By Mabinty M. Kamara
Women in the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL), an organization established to advocate and seek the welfare of female journalists in Sierra Leone, has launched a scholarship scheme for female journalists across the country.
The scheme, according to the leadership of the organization, is geared towards empowering female journalists with the requisite academic training and qualifications that can help them take their space in their male dominated profession.
The scheme was launched at the Annual General Meeting of WIMSAL at the Swiss Hotel in Freetown, at a colorful event that brought together female journalists from across the country, government officials and other media personalities.
Speaking at the event on the 27th November, the Public Relations Officer of WIMSAL, Estina M. B. Taylor, stressed on the need for such a scheme, noting that there was a huge qualification gap between the female and the male journalists which has mostly prevented the former from occupying senior management positions in media institutions across the country.
“We have WIMSAL members across the country and in the diaspora. But it’s sad to know that most of these female journalists are yet to have a degree. Among the handful that have Bachelor’s degrees they are not financially stable to pursue masters and other postgraduate degrees,” she said.
She went: “8% of our membership who have completed their bachelor’s degrees seek scholarship opportunities to do their master’s degree in different specialties and we need them, we need to have master’s degree holders and PhDs in our organization. 20% have done diplomas and other certificates [courses]. So a membership of 200, 20% are without bachelor’s degree. And we have 15% who are yet to retake their WASSCE exams.
In his statement, the president of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ahmed Sahid Naserella, noted that capacity building of journalists continue to be a challenge, hence the need for programmes that can adequately capacitate journalists.
He called on female journalists to emulate the parent body, SLAJ, and come together and speak with one voice, noting that there will always be divergence of views during and after elections, but that the spirit of oneness should surpass all interests.
In her statement at the opening ceremony, the President of WIMSAL, Prosper Femi Jarriette-Coker, noted that as female journalists, their strength is in unity. In that regard, she said, the organization has joined in many advocacies including the Hands off Our Girls’ campaign, across the country for the liberation of women and girls.
“The media in Sierra Leone is male dominated. If we are to measure progress, we now have more women as station managers and publishers, and with me being the only female managing editor of the only female led newspaper in Sierra Leone, I call on all media institutions to adopt gender policies that accord women equal opportunities to participate freely and promote gender sensitive reporting,” she said.
In delivering the key note address at the ceremony, the First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Fatima Bio, commended WIMSAL for being together for over ten years, noting that it was a success for women to stand together in unity for such a period.
She assured the organization of her support towards the successful implementation of the scholarship scheme.
“Today, I’m here to celebrate you. I’m here to celebrate the young generation that is making change in this country. I’m here to celebrate women that have what it takes to change Sierra Leone. I’m here to celebrate Madam Femi for leading a crusade that will empower women to make a change in Sierra Leone. I want to first of all officially launch this scheme. I don’t have the money, I don’t have the power either, but I believe that the person who has the power is willing to support women’s empowerment,” she said.
The last one year of the organization, according to its members, has been a challenging one with the division created by the last election of its executive. This led to the formation of a rival association representing female journalists. But the presence of some of the aggrieved members of that organization at the WIMSAL AGM last week raised some hope of an eventual resolution of their differences.
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