The Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe raised concerns recently at the launch of their two reports, “A Gendered Analysis and Media” and “Media and Children”.
“The report show that men out-talked women in every topic in the media, a total of 264 voices were recorded over a period of two months and male dominated the media with 170 voices whilst women had 94,” read the report.
Deputy Minister for Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community development, Jessie Majome urged the media to give voices of both women and women in all spheres of life.
“There is generally a low representation of women sources in the media. You only hear the voice of a woman when she is being depicted as a helpless victim of abuse,” said Majome in an interview with The Zimbabwean.
Federation of African Media Women of Zimbabwe said women are always being portrayed in a negative manner by the media which forces them to shy away.
“The way women issues have been covered in the media is just unhealthy. Women are mostly attached to the bad – being labelled prostitutes and husband snatchers. This sort of reporting eliminates the potential female sources because women are afraid of being portrayed in an unpleasant manner by the media,” says a FAMWZ statement.
Natasha Msonza of the Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre and Network said, “Women’s voices are not heard in the media because they are never asked to comment on economic empowerment, indigenization and other issues of national significance.”
The Zimbabwean has for years published two pages of supportive and positive women’s news and views in every issue.
Post published in: News