CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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Congo-Brazzaville |
WOMEN
Not many women are working in radio and television;
but they’re completely absent in the newspaper industry.
It’s an alarming situation and nothing’s been done to rectify the situationThis year, Congo’s leaders were pleased to note that their country’s name did not appear on Reporters Without Borders‘ «black list» which cites the names of those countries attacking press freedom. There is cause for concern, however, that very few women are working in the Media.
In March, Women and the Media Network (FemMed-WomMed), conducted a survey of women journalists. The survey brought to light the fact that although a number of women have studied communications, very few are actually employed in the Media. (Editor’s note: The FemMed-WomMed was established by participants at the Toronto Symposium on Women and the Media, organized by UNESCO in March 1995).
The FemMed-WomMed survey notes that Congolese women working in the Media are mostly to be found in administration and in the technical branch of the profession. Lack of training is responsible for this situation. However, it should be stressed that more women work in radio and television than in the newspaper industry, where they are virtually non-existent.
300 people are employed by Congo-Brazza’s national television service; 107 of these are women. FemMed-WomMed notes that some (2.3%) are reporters, 8% are presenters and 16.6% are technicians; but they’re notably absent at production level. Radio Congo has 36 women on its staff. Of these, 2.5% are reporters and 8.6% are news and programme presenters. Congo’s Information Agency, a state-run body, has 159 employees. Of these, 38.5% are women: three of them are departmental heads, eight are on the editorial staff, the remainder are in administration. All-in-all, just over one-third of the journalists are women, but they are insufficiently represented at executive level.
Absent from the Press
The situation is nothing short of catastrophic in the written press. Congo has approximately a dozen private newspapers. But women are conspicuously absent from this branch of the profession. Why? A women journalist working in Brazzaville’s Media Documentation Centre explains: «Women are simply not trained for work in this sector of the industry. Also, the newspaper industry is very restricted». And she adds: «Besides, I find we don’t attach much importance to the newspaper industry, because we don’t have a great deal of confidence in our newspapers. It’s difficult to get hold of information. When you appear on the scene, the first thing you’re asked is: “Do you work on radio or TV?”».
And salaries are higher in radio and television than in the newspaper industry. Consequently, more women want to get into that branch of the industry. Newspapers in Congo pay ridiculous amounts for work published. Which encourages journalists to invent any subject, (this is known as the “Camorra”) in order to earn some money.
Eugene Gampaka is managing-director of Brazzaville’s weekly magazine, Tam–Tam d’Afrique. When asked about the scant presence of women in this sector, he replied: «In the past, we had two women trainee journalists working for us. They were treated in exactly the same way as the men. But they decided to resign without giving any reasons».
Failed initiatives
Some people say that women can’t make a go of it in the newspaper industry, because they’re only too often victims of sexual harassment by departmental heads. A journalist explains: «Rather than helping women journalists to advance in the profession, they’re given absolutely no encouragement at all. Which obviously does nothing to help them».
There have been a number of initiatives taken by women themselves. Some Congolese women journalists have tried to liven up newspapers they had founded. e.g. Magazines such as Jasmine, Bakento, Batuenia. But these projects didn’t receive any local financial support. Nzelé is a magazine launched about two years ago by a woman, for women. It’s managing-director has done everything possible to ensure it’s survival but the future seems precarious. Associations founded by women are short-lived. This general indifference means that when it comes to women participating in the Media, they’ve not much chance.
- Ella Zita Kipamou, Congo-Brazzaville, June 2003 — © Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment