UNESCO Rabat publishes gender equality guide

Today, despite the liberalisation of radio stations in the Maghreb countries that started in 1990s and the new usage of radio through internet, radio programmes remain steeped in the socially built inequalities and do not adequately reflect the realities of women in the societies. Women are less frequently interviewed and their points of views are neglected in media.

Reference material for training

The new guide, entitled Femmes et radio au Maghreb (Women and radio in the Maghreb), is part of the series, produced by the UNESCO Office in Rabat for media practitioners to ensure gender equality in media content. It follows the first guide, Femme et television au Maghreb (Women and television in the Maghreb), published in January 2010, and will serve as a reference material for the training that starts today in Tunis.

The three-day workshop targets radio practitioners from Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. Participants will be invited to reflect on the means to create radio products responding to the needs of the market, while spreading balanced representation of Maghreb women, free from stereotypes.

Three key areas

The UNESCO strategy on gender and media in the Maghreb provides an integrated framework for cooperation in three key areas:

• capacity-building of media practitioners, including TV, radio, newspapers and magazines;
  
• introduction of a gender approach in journalism schools' curricula;
  
• advocacy among policy and decision-makers in media for a professional code of ethics to ensure gender-mainstreaming in media content.

The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ), the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) and the Centre for Arab Women Training and Research (CAWTAR) have joined UNESCO's strategy on gender and media.