20 people comprising of media directors, editors and female journalists attended one day round table discussion on gender declaration held in Dhusa-mareeb town, the administrative capital of Galmudug state in Central Somalia on Thursday.
The meeting which was organized by Somali Women Journalists Organization (SWJO) in collaboration with IMS-FOJO was aimed to evaluate the progress registered in realizing the elements of gender declaration signed by the media houses in 2018.
Galmudug information minister, Abdirahman Naleye who opened the meeting said the declaration is an important instrument that will protect the rights of the female journalists in media sector. He advised the media directors to implement the declaration so as to put to an end the inequality in workplace.
Amina Ahmed Ali, a representative of SWJO who facilitated the meeting welcomed the participants to the meeting and gave brief explanations about the purpose of the roundtable discussion. Ali described the event as a follow up of the gender declaration aimed to know what the media houses have implemented, what they have not and the challenges they faced since they signed the declaration two years ago.
To re-engage the participants’ interest on gender declaration, Amina has conducted a brief presentation elaborating the principles of the document.
Abdikadir Gure, the director of radio Galgaduud stated who spoke on behalf of the director during the opening of the meeting said that gender declaration has decreased the myths and stereotypes surrounding gender inequality in workplaces. Gure added that the media houses are now focused and ready to reap the benefits of gender equality.
Run Mohamed Osman, a female working with radio Dhusa-mareeb highlighted that the declaration is a means of eliminating the sexual harassment and violence against female journalists expressing hope that it will boost the roles of women in media.
After tea break, an open questions session was held for the participants to discuss the Gender Declaration and provide a feedback on what was implemented and the challenges faced since the media houses in Somalia signed the document.
The participants had lengthy discussions on the principles and expressed views openly.
Somalia media houses have signed gender respect declaration in December 2018. The declaration is anchored on the benchmarks of equality at workplace, maternity leave for female journalists, commitment to fight harassment and violence against female journalists, commitment to remove gender-based restrictions during recruitment and equal pay and career opportunities.
It was aimed to transform the predominant culture and create tangible change for women working in the Somali media sector.
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