Geneva - South Africa has urged the international community to put gender equality and women’s empowerment in the media at the heart of all discussions and agreements.
“The South African government has made massive strides in promoting gender equality and we continue to support and champion initiatives that pave the way for women to take our rightful place in society.
“I want to emphasise that now is the time to put gender equality and women’s empowerment in the media at the heart of all discussions and agreements,” said Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) acting Director General Joe Rantete.
Rantete was speaking at the closing session of the International Development Cooperation Meeting on Gender and Media, which coincided with the Global Alliance on Media and Gender (GAMAG) conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday evening.
The GAMAG is a global movement to promote gender equality in and through media.
According to Rantete, gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for the creation of sustainable and peaceful societies.
“Let us see and hear more women voices in media. There is a dire need of women experts giving their professional opinion in media about everything from construction to physics. Let us promote transformation in our media as that translates in more gender balanced content and newspaper columns by women,” he said.
Rantete challenged media houses to ensure that the issues of equal rights, gender transformation and attitudes towards women in media are constantly highlighted as part of an ongoing process.
The first women Secretary General of the Southern Africa Broadcasting Association (SABA), Ellen Nanuses said in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) - where they represent 15 countries - all public broadcasters have a critical role to play in advancing gender equality and women's empowerment in and through the media, in accordance with the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.
“We are committed to support gender in media training and we always encourage all the SADC broadcasters to always invite women analysts or sources in all stories or documentaries that affect women,” she said.
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPFA).
In 1995, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPFA) was adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women, and subsequently endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996.
The Beijing Platform for Action, to which 189 countries committed themselves, constitutes a global framework for realising gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.
The BPFA calls on governments, the international community and civil society, encompassing non-governmental organisations and the private sector, to empower women and girls by taking action in 12 critical areas, namely: poverty, education and training, health, violence, armed conflict, economy, power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women, human rights, media, environment and the girl child.
Geneva Framework on Gender and Media
The Geneva Framework on Gender and Media International Development Cooperation resonates with the contemporary agenda:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls,
- SDG 16, target 10: Concerning measures to promote public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms,
- SDG 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
The focus of the Geneva Framework on Gender and Media International Development Cooperation is about deepening partnerships to support, enable and finance gender equality in the media.
It sets forth a starting point for the further exploration of cooperation among UN agencies/programmes/funds, governments, bilateral, regional and international development organisations, donors and private sector, in the interests of enhancing financial and programmatic support for the objectives of the Section J of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
Reaching a consensus on this initiative will boost the contribution to the objectives of the Section J of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action as made by the Global Alliance on Media and Gender and the implementation of its Framework and Plan of Action.-SAnews.gov.za
