The Following article has been published as originally written, no editing has been done. A pseudonym, chosen by the writer has been used to protect her identity. However
all details below narrate the real experiences of the writer. This Article was
first published by Women’s Media For Development Foundation.
By Thuli Tholo
‘I cannot sit at table with a
mere student. I have 12 years experience in the media and I refuse to sit down
with these students at a workshop. What can they tell me?
It has been a good thirteen years
since those words were said to me by my then editor. I was fresh from college,
very excited and ready to make a name for myself in the journalism fraternity
but alas I was mistaken, a mere student cannot go for workshops let alone a
female one. When those words were said to me, the first thing that came into my
mind was, I had chosen the wrong profession. How can I be refused to go to a
workshop just because I was a student on attachment? A lot was said by my
Editor during my tenure as a student on attachment, however, no matter how
damaging the words were I pushed on. Some of my colleagues changed from media
to PR and marketing because of the abuse and discrimination they felt under the
so called seasoned journalists. I remember one time I had to rewrite a story 20
times because I had done it badly. Instead of knocking off at 1700hrs together
with other colleagues, I left the newsroom at 2200hrs.
By the way, I did not attend the
workshop, which was at Masiyephambili Camp, neither did my Editor because other
students on attachment from other media houses besides mine were attending.
I looked up for the definition of
gender based violence and I came up with this definition: Gender-based violence
(GBV) is a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination. It is
defined as violence that is directed against a person on the basis of gender.
Gender-based violence reflects and reinforces inequalities between men and
women. I would like to go a step further and say in the media fraternity female
journalists especially students and those fresh from college also face some
form of discrimination from the older female journalists. I have seen male students gliding through the
newsroom without any problems where as the female students always have
problems.
When I look at the definition of
gender based violence and the way I was treated thirteen years ago, it dawns on
me that I was a victim of gender based violence. I was discriminated against
because I was just a mere student and a female. I can go on and on about my
experience during my first year as a student on attachment that all point out
to some form of discrimination. As a student on attachment there were other
male students on attachment, however they were not treated the same way I was
treated. I remember I was given all the ‘soft’ diaries, meaning I would do
stories on the model of the week, the couple of the week, all the ‘simple
stuff, however my other colleagues were assigned to do the hard news beats.
Most female journalists tend to move over to the corporate and NGO world after
they graduate because the experience they get in the newsroom is a nightmare. I
stayed on for a few years and also left for the NGO world later.
Discrimination is still
discrimination, no matter who, when, where and why they are doing it. I had the
privilege of being an Editor for an in-house publication. I remember when I
first got the job there was a lot of noise, most people said it openly that
they would have preferred a man to handle that kind of a job. The bickering and
the noise of those people only made me want to prove them I was the best
candidate for the job. Prove them wrong I did, my publication became one of the
best sources of information in Matabeleland. It was not all rosy at this organisation,
at some point a male had to be put in charge, meaning I had to report to this
so called manager, who had no experience in the media world whatsoever, this
male made my job hell. What can you expect from someone who has never been in a
newsroom, who does not know how to write a story? But I was told to report to
him. This really shows how less power women have as journalists; those who are
versatile are called names such as ‘iwule or umangumba’, a lot of female
journalists have been called by these names, myself included just because there
is a genre species who feel that their territory has been invaded. This species tries by all means to push and
shove young females out of the newsroom.
When I was Editor of the in-house
publication I made sure I do not discriminate any of my reporters because of
gender. I realised that the female reporters had potential the same way the
male reporters had. All they need is just a chance to prove that they can do
it. If a person is sidelined they tend to get into a cocoon and close
themselves inside there and never come out. A chance and not discrimination is
what most female journalists need in order to make it in the media fraternity.
