BUJUMBURA November 24th (ABP) – The Association of Women Journalists (AFJO) organized on Tuesday, November 23, in Bujumbura, a forum for exchanges between leaders of female civil society organizations (CSOs) and media managers to popularize the gender-sensitive media charter.
During that forum, participants were also to discuss the challenges that can be observed in the media in terms of gender integration, both in terms of staff and content of productions, said the president and legal representative of AFJO, Mrs. Diane Ndonse.
According to Mrs. Ndonse, surveys conducted in 2020 showed that few media officials are aware of the existence of the gender-sensitive media charter. About 70% said they were not aware of that charter.
According to the president of the AFJO, the media charter gender-sensitive was put in place by the Ministry in charge of Communication and Media, media managers, professional media organizations, the National Communication Council and journalists. The content of the charter is made through commitments, in particular gender integration in media production, the training of journalists to be sensitive to gender integration, and the training of media managers so that there is have gender balance in staff and content.
During the discussions, media officials presented the current situation of gender mainstreaming in some media. Indeed, they indicated, there is an improvement in the representativeness of women in the media, despite the incompetence that is noticeable among some because of the culture that prevents them from working properly. For women to do their jobs effectively, media managers need to be sensitized and take into account the specific needs of women journalists who are in their media, she said.
Mrs. Ndonse suggested that there should be training for women journalists so that they can tackle major journalistic genres. In addition, media officials must be sensitized on positive masculinity, she said.