GENDER MAINSTREAMING MIJ FM RADIO LLOYD KAISI PHIRI GENDER CHAMPION GENDER EQUALITY BY 2015, YES WE MUST! MALAWI SADC GENDER PROTOCOL SUMMIT DATE: 10 TH APRIL, 2013 VENUE: RYALLS HOTEL

 MIJ FM is one of the Privately-owned Radio Stations in Malawi. It is located in Blantyre urban.  Close to four million people have access to the radio, and almost half of them are females while the rest are males.  Women / Men ratio in terms of sources is at least 1 to 3.  In terms of employees, MIJ FM has 22 Male and 16 Female workers.  The media house has been part of the COE process for the past two years. GENDER EQUALITY BY 2015, YES WE MUST! MIJ FM’s entrance

 Small number of dedicated females to take up some challenging tasks, just like men in the Newsroom (inferiority complex) e.g. Production of Good Morning Malawi. However, on this, we have been empowering the female reporters to produce the programme. As of now two of our female reporters or presenters, thus Chikondi Mmanga and Rachel Mhango have started producing the programme.  Small number of women sources, in decision-making positions, that are willing to take questions from the media. They include Nancy Tembo (left) when she was the MCP’s spokesperson. We have been providing civic education on the need for them to provide the information and some including Kitty Chinseu have now started to be forthcoming with information.  Many organisations we talk to do not have women in positions they can be allowed to talk to the media e.g. FAM. We are also trying to provide civic education to them through editorial comments and reports to ensure that they also empower women.  The altitude problems that female decision-makers in the newsroom have towards their subordinates. On this one we have also been advising them that no man is an island such that they need to work on their relationship with their subordinates if their job is to be made easier.  Qualifications and experience - Most women are not well-qualified and vastly experienced to work in some positions that may need to be filled by people with these attributes. GENDER EQUALITY BY 2015, YES WE MUST! MIJ FM Head of News teaching a female reporter how to produce a challenging programmes

We have Gender Champions at MIJ FM, and these are LLOYD KAISI PHIRI (right) AND ALICE MSANGAMBE (below) who are Head of News and Broadcaster respectively. GENDER EQUALITY BY 2015, YES WE MUST! Lloyd Kaisi Phiri: one of the gender Champions at MIJ

 How they push the COE process?  They teach their colleagues on the need to increase women sources in our News Bulletins and Programmes.  Advising Management on the need to balance the number of males and females in the Newsroom and the Broadcasting Department as a whole.  Reminding members of the Newsroom on words that are gender insensitive they need to avoid in their articles e.g. spokeswoman and chairman etc.  Push for a Gender policy that can accommodate the current gender trends.  They also push for the introduction of more programmes that deals with or in gender issues. GENDER EQUALITY BY 2015, YES WE MUST! Alice Msangambe: One of the Gender Champions at MIJ FM

 Buy in: MIJ FM has been willing to take part in Gender Main-streaming as shown by the MOU its signed with Gender Links to work hand in hand on issues of Gender.  Policy interventions: We are working on a policy that will go a long way towards making it a rule for MIJ to have equal number of news sources by 2015, as well as equal representation of women in all its decision-making positions.  Specific practices: It is also working on policy that will provide men with an opportunity of taking a paternity leave when their wives have given birth.  Specific campaigns: MIJ FM - following training that most of its staff have been undergoing on gender issues have been taking part in various campaigns e.g. 16 days of activism through writing of stories and presentation of programmes to do with the campaign.  Innovation: We look at every opportunity that arise to incorporate gender issues. For example we are working on new programmes that will be used to lobby for women representation in parliament during the 2014 polls. Photograph/s showing changes GENDER EQUALITY BY 2015, YES WE MUST! One of the wives whose husbands have not been enjoying paternity leave at MIJ

 Examples of gender – specific coverage - Amayi Mwakonzanji programme in which women participate on various socio-economic issues affecting the country’s, thus giving women an opportunity to take part in decision-making process.  Examples where gender is mainstreamed in coverage; is when we seek women voices on various issues in our News Bulletins among other News and Current Affairs Programmes.  Employment practices – MIJ FM makes it clear even on its Vacancy announcements that it an equal opportunity employer. All women with good qualifications and necessary experience are taken on board.  Work place practices – MIJ FM provides 3 month-long maternity leave to all its female workers. GENDER EQUALITY BY 2015, YES WE MUST!

 Gender specific programmes : On MIJ FM, we have programme we call Gender ku Malawi, Democracy Forum and special programmes and documentaries that - among others – unearths issues regarding gender e.g. the impact the GBV has on the country’s socio-economic development. Since the program started hitting the airwaves, we have been receiving feedback that it has changed the lives on many people in the country.  Budgets: We have also been having budgets especially for programmes to do with gender.  MIJ FM has been involved in self- monitoring process that revealed a steady progress we are making on the use of gender sources and coverage of gender stories and issues. GENDER EQUALITY BY 2015, YES WE MUST! A presenter presenting democracy Form of MIJ FM

GENDER EQUALITY BY 2015, YES WE MUST! PROTOCOL TARGETMEDIA ACTIONS Women to hold 50 percent of decision- making positions in the private and public sector by 2015; So far, three of four top most positions at MIJ are being held by women i.e. Executive Director, Course Manager and Station Manager are being held by women except for the position of Finance and Administration Manager. Adoption of integrated approaches to reduce gender-based violence (GBV) by half by MIJ FM introduced a programme called Gender ku Malawi and Amayi Mwakonzanji? which - among others - tackle evils of Gender Based violence in the country. Education and TrainingMIJ as a training institution provide equal education opportunities to males and females.

GENDER EQUALITY BY 2015, YES WE MUST! PROTOCOL TARGETMEDIA ACTIONS Reduce Maternal Mortality ratio by 75% As MIJ FM, we have been producing Special Programmes and reports that have been lobbying for government's action on the reduction of Maternal Mortality ratio. Enact and adopt specific legislative provisions to prevent human trafficking and provide holistic approach to the victims with the aim of reintegrating them into society. MIJ FM have also been producing Special Programmes and reports that have been calling for government's action on the perpetrators of human trafficking. Develop and implement policies and programmes to address the mental, sexual and reproductive health needs of women and men. We introduced a programme called Tidziwe za Umoyo which tackles mental, sexual and reproductive health needs of women and men in the country.

 Give at least three examples of how the COE process is having an impact.  The number of female sources has increased in our stories and programmes as shown by the Self-Monitoring Exercise we carried out recently.  The number of females whose services MIJ FM has been acquiring has improved recently e.g. two females interns and two male interns at our Lilongwe Bureau.  Feed back from audiences: We have been receiving encouraging Feedback from our audiences, especially on Gender ku Malawi, Tidziew za Umoyo and Amayi Mwakozanji judging by the calls presenters receive in the are changing their lives.  Other institutions: Various institutions especially those in government that deal in gender issues have also been giving their input on how the programme could be improved, as well as asking for their participation in the programme on certain issues. GENDER EQUALITY BY 2015, YES WE MUST! Patricia Kaliati: One of the female sources MIJ has been using over the years

 Tell a short story of someone from the media house whose life has changed because of the COE process  My own story. I used to like using words that were gender-insensitive e.g. Chairwoman and spokesman because to me, they sounded attractive in the bulletins and programmes I used to produce. But after attending a workshop Gender Links organised recently, I realised how evil it was to use those words.  Secondly, I used to have problems recommending to Management on the need to acquire the services of female employees in my department following the experience I have had working with them in terms of their altitude towards work and their workmates, but after that workshop, I learnt how best to make use of difficult female employees for the benefit of our organisation. GENDER EQUALITY BY 2015, YES WE MUST! MIJ FM’s Head of News enjoying working with a female employee

 Small number of dedicated females to take up some challenging tasks, just like men in the Newsroom (inferiority complex) e.g. Production of Good Morning Malawi.  Small number of women sources, in decision-making positions, that are willing to take questions from the media.  Many organisations we talk to do not have women in positions they can be allowed to talk to the media e.g. FAM.  The altitude problems that female decision-makers in the newsroom have towards their subordinates.  Qualifications and experience - Most women are not well- qualified and vastly experienced to work in some positions that may need to be filled by people with these attributes.  Sometimes, women in the Newsroom do not like covering issues regarding their fellow women. GENDER EQUALITY BY 2015, YES WE MUST!

 What are the next steps?  There is need for the Gender Champions as well as the other members of the Media house to undergo some refresher courses for them to have an in-depth understanding of gender issues.  There is need to add more gender-related awards in order to have many comprehensive stories on gender issues. On this Gender Links can work hand in hand with local media watchdogs e.g. MISA-MALAWI. GENDER EQUALITY BY 2015, YES WE MUST!