Chapter 1

Community Radio as an Instrument in Promoting Women’s Participation in Governance

By Mavic Cabrera-Balleza

The issue of good governance has become more central to the global agenda in recent years. Various UN agencies and intergovernmental organizations have organized meetings, conferences and put out publications on this issue. Members of the donor community are increasingly evaluating projects they support in terms of how these contribute to or ensure good governance. The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, a document signed by 22 donors and 57 partner countries in 2005, articulates that “while the volumes of aid and other development resources must increase to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, aid effectiveness must increase significantly as well to support partner country efforts to strengthen governance and improve development performance.”

The emphasis on good governance comes from the realization that countries will only achieve their human development goals if they are able to assure the quality of governance. Human rights activists, gender equality advocates and development practitioners overall have reached consensus that good governance and sustainable human development are inextricably linked and that developing people’s capacity for good governance should be the primary means to eliminate poverty.

A paper developed by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific explains that good governance has eight major characteristics. It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and follows the rule of law. It assures that corruption is minimized, that the views of minorities are taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision making. It is also responsive to the present and future needs of society (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific). Given all these characteristics, gender becomes an intrinsic element of good governance. Women’s equal and just representation and participation in governance is therefore a requirement in any effort to ensure good governance. However, at present, this remains more of a wish than a reality.

A United Nations Development Programme report states that: “In addition to basic inequalities in access to education and resources, and an unequal share of the burdens of poverty, women continue to be under-represented in formal decision-making structures. Although women are increasingly active in community support systems, gender disparities persist in public positions at all levels: local, regional, national, and global. With the exception of the Nordic countries, where women’s participation in parliament is 38.8 per cent and in Arab States where it is 3.5 per cent, the global average for women’s participation in parliament is only 15 per cent (Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2000).

The same UNDP report adds: “Despite the fact that the majority of the world’s poor are women and girls, poverty reduction strategies insufficiently address the differential impact of poverty by gender and inadequately target gender equality as a core objective. Whereas women’s contributions to the global economy are growing rapidly, women’s labour remains undervalued and under-counted in national accounts; and data disaggregated by gender are still poorly developed.”

Media and governance

The centrality of the media’s role in politics and governance is no longer debatable. What continues to be the subject of debate is the social standpoint that media institutions and media practitioners take in socio-political landscapes and in the business of governance. The politics and governance structures are largely mediated spaces experienced by individuals and communities through the media forms accessible to them. People’s participation in governance is greatly influenced by how the media report and interpret political events and issues and how media itself influences the political processes and shapes public opinion.

In an environment where people are mere consumers of media, it could be generally assumed that participation in governance processes is low. In an opposite environment where people have access to and control of the media, people’s capacity to contribute to and influence policy and decision making is enhanced.Women, like other marginalized groups in society, have little access to the media, particularly to the decision making within it.

The Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), the most comprehensive agenda for women’s empowerment, signed by 189 member states in 1995, has identified women and the media as one critical area of concern. It has identified two strategic objectives: 1) Increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision making in and through the media and new technologies of communication; and 2) Promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in the media.

It’s now more than 12 years after the BPFA was adopted. While there have been a few inroads, such as more women joining the media profession, and more women’s organizations producing their own media materials, obstacles remain. Women are still under-represented in decision-making structures within the media and negative and stereotypical portrayal of women is still widespread. This reality prevents women’s full participation in governance structures and processes. This is also the challenge that the AMARC Women’s International Network (AMARC WIN) has taken on.

Community radio, women and governance

As part of its commitment to implement the BPFA and influence governments to honour their commitment, AMARC WIN uses community radio as a key instrument to promote and ensure women’s participation in governance.

In Indonesia, a number of women community radio broadcasters have produced programs such as Women Voice Radio in Pariaman, West Sumatra and the Women Journal Radio Program to address violence against women and how women could make use of existing laws to assert their rights (Tanesia, 2006). In Jordan, Amman Net community radio covered women’s issues more broadly than the other radio stations and dedicated airtime for women’s groups to discuss their activities during the 16 days of activism against gender violence when no other radio station would give them the same space. In Mozambique, women community radio broadcasters formed the Network of Women in Community Radios in 2003 to “encourage activities seeking to ensure that women enjoy the same rights, duties and opportunities as men, as stipulated under the Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique, and recommended in the Beijing Declaration, and in the principles of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD” (Jallov, n.d.). In Fiji, femLINKpacific uses community radio to hold the government accountable to its commitment under UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSC RES/1325) on Women, Peace and Security. femLINKpacific has produced numerous radio programs that highlight women’s role in peace building and conflict resolution.

While most of the programs are women-focused, AMARC WIN members also make sure to use community radio as a medium to involve men in addressing the issues that women confront. Since male domination and patriarchy are seen as the main problems, men must be involved in formulating and implementing solutions.

Community radio has a number of attributes that makes it an effective tool in promoting women’s participation in decision-making processes and governance structures. It is not controled corporate and government interests which allows it to speak to issues independently. It uses local language that makes the information and the discussions on issues accessible to local communities. It transcends literacy barriers, which allows and encourages a great number of women to use it as their primary source of information.

This is not to say that everything is rosy and perfect in the community radio sector. The same issues of women’s under-representation and negative and stereotypical portrayal are faced by women in CR. However, because of its community-based and people-controlled nature, these issues are confronted to a much lesser degree. Given this reality, community radio remains to be an effective tool in promoting people’s ownership of and participation in development processes that ultimately will guarantee accountability, transparency, effectivity, efficiency and responsiveness – all essential elements of good governance.

References

Aqrabawi, T., S. Zaidah and D. Kuttab. Community Radio for Development in Jordan (with specific reference to AmmanNet Radio). 2006.

Inter-Parliamentary Union. 2000. Retrieved on October 12, 2007. http://www.ipu.org/pdf/publications/wmnmap00_en.pdf.

Jallov, B. I had no idea that I had the same rights as a man!!!. (Publisher’s information not available.)

Tanesia, A. November 14, 2006. Women as Producers of Information Presentation at AMARC 9 Conference, Jordan.

United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved on October 12, 2007. http://www.undp.org/governance/gender.htm.

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. What is good governance? Retrieved on November 20, 2007. http://www.unescap.org/pdd/prs/ProjectActivities/Ongoing/gg/governance.asp.