South Sudanese women demand more visibility in the media

By Ruot George

Women in South Sudan are demanding more visibility in the media in a way that amplifies their voices.

Speaking at a workshop organized to engage with media practitioners on Tuesday, Nakawese Alice, the Executive Director of Touch Africa Development Organization noted that women voices are the least used in media in South Sudan and when used, its used wrongly.

“If we have anything they are our first point to run to but most of the time we face challenges in what they are amplifying, in what they put out because it’s not what we really want,” Alice said.

Touch Africa Development Organization is an advocacy group that seeks to ensure women voices are heard.

“As women rights organization, we look forward to working with the media because they are our voices,” Alice said.

She also noted that women lack the capacity to engage with media houses.

“In some cases, we don’t have enough capacity and enough facilitation to engage more media houses.”

Robinah Baseka, the Communication Manager for CARE International, women need to engage more with the media in the country.

“We have realized that without the media most critical roles including development cannot go forward as you are the watchdog,” Baseka told the workshop.

“We are here to listen to you on how we can work together on how voices of women can be heard in the media.”