African Communication Research 4: The Image of Women in African Media

African Communication Research in a peer-reviewed journal which seeks to help bring African communication researchers into dialogue and debate about their common efforts, to strengthen African theories and methods around communication for development. It is published three times a year by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communications at St. Augustine University of Tanzania, Mwanza, Tanzania.

The focus of this issue is on the image of women in Africa media. It includes the following contents:

Battling old ghosts in gender and African media research - By Audrey Gadzekpo

Abstract "There has been more attention paid to the nexus between gender and media in Africa since re-democratization spurred the growth of pluralistic media on the Continent. Increasingly also gender and media research in Africa is being enriched by synergies between those in academia and civil society, resulting in better knowledge on media representation, participation, audience reception as well as uncovering hidden histories of women's contributions to the media, and on occasion, the political economy of media industries. This review article provides a discussion on some of the recent trends in scholarship in the field of gender and media in Africa, and argues that despite the growing body of research on the subject there remain gaps in scholarship that need to be addressed. The article advocates a research agenda that is creative, dynamic and responsive to the developmental needs of Africa, and especially attentive to the links between media and gendered social justice. It also demands more research which is demographically differentiated to enable better insights on, for example, the influence of media on rural versus urban, or young versus old gendered audiences. The review article argues that since gender studies go beyond just women studies, gender and media researchers must expand their research focus to embrace masculinities and develop empirical and theoretical understandings of the gendering of men in African media also."

The Wanjiku metonomy: Challenging gender stereotypes in Kenya’s editorial cartoons – By Duncan Omanga

Abstract "Following the post-election violence that rocked the country in 2007/8, critics blamed the media for their role in abetting and fanning the violence. However, as the crisis deepened, the media rose above petty identities and affiliations and began spirited campaigns for peace, reconciliation and reflection. Specifically, this study highlights a series of editorial cartoons that appeared in the Daily Nation, East Africa's largest circulating paper, and how they framed the event from a gender perspective. The study focuses on how five editorial cartoons appropriated Maxine Molyneux’s concept of "combative motherhood" through the metaphorical image of one Kenyan woman, Wanjiku. Emerging from the political discourse surrounding the clamour for a new constitution in Kenya far back in the late 90s, Wanjiku soon became a metonym for the common and average Kenyan citizen. Come 2008, she emerges in the editorial cartoons when the country was literally burning; challenging several rigid conceptions of gender. Using a critical approach to media framing, the study reveals how images of the empowered mother reconstruct and redefine the place of women in both the social and symbolic spheres."

Beyond unequal visibilities: Are women treated differently from men in the news? - By Rosemary Kimani and Abena Yeboah

Abstract "Research evidence shows that compared to men, women are underrepresented in the news as subjects and sources (GMMP 2010; Yeboah 2010). But beyond this situation of unequal visibilities, are women treated similarly to men in terms of the quality of their appearance once they make it through the news gates? In this study, the authors examine this by comparing the proportion of women who feature prominently to the proportion of men who feature prominently. They start by asking the question: “what proportion of the few women who appear is featured prominently and does this compare well to that of men”? Three "prominence variables" -: appearance in photographs, direct attribution, and function as experts - were used for the analysis. Though across gender groups, disparities in visibilities were replayed, they report that differences observed in the levels of prominence enjoyed by women relative to men were marginal. Thus, they argue that the bigger problem with women’s involvement in the news may be that of underrepresentation and that, if that is reversed, the women who appear are unlikely to face discrimination in terms of how prominently they appear relative to men. This study provides a Ghanaian angle to discourses regarding women’s involvement with the news.

Gendered narratives and identities of nationhood in documentaries on Zimbabwe television (ZTV) between 2000 and 2009 - By Ngonidzashe Muwonwa

Abstract "This article highlights the gendered image construction and representation of the Zimbabwean nation made available through television programing by positioning television as a cultural production space. The paper identifies specific gendered identity elements of the Zimbabwean nation that the programs highlighted. The theoretical framework operating in this article adopts the theories which have problematized the relationship between nationalism and gender, postulating that male theorists of nation are indifferent to the gendering of the nation. The article highlights the fact that the representation of self as a metaphor of nation and belonging co-opts such identity constructions as the "founding father" identity to legitimate a regime that uses fatherhood to foreclose political debate. Related to this is how paternity is used as a trope for scripting national identity. Father figures serve to provide an uncontested, benevolent authorship of the nation and the state. This gendered story-telling technique inevitably leads to the exclusion of other participants and contributors towards the existence of the Zimbabwean nation. Such an alienation of female agency and gender bias in regards to national representation is damaging to gender relations within society and has consequently led to many contesting versions of the liberation war and national imaginary."

Reporting women: Do female journalists have a gender agenda? - By Abena Animwaa Yeboah

Abstract "A cursory look at the literature on news and source gender reveals a tendency on the part of female reporters to use more female sources than their male counterparts (GMMP, 2010; Yeboah, 2010). Is this a demonstration of a certain consciousness on the part of female reporters towards improving female source visibility in the news? In this study, Abena explores journalists’ gender consciousness at the point of source selection to see whether gender of source is a consideration in the parameters reporters (particularly females) use in selecting sources for their stories. Findings indicate that this is largely not the case and that female journalists’ tendency for using more female sources is not indicative of any special interest in opening up the news to female sources."

Sexual harassment content of Nollywood films: Counsciousness and reactions by female audiences in Nigeria - By Jude T. Kur, Fabian I. Aagudosy, John A. Orhewere

Abstract "Using empirical data from focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with female audiences of Nollywood films drawn from four states across Nigeria, this article examines female audiences’ consciousness of the content of sexual harassment against women in Nollywood films. The article argues that the audiences are able to identify acts of physical and threatening sexual harassment against women in the films, but not those of verbal, non-verbal, and environmental harassment. While some of the audiences are critical of the negative identities created and false representations of womanhood in these films, others are not. This, the article contends, has serious implications for media literacy: The audiences’ level of media literacy is not yet adequate for critical interpretation of the film medium. Recommendations underscore the need for media education that develops a much more consciously critical interpretation of Nollywood films which leads to protests against film producers."

How successful are media women’s associations in Africa? A case study of the Tanzanian Association of Media Women (TAMWA) - By Imane Duwe and Robert White

Abstract "There are now associations of women working as media professionals invirtually all countries of Africa. All of these associations ask themselves questions regarding their effectiveness. This article reports a recent evaluative survey of the Tanzanian Association of Media Women (TAMWA) and TAMWA’s own self-evaluation. These studies show that TAMWA has been effective in seven areas: (1) special training programs for women in media to enable them to move to higher level positions of leadership and management in media houses; (2) establishing exchange programs of TAMWA members with media organisations in other parts of Africa, Europe and America; (3) advocacy journalism in favor of women and other human rights issues; (4) Getting women into positions of civic leadership; (5) mounting advocacy campaigns regarding major social problems; (6) promoting campaigns for improved legislation for women; and (7) building coalitions and networking for improvement of women’s rights and in favor of other minorities. The major challenges facing TAMWA today are to bring more younger women media specialists into the organisation and to get more women in leadership and management positions in media houses."