Categories
Conference Journalist security Press freedom

International conference on Challenges for the Safety of Women Journalists

By: Jola Diones-Mamangun  

The 39th Biennial Conference of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) took place from 18 to 20November 2022, hosted by the chapter in Tanzania. Delegates from all chapters worldwide met in Zanzibar under the headline Gendered Media Perspectives: Conflict, Covid and Climate Change. 

Tanzanias Minister of Information, Communication & Information Technology Tanzania Hon. Nape Nnauye with members of IAWRT (Photo: IAWRT).

The main plenary on the first day was Afghanistan after Taliban: Status of Women Journalists. The testimonies came from members of IAWRT Afghanistan in exile and online, Najiba Ayubi, Kreshma Fakhri, Somaia Walizadeh – and Abdul Basir Quraishi.  

Reena Mohan from India and Elisabeth Eide from JMIC (online) also shared their experiences about the status of the Afghan journalists after Taliban came to power in Afghanistan. Sharmini Boyle of Internews Pakistan was also present online, and the book “Lives, Jobs, Homeland:Afghan Women Journalists Lose All” was launched. 

The 39th Biennial Conference Plenary on the challenges women journalists face under the Taliban regime. Kreshma Fakhri, an Afghan journalist in exile shares her experience as she sought refuge (Photo: IAWRT).

Digital Safe House (DSH) for journalists at riskwas the focus of another session. Speakers were Colette Simonne Heefner of International Media Support (IMS), Oona Solberg of JMIC and Sue Onslow of Institute of Commonwealth Studies. Therese Patricia San Diego Torres told about the experiences of the pilot project DSH in the Philippines and Birgitte Jallov presented DSH Moldova. Also Greta Gober spoke; as the one who came up with the idea of a DSH originally.  

IAWRTs report on Afghan Women Journalists’ personal safety challenges since August 2021 (Photo: IAWRT).

Countdown to Climate Change was the title of another plenary discussion moderated by Michelle Ferrier, the new international president. JMICs Elisabeth Eide also participated online in this panel together with Lia Torres fromCenter for Environmental Concerns in the Philippines, Becky Bisong from Cameroon and Monica Magoke Mhoja and Maria Matui from Tanzania. 

The Plenary on the way forward for the Digital Safety House (DSH), moderated by outgoing IAWRT president Violet Gonda.

The outgoing IAWRT president and treasurer, Violet Gonda and Jola Diones-Mamangun presented their reports in the final session. Chapter reports from Afghanistan, Cameroon, India, Iraq-Kurdistan, Kenya, Nepal, Norway, Moldova, Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda, USA and the new IAWRT chapter in Sierra Leone followed. Different committees also shared their reports. The turned-over ceremony of the new IAWRT International Board was also one of the highlights of the conference. 

Read the welcome remarks of former president Violet Gonda on https://iawrt.org/welcome-remarks-for-gendered-media-perspectives-conflict-covid-climate-change-conference/ 

Recording:
https://www.facebook.com/iawrt.org/videos/689680912498021 

Categories
Gender Journalist security Press freedom

Award to Iraqi Kurdish journalist 

Niyaz Abdullah has been awarded by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Click to open link.

She is a member of International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) chapter in Kurdistan in Iraq, and has worked in Radio NAWA for many years.  

According to CPJ she has covered politics, civil unrest, government corruption, human rights, and ethnic and religious minorities in Iraqi Kurdistan.  

She has faced legal harassment by security forces and local authorities, and she has been detained and threatened with violence over her work. 

Niyaz Abdullah has been granted residence in France. 

Categories
Journalist security Press freedom Workshop

JMIC trains Ukrainians and Russians in safety 

JMIC safety coach Abeer Saady led a safety training organized by the organization Unbias the News March 22.: Reporting in a conflict zone – Safety and ethics. 

Ukrainian journalists receiving support

194 people had registered, and 67 people entered the zoom room. Among those registered were 17 from Ukraine and 11 from Russia, informs Unbiasthenews, https://unbiasthenews.org/about-us/ 

The other participants were from all over the world – especially African and Arab countries. Many asked questions – several had experience from covering the war in Ukraine. 

Abeer Saady has previously provided such training to Ukrainian journalists, and is still in contact with some of them. Also after this workshop, she has had contact with participants from Ukraine and Russia, among others. 

Categories
Gender Journalist security

Learn about safety for women journalists  

A speaker from Russia will introduce the discussion on Challenges to the Safety of Women Journalists On Women’s day March 8th 2022 at 2 pm local time Oslo. 

Watch the webinar:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6P2HgkZUN4  
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iawrt.org/videos/352664540071029 

The webinar is a cooperation between International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) and JMIC. 

The speakers include Inna Berezkina, School of Civic Education in Russia, Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Hrybenko, Kreshma Fakhri and  Najiba Ayubi from IAWRT Afghanistan and Birgitte Jallov from IAWRT Denmark. 

Therese San Diego will present experiences from a digital safe house in the Philippines by IAWRT, to be followed by Raiza Quallateon Mwawanga from IAWRT Tanzania, Naila Hamdy, from The American University in Cairo (AUC) in Egypt, Rand Sabbagh from the Syrian Female Journalists Network (SFJN), Sonali Dhawan from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)and Nabeelah Shabbir from International Center for Journalists (ICFJ). 

The webinar is a follow up from last year’s event on new research on media and gender, when a special issue of journalism education on gender and media was launched. This year we want to focus on the experiences with the Digital Safe House (DSH) in the Philippines to see which experiences can be relevant in other parts of the world – and of course look at challenges to the safety of women journalists in the light of the war on Ukraine.  

Watch the webinar:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6P2HgkZUN4  
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iawrt.org/videos/352664540071029 

More information and registration:
https://www.oslomet.no/en/about/events/safety-women-journalists