Community Radio Campaign: Rural Women Have Their Say

29 November 2011

“Women in most rural areas keep to themselves (but) they should start voicing their issues," said Alumita, as she took to the airwaves as the 16 Days of Community Radio Campaign in Nausori. And one issue which women continue to face she said is domestic violence.

With the theme for the 2012 UN Commission on the Status of Women focusing on the empowerment of rural women, our 16 Days of Community Radio Campaign is contributing to ensuring an in-depth discussion on rural women, which quite often is overlooked.

According to data from the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) the rural areas are home to the majority of the population in the poorer countries. Indeed, 71% of the populations of the least developed countries and 55% of the less developed countries live in the rural areas. The rural areas are also home to 70% of the developing world’s 1.4 billion extremely poor people (http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw55/panels/CSW_56_theme_panel_-_Villarreal,_Marcela.pdf)

Women are demanding improvements to rural serives - health, water, electricity supply.

Like Alumita, Nirmala Sharma of the Labase based Vunicuicui Multiracial Women's Forum stressed that change will happen when more rural women are supported in leadership positions:

“Having women’s group with a strong leader so that they can participate in decision making to help in solving their issues.”

Poor infrastructure increases the level of stress and burden on women. Sometimes it is a case of too much water and sometimes communities go without water for days said a participant from Malake (Labasa).

This burden of labour experienced by rural women is linked to their peace and security in the home:

"Families have on-going problems where there is violence in the homes and women are unable to go out and share this," said Alumita.

But women's rights based groups are helping create the much needed spaces:

“By sharing with other women and having workshops that talk about women, and their rights and their issues concerned,” said Alumita.

And community radio is one of those safe spaces said Nirmala:
“Women have to raise their problems and take up their issues to the Community Radio so that it can be heard and be helped by others,” she said.

Meanwhile, in commemoration of this year's 16 Days of Activism on VAW, Women's Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) Nigeria is also taking the campaign to the public.

With the effective use of social and traditional media, WRAPA developed a Documentary on Gender Based Violence (GBV) which collects samples of public opinion and views on VAW and GBV issues in Nigeria.

The GBV Documentary is aimed at sustaining public awareness and raising the bar of intolerance to GBV in Nigeria.

WRAPA is a non-governmental, non-partisan, non religious membership organization. The goal in WRAPA is to protect and promote all human rights of women.

A major area of activity of WRAPA is the enhancement of access to justice for Nigerian women especially the weak and vulnerable ones whose knowledge of their rights and or whose capacity to seek redress is limited.

From 2003 till date, WRAPA under the auspices of Legislative Advocacy Coalition on Violence Against Women (LACVAW) has lobbied and advocated for the passage of a National Integral Law which promotes the rights of women, provides redress for victims punishes perpetrators of violence. The Bill; Violence Against Persons Prohibition Bill is currently before Nigeria's National Assembly.

On the 10th of December 2011, using the International Human Rights Day as a Policy Moment, WRAPA will be launching and airing the Documentary on Nigeria's National Television Authority (NTA).

The GBV Documentary will also be posted on WRAPA's website.

For more information on WRAPA and its activities, please visit- www.wrapanigeria.org

...
Sharon Bhagwan Rolls
Executive Director
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