BY: Shallom Abla Lumor | Voltaonlinegh.com |
Ms. Shamima Muslim, the convenor of the Alliance for Women in Media Africa (AWMA), has urged Ghanaian reporters to adopt a gender-sensitive approach when covering female political aspirants.
According to Ms. Muslim, female candidates often encounter negativity influenced by cultural and religious factors during their political campaigns. Therefore, journalists bear the responsibility of instilling hope by choosing appropriate language and highlighting the strengths of these aspirants in their reporting.
She emphasized, “We must recognize that any female aspirant taking on the challenge of political elections has courageously stepped into a domain dominated by men. Consequently, the media should support these women by focusing on their strengths and political messages, steering clear of toxic narratives about female leadership.”
Ms. Muslim made these remarks at a recently concluded training workshops organized for journalists and selected female political aspirants gearing up for district-level elections on December 19th, 2023.
The workshop, themed “Enhancing Inclusive Participation in Local Governance in Ghana Through Capacity-building for Journalists and Female Political Aspirants,” was organized by AWMA with funding support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI). Its primary focus was to equip female aspirants with communication skills and sensitize media practitioners to report in a gender-sensitive manner.
During the training, female aspirants received practical guidance on presenting themselves and their campaign messages effectively to the media and voters alike. Journalists were also encouraged to maximize media visibility for these female aspirants to aid them in reaching their target audience.
The training sessions were conducted in three regions of Ghana: Greater Accra, Ashanti Region, and the Northern Regions. Ten female aspirants were carefully selected from each region to benefit from this capacity-building initiative.
Source: www.voltaonlinegh.com