By Mabinty M. Kamara
As they celebrate their 15th anniversary, Members of Women in the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL), a female media body in Sierra Leone have committed to the promotion of female politicians in the upcoming June 24 2023 elections and beyond.
The organisation last Friday held its annual general meeting and elections at the Atlantic hotel in Freetown on the Theme: ‘Positioning Female Journalists to Promote Women in Politics’.
Speaking at the event, the outgoing President of WIMSAL Femi Coker explained that the group was established in 2007 specifically to advocate for the welfare of female journalists and to provide capacity building for them.
“We also have the mandate to speak for the voiceless women and girls in our beloved nation. Therefore, we chose a theme that is related to elections since we are in our election year and we need to advocate for the equal representation of women in governance and leadership positions,” she said.
She highlighted the contributions of her newspaper, Women’s Voice, in amplifying the voices of women and girls across the country.
“Madam Chair, as we head into elections in June 2023 WIMSAL will initiate and support programs that will put women politicians at the heart of the national conversation on the elections,” she committed.
Speaking at the event, the President of SLAJ Ahmed Sahid Nasralla noted that in Sierra Leone, women are underrepresented in both politics and the media.
He cited the report of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which states that only 13.1% of seats in the Sierra Leonean parliament are held by women. Also, he said the Global Media Monitoring Project found that only 24% of news stories in Sierra Leone feature women as protagonists or experts.
“These statistics are troubling and highlight the need for greater representation of women in both politics and the media. We need more female journalists to participate in shaping public opinion and influencing political discourse,” he said.
However, he admitted the many challenges and barriers that prevent female journalists from fully participating in the promotion of women. He therefore proffered capacitating female journalists as part of many recommendations in order to position them for the task ahead.
He emphasised that positioning female journalists to promote women in politics is an important step toward increasing women's representation and participation in politics.
Nasralla added that female journalists can play a critical role in promoting women in politics by highlighting the achievements and contributions of female politicians, challenging gender biases and stereotypes, and providing a platform for women's voices to be heard.
However, he said Promoting the safety and security of female journalists is crucial to ensuring that they can carry out their work without fear of harassment, intimidation, or violence.
“In these elections, SLAJ and its partners will train female journalists on safety and security protocols, including how to recognize and respond to potential risks and threats, as well as how to protect their digital and physical safety,” he said.
In her keynote address at the event, Politician and journalist Dr. Sylvia Olayinka Blyden spoke of the importance for female journalists to give other women the platform to amplify their political aspirations. However, she cautioned that not all women deserve to be promoted in politics given their questionable credibility and trust issues. She added that as much as women can equally do greater things beneficial to nation-building, they can as well be corrupt.
She, therefore, admonished the journalists to be conscious of politicians as they approach them with their ideas.
The AGM ended with the Electoral Commission of SLAJ declaring the new executive that will lead WIMSAL for the next three years.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (13/03/23)
