By Press Release
According to United Nation’s (UN Women) most recent report, it will take 286 years for the world to achieve gender equality at the current rate of progress. Per the World Economic Forum, it will take another 132 years to close the global gender gap. These statistics call for urgent interventions from state actors and other stakeholders. The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) is contributing its quota through its Report Women! Programme addressing the frequency and quality of media reportage on issues of access and abuse women and girls encounter in Nigeria since 2014.
In our efforts to mainstream women and girl’s issues, WSCIJ inducted 12 female journalists into the Report Women Network (REWON) on Monday, 4 September 2023 and awarded three for exceptional story and leadership projects. The new fellows have committed to reporting and advocating on women and girls-centered issues through the six-month Report Women! Female Reporters Leadership Programme (FRLP) Fellowship, which brings the Report Women! Fellows to 86. This edition of the FRLP Fellowship is a champion-building component of the Report Women! News and Newsroom Engagement project supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation since 2021.
The 12 fellows recorded impactful results from their leadership and story projects. Courtesy of their story projects, government at various levels were held accountable on women and girls-focused policies, preventable health crises plaguing Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps were revealed, issues encountered by female coaches in sports highlighted while justice was demanded for victims and survivors of SGBV cases. It gladdens our hearts to know that some Nigerians raised funds and arranged accommodation for a woman and her children that one of the fellows documented. Other stories spurred financial intervention from the government and non-state actors and highlighted social issues and injustices inflicted on women in the health sector.
Through the trainings, and workshops they organised, female reporters were equipped with skills for newsroom leadership, gaps between executive management and staff were bridged and challenges of mentorship for female journalists were addressed. They have also rekindled the interests of students of journalism and mass communication in journalism as a career path. A Fellows also produced a report on the impact of motherhood on female journalists working in Nigerian newsrooms.
Under the Report Women! Programme, WSCIJ has trained 537 reporters across six geopolitical zones, supported 131 women and girl-child-focused stories, conducted three media monitoring on gender-angled reportage and two surveys on gender parity in the news and newsroom leadership, produced a report on women’s representation in news and newsroom leadership in Nigeria, and on the media justice status of SGBV cases in Nigeria. 2,930 people across various sectors have indirectly benefited from the Report Women! Programme.
We encourage all stakeholders to join the cause of championing the increase in women leadership in the news, newsroom, and media through leading conversations, positively disrupting the status quo, and implementing gender policies in their spheres of influence.
Meanwhile, the recent ordeal of Damilola Ayeni, a Nigerian journalist and FIJ Editor, serves as a stark reminder for civil rights coalitions worldwide. His unjust arrest and imprisonment by the Benin Republic government underscore the pressing need to defend press freedom in Nigeria and globally. This incident sets a concerning precedent that could encourage other governments to curtail journalistic liberties.
The Report Women! Programme edition of our newsletter brings you stories by the 2023 Fellows, the Centre’s recent activities, opportunities for journalists, media tools and other organisations’ engagements within the media.
Signed
Motunrayo Alaka
