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institutions such as the Nordic-Sadc Journalism Centre (NSJ) in
Mozambique and Inter Press Service (IPS) Africa insist on gender
balance on their courses. Several European media organisations
also emphasize gender balance on courses they offer.
Initiatives such as these must be commended and encouraged.
More importantly, media managers must, as a matter of policy,
ensure that as many women as possible are offered training,
particularly in media management.
Realizing the importance of empowering women in general by
providing them access to the media, Zimbabwean media women
conceived the idea of listeners’ clubs for women and other
marginalised groups in rural communities (Development Through
Radio – DTR). Under this concept, women in rural communities are
trained to produce their own programmes in which they raise
issues of concern to them. These programmes are packaged and
broadcast on public radio. Through effective networking and
sharing of expertise and skills, DTR clubs have been launched in
Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa, Angola, Namibia and as far
afield as Nigeria and Ghana. These listeners clubs provide a way
for women to access the media, which is predominantly patriarchal.
It is interesting to note that these clubs are mainly for Black Africans
or less privileged groups and do not appeal to the elite.
Hence we see the interplay of race, class and gender.
However, such initiatives are doomed to fail if governments in the
region do not take cognizance of the great potential of women in
the media, not only as instruments of changing stereotypes but as
instruments of peace, development and social change.
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The Namibian Government, in its National Gender Policy, attempts
to address the gender imbalance in the media and create an
enabling environment for women to attain positions of authority.
This policy recognises that “..a number of women are involved in
careers in the communications sector in Namibia but very few have
attained positions at the decision-making level or serve on governing
boards and bodies that influence media policy”. As part of its
strategy to address this situation, the Namibian Government will