By Mamoletsane Khati
In a region where child marriage reigns supreme and is silently accepted by many as a “normal” practice, the media needs to take charge and correct misconceptions.
And that is exactly what journalists from four Southern Africa countries are doing after receiving support from regional
communication for development organization Panos Institute Southern Africa (PSAf).
Child marriage is a stumbling block to the realization of the vision of a Southern Africa community that drives its own
development. In addition to violating the rights of girls and boys, child marriage also represents the most prevalent form of sexual abuse and exploitation of children. Child marriage is a direct form of discrimination against the child, who, as a result of the practice, is often deprived of basic rights to health, education, development and equality.
With funding from Plan International, PSAf is supporting
journalists and media houses from Malawi, Mozambique,
Zambia and Zimbabwe to develop in-depth content that
would generate debate and inspire action to end child
marriages.
In December, PSAf conducted a regional media training
which brought together journalists and media trainers from
the four countries. The training provided the journalists a
platform to share experiences and to strengthen the
journalists understanding of the issues, and put them in a
better position to report on the issues. This in recognition of
the critical role that the media can play to create and raise
awareness, influence behaviour change and influence policy
change around issues of child marriages and possible
solutions to the problems and as thus improve social
transformation.
Discussions and presentations at the media training showed
that the drivers of child marriage in Southern Africa are
complex and interrelated. Poverty is the main driver of child
marriages in southern Africa. It forces families to marry
their daughters at a young age as a way of improving the
economic status of the family. Poverty is also believed to
compel girls, particularly orphans, to get married with a
hope of leading a better life.
Journalists have shared testimonies of how the training and
fellowships provided them with skills on how to angle and
package stories to bring out the different factors
surrounding child marriages.
Building on the foundation laid during the training, some of
the journalists enrolled for a PSAf media fellowship
programme. Under the fellowships, the journalists are now
producing in-depth features and radio programmes on child
marriage.
Unlike the usual tendency of tackling child
marriage as “one of those issues”, the training empowered
journalists to report on child marriages in an in-depth and
effective way that would influence legal and policy reforms.
The media has the ability to inform the public and to shape
a person’s view of the world they live in. Through the media,
we are able to determine what is acceptable and what is not.
Therefore the media can either positively or negatively
influence the public opinion on child marriage. The media
also has the power to determine what news is and to
construct stories and select words in ways that affect people.
When they provide a more in-depth and well investigated
analysis of the issues, they can be able to show different
perspectives and contribute to public awareness. This
therefore means that a well-informed citizenry, leads to
participation in issues of development. The public can even
be aware of the services they were not aware of and to
assert their rights.
Stimulated journalistic or professional interest have already
induced debates and discussions around the social, cultural
and legal drivers of child marriages. The discussions have
raised awareness that challenges attitudes and cultural
practices that fuel child marriages.
Mamoletsane Khati is PSAf Regional Programme Manager
for Health and Development. For feedback, email
mamoletsane@panos.org.zm.
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