being on ICT and communication as a key sector which is male dominated, adding that the project will support more women to join the sector so that they can upgrade and set up small enterprises, adding that there will be opportunities for apprenticeship, training on business, getting vocational skills and certification, and helping women sell their products and look for markets outside the country but also locally for strengthening value chains, and offering of soft loans.
Building resilience for women in media
Carol Beyanga, the Head Monetization, Mentorships and Partnerships emphasized that there is continued need to advocate for more women in news room management, this way, perhaps we can have women voices at decision making levels.
Women, digital Space and Safety
Sarah Kagingo, the CEO Soft Power news equally added voice to the low pay of journalists, an issue that grows worse for women practitioners.
“I have always wondered about the brown envelopes given to journalists. How do we resolve it because journalists are generally paid very low and it is worse for women in the media.These are things we don’t talk about and it should start now,” said Kagingo
Awarding Outstanding women in media
The Symposium was made colorful by the dinner awarding ceremony of women media practitioners who have overtime done impactful and life changing works. These distinguished ladies in media were selected from academia, research, management, civil society, mentors, managers, researchers and trainers. The key categories of awarding were: Distinguished long serving ladies, long serving and mentorship, reporting from the frontline, managing stations, innovation, hard stuff, investigative, community, innovation, resilience, daring, brave and innovation, press freedom, transitioning: Journalism to Police and Politics, founding leaders/chairpersons, lifetime Award.
A total of 46 awardees were recognized with the Lifetime Award being graced to Margaret B. Sentamu, for her outstanding efforts and dedication to make a difference in the lives of women through the media for gender equity.
The awards ceremony was a launch of the annual awards giving to diversely more women in media, who stand out within their works.
UMWA thus appreciates all the partners who supported her in organizing and successfully holding this event, but also, the women in media, for their sustained belief in the organization as a representing body of issues and voices of their professional needs but also diverse issues affecting women through/in the media of Uganda.
See you next year for same reason!
