By Mohamed J Kargbo
Campaign for Good governance in partnership with Trocarire and Irish Aid has on Thursday, June 8, 2023, engaged Journalist on how to profile female candidates on the upcoming elections, and how to balance their report on gender based violence stories following a lot discriminations and abuse in the previous elections.
Delivering her keynote statement on the issue, the Prime Minister of Sierra Leone Association of Women in Journalism, Aminata F Massaquoi, said that they have fought a big fight in ensuring that the gender equality bill is enacted, noting that it has given them power as it is a step forward for what they have fighting for.
She explained that their key mandate as an association is to empower women equal representation.
“You can all maximize your potential if you are fully empowered and the contribution of women can impact on society is significant but the media has a key role to play in ensuring that it comes to reality”, she stated.
She went on to state that there are women in politics and by profiling them they can be known, adding that the media should encourage them to believe in themselves when profiling them.
She urged the media not to look at their weakness but their strength and bring it out as well as imbibe confidence in them.
In her conclusion she urged the media to engage more of the women than the male candidates and also be informing female journalists to vote for female candidates in any position, not for the sake of political parties, but that of promoting women’s rights and empowerment.
The President of WIMSAL, Madam Eastina Taylor said that she is happy to be at this kind of training, adding that there are a lot of challenges when elections approach as many female candidates are discriminated during the process.
She highlighted that the media should promote female candidates during elections period, noting that gender equality and women empowerment should be at the center for female Journalists, and female Journalists should play a pivotal role in improving exclusive bias reporting issues.
She ended on the note that the media has a great role to play in promoting female contestants by profiling them well for people to be aware.
Maurice Pewa representative from Trocaire said that he believed that Journalists have the role of promoting the right of women In Sierra Leone, adding that we can’t have a just world if the right of women is not protected.
“we have seen so many women rights been trampled upon when it comes to elections because the male think that it is not their place in politics, for a very long time now we have seen the space for women in politics being narrowed”, he emphasized.
He noted that woman have been harassed and discriminated before and after elections and this has shied them away from politics, stating that their organization has been working with other organizations to give women a level playing field in politics.
He ended by stating that the media has a vital role to promoting gender equality at all level not only for the elections, but in all other aspects.
On its election as non-permanent member at the UN Security Council:
