Stakeholders are seeking more Nigeria exploration of the global gender lens funds market that has reached at least $50 billion. This follows a report that 340 million women and girls in Nigeria and the rest of the world are set to be living in extreme poverty by 2030 if nothing is done to expose them to more funds to be engaged in productive endeavours that will boost economic growth.
As of March this year, public markets encompass $4.6 billion in assets managed within Gender Lens Investing (GLI) equity funds and $15.8 billion in fixed income investments. In the realm of private markets, gender lens funds amount to $7.9 billion.
Additionally, the G7’s 2X Challenge, which represents a commitment from multilateral financial institutions to support women globally, has successfully mobilized over $33.6 billion in gender lens investments since its inception in 2018.
To this end, the 2nd Gender Impact Investment Summit, which took place in Lagos, last week concluded with a robust commitment from both public and private sector stakeholders to develop actionable strategies that enhance access to impact capital for women-led enterprises. The summit convened participants from diverse sectors to address the significant challenges encountered by women entrepreneurs in obtaining financing and to foster effective solutions that encourage gender-inclusive investments.
Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Barr Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, emphasised the importance of breaking down the barriers that have hindered women-led businesses from accessing capital. She expressed the commitment of the President Bola Tinubu’s administration to women Participants agreed on key strategies to address these challenges, including enhancing capacity building, overcoming legislative hurdles, and adopting gender-responsive investment practices.
Other speakers at the summit include, the Chairperson of the Nigerian National Advisory Board for Impact Investing, Mrs Ibukun Awosika; Executive Director, Lagos Directorate and Remedial Assets Management, Wema Bank, Oluwole Ajimisinmi; Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Feyisayo Alayande and Co-Founder, Rising Tide Africa, Yemi Keri, among other notable speakers.
In his welcome remarks, the Chair, Impact Investors Foundation, Engr. Afolabi Oladele, called on investors to bridge the financing gap, fuel inclusive enterprises, and support entrepreneurs to create thriving businesses that can contribute to economic development.
“Let us transform our promise into progress, and our aspirations into tangible outcomes. Together, let us bridge the financing gap, fuel inclusive enterprises, and create a Nigeria where entrepreneurs can flourish and contribute meaningfully to our nation’s economic development,” he said.
Some of the key proposed actions were to simplify application processes by reducing excessive documentation and using digital platforms, provision of mobile banking solutions, and automated systems to facilitate quicker approvals and disbursements of funds for women-led enterprises.
While delivering a call to action to key decision makers in the country, the Chief Executive, Impact Investors Foundation, Ms Etemore Glover, said the solutions proffered by speakers at the summit would open up greater opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
She advocated for continuous dialogue and collaboration among all stakeholders to ensure that the strategies proferred are effectively implemented and sustained.
Ms. Etemore Glover, said, “This summit has been a significant step towards breaking down the barriers that limit access to capital for women-led businesses. The solutions discussed are critical to ensuring that women entrepreneurs thrive in Nigeria’s business landscape.”
The 2nd Gender Impact Investment Summit has set the stage for ongoing efforts to close the gender financing gap, create a roadmap for mainstreaming gender investment policy in Nigeria, and build a more inclusive investment ecosystem where women-led enterprises can thrive and significantly contribute to Nigeria’s economic growth.
A non-governmental organisation, Family and Youth Support Initiative (FYSI), has urged female adolescents to see themselves as natural leaders and stop playing second fiddle to their male counterparts.
The advice was given yesterday by the Executive Director of FYSI, Mrs. Bukoladeremi Ladigbolu, while addressing female pupils of Ikotun Junior High School, in Alimosho Local Government of Lagos State during an interactive session to mark this year’s International Day of the Girl.
She said the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) deliberately chose the theme for this year’s celebration to serve as an encouragement for girls to take charge of their own future and also become leaders in all spheres of life.
She said: “As girls, you must always aim at surpassing boys in all activities. You have limitless potential to be leaders. Girls are meant for the top. Leadership is not reserved for the males. So, be determined to compete with the boys for every position. It is not impossible for one of you here to become the first female president of Nigeria.
“That was why UNICEF chose the theme: ‘Invest in the Girl’s Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being,’ for this year’s celebration. The theme underscores the need for girls to take up more leadership roles in the society and it begins right from now that you’re in school.
“Another important point that has been said over and over is the need for girls to begin to dominate the field Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and thereby position yourselves as change agents and decision-makers who will shape the future of the universe.”
Ladigbolu also echoed the call by UNICEF Nigeria for greater governmental and societal investments in platforms that enable female adolescents to express, learn, and thrive, while also guaranteeing them a more inclusive and equitable future.
“As stated by UNICEF Nigeria, government needs to pay more attention to girls’ education and also strengthen legislation that protect them from harmful cultural practices,” she added.
Gift items including sanitary pads, exercise books and pens were later given to the students.
Senator representing Adamawa North in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, Senator Binta Masi Garba has backed the decision of the leadership of the party to ask women to pay for their nomination form as against the previous idea of giving them a free ticket to contest for positions.
Senator Garba who made history as the first woman party chairman in the country in 2014 when she emerged the APC Chairman in Adamawa state also threw her weight behind the clamour by the wife of the President, Aisha Buhari to have one female senator per state and one third of members of the House of Representatives as women.
Speaking with newsmen after obtaining her nomination and expression of interest form to contest the party’s primary for Senator Garba said it was better to have women pay for the nomination form, while the party should bear the cost of campaigning for the woman after the primaries.
“I was one of those who moved that women should be allowed to pay for their form, while the party at the various levels should bear the logistics for the elections. It is not enough to give us free ticket and allow us to bear the logistics because the logistics involved in the real election is too heavy for the women to bear.
“So, if we give them free ticket and allow them to bear the logistics, we will still be back to the same position. The best way to encourage women is to take over the logistics for the election. When we do that, I am sure that we will encourage many women to seek elective office because they will be confident going into the election.
“The wife of the President is canvassing that we have at least one female senator per state. I think we should all support that. It is the only way we can achieve 35 percent female representation”, she said adding that she was humbled by the fact that she was the only female Senator in the entire 19 states of the north.
Justifying why the APC in Adamawa settled for Indirect primary as against the direct primary suggested by the national leadership, Senator Garba said the security situation in the state does not favour the direct option.
She disclosed that as a result of the activities of insurgents in her senatorial district, four wards in Madagali local government area of the state are still not occupied as residents who flee the area are yet to return home.
While hoping for rancor free primaries, Senator Garba said “what would you prefer? To secure the votes or to secure the lives of the people. We have settled for indirect primaries not because we are afraid of direct primaries, but because of our peculiar situation.”
“We have over 140 members in the State Executive Committee of the party and over 100 of them met and unanimously agreed to the use of direct primary. For the senatorial race, we have 12 aspirants contesting my position and I am not afraid to face them whether in direct or indirect primary. But in the interest of our people and for the security of lives and property, we have adopted indirect primary.
“This thing is about service to the people. I believe that power belongs to God and He gives it to whomever. If I am destined to go back to the senate, to God be the glory. I was in the House of Representatives three times, representing two states of Kaduna and Adamawa and now in the Senate”.
The Police in Ekiti State have arraigned a 28-year-old man, Kayode Seun, at an Ado-Ekiti Magistrates’ Court over allegedly kidnapping three female students.
The defendant of no fixed addresss is standing trial on a count charge of kidnap.
The prosecutor, Sgt. Oriyomi Akinwale, told the Court that the defendant and others still at large, committed the offence on May 2 in Ayetoro Ekiti.
He alleged that the defendant and others at large kidnapped thre three female students, one Adebisi Tayo, Ogunleye Temiloluwa and Deborah Yusuf in the bush and tied them on a tree.
Akinwale said the police rescued the students in the bush and they were returned back to their parents.
He said the offence contravened Section 371 (1) of the Criminal Code Cap C16 Laws of Ekiti State 2012.
The prosecutor asked the Court for adjournment to enable him to study the case file and present his witnesses.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge.
His counsel, Mr Emmanuel Adedeji, urged the Court to grant him bail, with a promise that he would not jump bail.
The prosecutor opposed the bail application, saying the accused may not show up in Court if granted bail, because it took the police extra effort before he could be arrested.
The Magistrate, Mrs Modupe Afeniforo, granted bail to the defendant in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum, the two sureties must be a level 10 civil servants.
Afeniforo adjourned the case until June 12 for hearing.
The dangers of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) were showcased at Genesis Cinemas, Abuja, in a film entitled ‘Alero’, which evoked deep emotions from the audience.
‘Alero’ tells the story of a young girl who was circumcised by her parents as part of the custom of their village.
The film, watched by a select audience, mirrored the physical and psychological effects she had to endure as she underwent the crude “surgery’’.
The Executive Producer, Dorothy Njemanze, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview that the film was part of activities to commemorate the International Day for Zero Tolerance for FGM.
Njemanze said the essence of the film was to use visual medium, especially motion pictures, to highlight the dangers involved FGM practice and to debunk the notion that only takes place in rural areas.
“FGM takes place rampantly in urban areas, contrary to popular opinion, as people call these ‘surgeons’ from the villages to the cities and towns to circumcise their girls.’’
She told NAN that the film was produced in line with international standard with the help of FilmCorp Advocacy Films.
According to her, the film can be viewed on international movie sharing platforms such as Netflix.
The lead actress, Joy Otaro, who played ‘Alero’, told NAN that acting in the movie opened her eyes to the realities of FGM and enabled her to appreciate the horrors women who were cut faced.
Otaro urged young people to be actively involved in the campaign against FGM in order to fully eradicate the menace from the cultural system.
NAN reports that the screening of the film also featured a panel discussion on the history of FGM, its scope and health implications.
The panel comprised Dr Eleanor Nwadinobi, a medical consultant, Mr Bem Alugh, a representative of the Ministry of Education, and Mr Edosa Oviawe, an employee of Ipas Nigeria, an NGO that works to increase women’s access to vital reproductive health care.
The film is a collaborative work between FilmCorp Advocacy Films and Dorothy Njemanze Foundation.
Aspiring female presidential candidate, Professor Olufunmilayo Adesanya-Davis has said that she want her ambition to be realised under the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019.
The professor of Language and Communication Arts at the Rivers State University of Education, Port Harcourt, declared her presidential ambition at the dawn of this year in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.
The Ira – Kwara born presidential aspirant noted that good leadership with sacrificial mind and great concern for the future, is what’s lacking in the country.
While noting that leadership is an influence relationship between the leaders and the followers determined to achieve shared objectives rather than control and affluence, Adesanya- Davies said leaders should demonstrate certain level of intelligence, discretion, maturity and civility
She advised the electorate to concentrate on the background, personality, integrity and credibility of the individual contestants or candidates rather than money-politics, ethic,religious, gender or even the platform as they choose their candidature.
She disclosed that in addition to her vision and passion to governance and to building Nigeria, “the decision of the federal government to make all positions open for women aspirants also boosted her interest in the race.”
“I am aspiring to be the next president of Nigeria. I am out to put laughter and joy on the faces of all Nigerians.The tension is getting too much. The agenda is almost fully mapped out. Moreover, We have paid the price in Kwara state as the “State of Harmony” and it is going to happen from the North Central by the grace and mercy of the Almighty God.
“Nigeria has constitutionally given the opportunity to the Nigerian woman, so all women should see themselves as rescuers of their children and the entire nation. They should be encouraged, bold, courageous to register, come out en-mass to vote and be voted for. Let all women who fear God and know their responsibilities come out to serve the nation. If all women and even our men too vote for the women folks, we all know the result. This vision will be achievable!
“Our thanks, first goes to the nation – Nigeria that says the ladies could pick our forms free politically at every level; because Nigeria is confident that the current challenges in the country can only be tackled by the women.
“My plan is an “Advanced Agenda” to restructure Nigeria when given the chance, with the teeming population of youths on my mind and the future of the upcoming and unborn generations of Nigerians.
“Restructuring has become a must in the current Nigeria and the fillers are rife and obvious with security challenges like the various communal clashes, ethnic cleansing, religious intolerance, etc. bedevilling the country and all sorts of agitations from different milieu.
“However, ” restructuring” is a complex, adventurous and highly intellectual-creative project for the academia, that needs the female’s ingenuity and creativity, we would agree. It then needs a visioneer with in-depth clarity of purpose and mind to drive the process. This is where I come in, and what l stand for.
“So ready I am, to give back to the society that produced and made me, I speak as a Nigerian – Northerner from the Middle-belt, of the Yoruba descent who had spent over three decades of my life working in the South-south. I had obtained B.A degree at OAU Ife, M.A at Unilorin and Ph.D at Uniport. I am a Nigerian product and a proof of her ability. “
Women in Saudi Arabia would be allowed this month to attend football matches for the first time in the conservative kingdom, authorities said on Monday.
Female fans would enter major sports stadiums in the Kingdom to attend three football matches involving local sides as part of the Saudi Professional League competition, the government-run Centre for International Communication said in a statement.
The three fixtures are scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Jan. 18, the statement added without further details.
In October, the Saudi General Sports Authority, a state agency, said that as of early 2018 three stadiums, up to now male-only facilities, would be prepared to be ready for families, including allocation of special places for seating and entrances.
They are King Fahd International Stadium in the capital Riyadh, King Abdullah Sports City in the western city of Jeddah, and Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia.
In September, Saudi King Salman Abdelaziz issued a royal order allowing women to drive, breaking a longstanding tradition as social reforms in the conservative kingdom gather pace.
Powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is believed to have championed lifting the ban as he is seeking to open up the country and revamp its international image.
Mohammed, 32, has vowed that the kingdom would return to “moderate Islam’’ as he works on reducing the influence of the hard-line religious establishment in the country.
There is no religion, faith or creed that supports female genital mutilation (FGM), hence no girl-child and woman should undergo same again. This was the submission of representatives across the three prominent religions in Nigeria at a one-day forum organised by the Child Health Advocacy Initiative (CHAI).
CHAI is a non- governmental organisation promoting the Health and Development of Women and Children in Nigeria. Present also were government representatives.
Executive Director, CHAI, Mrs. Lola Alonge, said FGM violates all human rights principles, including equality, non discrimination of sex and the right to health, as FGM causes lifelong physical and psychological harm. It also affects the family, community, relationships and economic development.
Dr Alonge said: “Trained health workers, who perform FGM are violating girls and women’s right to life and health. We, therefore, call for the domestication of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP). On May 2015, President Goodluck Jonathan signed the VAPP into law. This law bans FGM and other traditional harmful practices. But the VAPP only applies at the Federal Capital Territory. It is now up to each state to domesticate the law. Previously, 11 states have enacted laws against FGM. However, there is inconsistency between passing and enforcing the law.”
Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, who was represented by Director, Family Health and Nutrition, Dr. Folashade Oludara said, FGM is the most barbaric form of killing and harming of female folks.
“That leaves them psychologically traumatised. FGM is a deeply rooted cultural belief that needs to be removed. It is not just enough to make the law, we need to call people together and create awareness on how to end FGM. In Lagos, we have 44 per cent practice because Lagos is a multi-national state with various ethnic groups. FGM heals with irreparable scare that prevents the woman from enjoying sex, having babies, among other harms. Everyone needs to come together to fight against the practice. We are told that 28 per cent are being conducted by health workers, but am sure it’s not in Lagos because any health worker caught doing so will be prosecuted,” he added.
His Women Affairs counterpart, Dr. Lola Akande, said FGM was an abuse against the girl-child and women hence the urgent need to get it abolished. The commissioner, represented by Dr. (Mrs) Sola Falana, said Lagos was ready to collaborate with CHAI in the eradication of the practice.
“We believe this is an abuse, and we have a number you can dial to report cases of abuse in Lagos. The state government has always been in the forefront against such practices and we are ready to collaborate with CHAI in the eradication. But this is a collective effort; we need to carry out sensitisation especially to our men. Today, many women are not enjoying their marriage because of this FGM, it has led to so much deaths,” she added.
President, Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Dr. Sariyu Ashiru, said the practice has no medical benefit, but it is still lingering because of culture. “These procedures are being performed by quacks, which is why the victim ends up with complications,” she said.
In the same vein, Baale of Marine Beach, Chief Joseph Omobolanle Ogunmola said his community has started campaigning against the practice through the pastors, Imams and the Baales.
He said: “The practice is endangering the life of our young girls. We want them to live. It should be our collective responsibility to sensitise our families to stop FGM so that our females can live long and in good health.”
Also at the event, Pastor Laide Adenuga of Redeemed Aids Program Action Committee (RAPAC) said there is no verse in the Holy Bible that endorses FGM so the act itself does not glorify God.
Broadcast journalist with the Voice of Nigeria (VON) Olufunke Fayemi has won the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship Award organised by Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ)
She won with an investigative report on the poor living condition of young girls in Oko-Oba, Agege titled “The Life of Girls in Destitute Camps” and a leadership project on empowering female journalists in her organisation.
Fayemi was one of the 15 fellows from across media houses in the country who participated the leadership programme.
Juliana Francis, Crime Editor of New Telegraph was the first runner up, while Bunmi Yekini of Radio One was the second runner up.
The programme is a pilot initiative of the Wole Soyinka Centre to rewrite the narrative of female marginalisation in the media sector and mobilise a network of reporters repositioned for leadership.
Supported by Free Press Unlimited, the fellowship was also a consolidation on the Report Women project of the WSCIJ designed to cover prime issues of access and abuse of girls and women in Nigeria.
Besides unearthing critical but underreported issues hunting the female gender across diverse sectors, the fellows were tasked with the execution of leadership projects under the tutelage of mentors including the Executive Director, Women Advocate, Research and Documentation Center Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Deputy Director, Enterprise Development Center, Pan Atlantic University, Nneka Okekearu and Managing Editor, Online Editor, The Nation newspaper Lekan Otufodurin.
Other fellows include Faith Yahaya (The Nation), Abosede Omoruyi (Core TV), Amina Alhassan (Daily Trust), Nkechi Isaac (Leadership), Godiya Daniel (NTA,Yola), Ene Osang (Blueprint), Evelyn Okakwu (Premium Times), Ayodele Olofintuade (9jafeminista), Ifeoma Okeke (Businessday), Thelma Okoro (TV 360), Maria Albert Zirra and Nafisat Abdulkarim (Freelance journalist).
Veteran broadcaster, Mrs Bimbo Oloyede who presented the overall prize urged the fellows to “embrace criticisms with humility and accept commendations with joy.”
” I urge you to accept with humility any word of constructive criticism that comes from any member of your group. At this point, I expect that everybody wants everybody to improve. Again, just as you criticise, make sure you praise. When you get constructive praise from your colleagues who understand what it took you to bring out that report, it goes a long way,” she said.
According WSCIJ Coordinator, Mrs Motunrayo Alaka, the debate on gender balance would not indeed be balance until women exert themselves by ensuring mainstream coverage of gender issues.
“Experience has shown that female reporters are usually missing in the room when we have our awards, not because they are not able to but because the environment doesn’t allow them. Female and males are equal but we have to own our part and stand up to be counted and participate as members of the society along with the male colleagues.”
Dr Akinyode-Afolabi described the fellows as the change agents needed reposition the world of women, noting that the pursuit of a gender-balanced society was not a race but a marathon.
“It was an experience worth the while. We must appreciate the different contributions of people who bring forth the issues of gender. I now have a better impression of the media,” she said.
Otufodunrin said the mentorship platform was a reinforcement of his passion for raising unique crop of journalists with the right skills set. He urged journalists to match their skills with technological improvement to ensure they are not bypassed by opportunities.
“What this has done is a confirmation of what I’ve wanted to do. Our career somehow flounder away reporting others and not minding our careers. Journalists are like others are human beings who need to accomplish their career goals,” he noted.
Apart from the usual hazards of the profession which all journalists face, Faith Yahaya highlights peculiar challenges, especially sexual harassment, which female journalists cope with on the job.
Until she got married and later pregnant, Josephine Ella-Ejeh, formerly a staff of an Abuja-based newspaper had no problem with her bosses at work. No one doubted her capacity to discharge her editorial assignments.
Even though she remained as productive as she was despite her new condition, she suddenly got reassigned without being told why.
“They just woke up one day and asked me to leave my beat for someone else and that I would now be assisting an editor on the weekend desk, ” Ella-Ejeh recalled in an Interview with The Nation.
“This new ‘responsibility’ was without official letter or anything. It was not clearly stated and when I tried to ask questions, I was told to either proceed on the new assignment or resign. From the look of things, I felt they were just looking for a soft way to let me go without the fingers pointing directly at them.”
She eventually had to resign because according to her, “I felt I was being witch-hunted for getting married and pregnant.”
Apart from the circumstance that led to her resignation, the beats she covered, which included the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other security-related beats exposed her to sexual harassment. Some of her sources withheld information and were unwilling to give it to her until she gives them her body in return.
Although her case may not be typical, Ella-Ejeh’s plight represents some of the major challenges female journalists have to contend with in the newsrooms and on the beats the cover.
Ifeyinwa Omowale, President, National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ)
Interviews with Female journalists, including young and experienced professionals revealed that more than the usual hazards every journalists face at work, there are some gender related ones, including sexual harassment, lack of prospects like their male colleagues and unfriendly maternity conditions of service.
Some of those interviewed for this story declined to be named to avoid being targeted by senior male journalists who may not like their views on the issue.
A female journalist, who didn’t want to be mentioned for fear of being sacked in her present place of work, was also forced to resign her job in her former work place when she got demoted for daring to ask for equal pay and conditions of service with male counterparts who were earning more than her.
“I was demoted to a Senior Correspondent from the rank of Assistant Editor. I had to leave because my male counterparts, who were supposed to be my junior at the workplace, were getting higher pay.
“The environment was just not conducive for me as a woman. When I was pregnant; the management probed and tried to get me to disclose my Expected Date of Delivery (EDD) which was my private information before giving me maternity leave. I just had to leave,” she explained.
Even when she joined another media outfit and she was offered the position of a Deputy Editor, her male boss didn’t want her; he wanted a man because he had the mindset that women are incompetent for the job.
“When ministerial screening was on, as a deputy editor, he made me monitor the televised screening. He was not giving me the job I was supposed to do. Even as a reporter I didn’t monitor news, but I was made to do that and I felt he thought I was incompetent because I am a woman.”
For Juliana Francis who started her journalism career in 2001 and is presently a Crime Editor with New Telegraph Newspapers, she had more than her own ‘fair’ share of sexual harassments and stigmatization that almost forced her to quit the beat she was covering.
“I was single when I started working, so I had a lot of sexual challenges and harassment and I could not take it because I am a rape survivor,” Francis who is now married with kids recalled.
“I met sexual harassment in journalism. Crime beat is actually a beat where you would find very few women. Then, we were not more than four on the beat and everybody was making advances. You are being sexually harassed in the office, you are being sexually harassed on the beat and an average uniform man is amorous.
Juliana Francis
“Some of them want to give you information and they want you to pay with sex. In the office, you get to hear made-up stories that you have slept with virtually everybody. In fact, the story I got was that I had slept with nine men. I don’t understand why it should be like that.
“Sometimes, the senior people you are looking up to would take you out and the next thing is to take you to hotel. It is on record that I was the only junior reporter that went to a very senior person and I told the person to stop it because I was single and he was spoiling my chances of getting married and he was shocked.
“On the police beat they would try to touch you inappropriately but I never allowed it. At a point, people even said I was sleeping with a former Inspector-General of Police. But we were not and in all honesty the man never talked to me in that way to show that he was interested in me. That gave me problem and at a point I thought of quitting the beat.
“I made move towards it but my boss said I was going to meet it on every beat because I am a woman journalist which means he knew what I was talking about because he has been there for decades before I came in. For him to say that, I decided to toughen up and I started covering the beat.”
Based on her experience, Bunmi Yekini of Radio One, Lagos also said female journalists are also stigmatized by male colleagues and the public as loose women.
“They feel it is a male dominated area and when they see women come into it, the first thing that comes to their mind is that they are prostitutes, especially if you are already at the top. They feel you have sold your body in exchange for the promotion or position. They forget that female journalists have brains too just like the male counterparts.”
Beyond sexual harassment, Francis noted that marriage is also a challenge for female journalists.
Most female journalists according to her are single mothers not because they don’t want to keep their marriage, but lack of understanding of what journalism entails by the men they married.
“You are likely to find out that some female journalists who have successful marriages are married to male journalists because they understand better. Sometimes, my husband asks why men call me more but that is what the job entails. There are more men in the newsroom and even on crime beat, your sources and the people we meet most are men.”
Another female journalist in the print media who claimed to have passion for the job said the profession has denied her some things she would have loved to do as lady and caused her emotional trauma.
“I can’t count the number of outings and dates I have cancelled because of impromptu assignments. Journalism is the kind of job that you wake up sometimes and you cannot ascertain where you would be or what you would do because the job itself is unpredictable. I don’t attend church services the way I want to, no thanks to this job.
“The most painful challenge I have faced as a woman journalist is menstrual pain. Most media managers are men and they don’t understand what it means to be in such pain. All they are bothered or concerned about is the job.
Another thing that I have observed in the media is the fact that most women don’t get to the top, this makes a female journalist to lose her morale because she thinks that at the end of the day, she is not so likely to be given the top position.”
A female journalist in the broadcast media who covers the National Assembly complained that her organisation sent her there as a way to bring in advert which would generate revenue for the company.
“They feel I should use what I have to get what they want,” she said.
Another female journalist who struggled to open up to The Nation said she was tired of the job but cannot leave because of the alarming rate of unemployment and little job opportunities.
“I am really tired of this job because the rate of sexual harassment in the newsroom is too much. You would be shocked to find out that my boss has sexually harassed most of the females who were and who are in the organization as IT student, Corp members and even the female staff.
This is what I live with daily but I cannot leave because leaving would mean me joining thousands in the labour market seeking employment. It is painful that he does whatever he likes and gets away with it because he is the boss. ”
Lara Owoeye-Wise
Lara Owoeye-Wise of Africa Independent Television (AIT) who has been on the job for over 25 years said her major challenge was the work environment. “I had to grapple with the challenges of what I call the tools of trade because it is already a daunting challenge being a female and married with children and combining all that with professional job. It is more daunting that the things that should make your job easier for you, you don’t have them and that becomes double ‘wahala’.”
She said she had always clamored for crèche in media houses because according to her “there is no way a nursing-mother would give her best knowing that her child is miles away and at the mercy of the house help.”
While acknowledging the special challenges women have to cope with on the job, Moji Makanjuola, a celebrated TV journalist and President of Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Mrs. Funke Egbemode offered suggestions on how overcome them and excel.
“Women need to assert themselves and those coming must know that it is hard work. It has to do with your brains and tenacity. It is not administrative or filing job. As a journalist you have to be versatile. Read and learn. Seek your knowledge. You must broaden your horizon and you must report from a point of knowledge because that way, you would make your own name” Makanjola said.
Egbemode who is Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, New Telegraph said female journalists are special and must marry special partners, noting that their divine assignment hinders them from carrying out their professional role as expected.
Egbemode
“A woman is a woman and she has duties that are assigned to her by God. So, she takes time off to make babies, she takes time off to nurse her marriage and ensure that things don’t go wrong. Because a woman has to do all of that, she doesn’t have the luxury of time to pay quality attention as men pay to their career,” she said.
Although other female professional may face similar situation on their jobs, Egbemode noted that journalism is a bit more tasking mentally and physically.
“We have no working hours; a woman has to contend with that to rise in the newsroom. There is also the issue of the kind-of partner she ends up with. I always say that a journalist is a special kind of woman, she is a special kind of professional, and she needs a special kind of man.
“Ordinary men can’t marry journalist. So in choosing a partner, you must acknowledge yourself as a woman that you are special because your needs are special, so you must find a man who can help you grow, who can nurture you and who is very comfortable in his own skin. He does not have complex issues, and does not think that you taking a photograph with a minister mean that you know the minister.
“You need a man who would know that whatever you become, whoever you are and whatever you do, you are part of him and that your achievements are his achievements, your failure and strength are his. If you want to rise to be Editor in Chief, you cannot marry a man a man who sees you as a business woman who should open a chain of restaurants because that is not what you want to be but that is what he wants you to be and there will be friction, tension and stress, ” Egbemode advised.
On sexual harassment, Egbemode said it is not peculiar to journalism and urged female journalists to take necessary precautions in the newsroom and on the beat. “You do not have to do what you don’t want to do and an Editor will use a good story. If you are faced with sexual harassment, you should use your feminism and smartness to your advantage.”
While the newsroom and the job is not generally gender sensitive, Egbemode’s counsel is that female journalists should be ready to prove to that they are indeed capable ‘gentlemen’ like their male colleagues.
“The job just has to be done. So you can’t come into the newsroom, wanting to feel like a woman and expecting that certain things would be handed to you as a woman. You just need to prove yourself that you can hold down the job. You need to plan. The job is tough but if you stay focused you will make it.
“That is why a lot of women can’t continue and you can’t blame them because it is very difficult. For women who are just coming into the newsroom, you should just know that the men are not going to hand you anything on a platter of gold. They are not going to give you special concession. In fact, when you ask for concessions, they begin to look down on you. You need to find a way to get your own job done.”
To curb the high rate of sexual harassments in the newsrooms, participants in the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship organized by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism called for anti- sexual harassments policies in media houses.
The National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) was urged to take up the challenge of demanding for this policy and others that will make the media environment more conducive for female journalists.
“We need to speak out because the more we keep quiet, the more the harassment will thrive,” a participant stated.
