Women's Empowerment and Good Governance Through - amarc

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Best Experiences for an Action Research Process 24 Chapter 3. Women and Community Radio in Burkina Faso By Georgette Koala (25) Since 1997, with Horizon FM, the first free radio station of Burkina Faso and of Frenchspeaking Africa, the airwaves have been liberalized and there are now some 77 radio stations. The Burkinabe have appropriated radio, which as an oral medium follows in the griot tradition, the fame of which has travelled well beyond the borders of Africa. This has favoured radio, unlike the written press, which is seen as an elite, intellectual medium, and television, the cost of which is beyond the reach of the majority. Because of its accessibility, the fact that it is perceived as a continuity of the oral tradition and because it uses many of the local languages, radio is the mass medium of choice for African peoples and for those of Burkina Faso in particular. It was in this favourable context that the State of Burkina Faso set up six local radio stations in rural areas of the country in the 1980s. The goal of these stations was to raise awareness and to promote development. According to the president of the time, they sought the participation of all of the country’s citizens in the national development effort. Community radio has always had development goals, particularly participative development goals, hence the notion of community. It is a medium that belongs to the entire community, which raises community issues and debates about them with the community in order to find consensual solutions. As stated in a master’s thesis from the Department of Communications and Journalism of
25 Best Experiences for an Action Research Process Ouagadougou University, “The Historical Philosophy of rural radio is to allow the voiceless to express themselves, to serve as the voice of the oppressed (whether the oppression be racist, sexist or based on class), and, generally, to offer a development tool to the whole community.” Using the example of the Pengdwendé Community Radio Station, situated in the rural commune of Sabou, 90 km from the capital, Ouagadougou, we would like to talk about the place of women in the 24 community stations in the country. Women and community radio stations in Burkina Faso There are 255 employees at the 24 community radio stations surveyed, of whom 46 are women, a percentage of 18.04 per cent female employees to 81.96 per cent males. These 18.04 per cent women generally occupy the positions of radio hosts and secretaries. Most of these women are volunteers and freelancers. To illustrate the point, only 23 women, or 17.16 per cent, are permanent employees of Burkina Faso community radio stations. Almost no women occupy administrative positions, or produce and direct programs. Despite being poorly represented, women figure prominently in the program schedule of different community radio stations. Community radio stations are development tools. As such, they particularly emphasize the most underdeveloped segment of society in Burkina Faso: women. In effect, many programs, a minimum of two per community radio station, have women as their exclusive target audience. Women, as the custodians of their children’s success, are those most concerned by educational programs for the improved well-being of the family unit. It is most often the rights of women that are not respected and their needs that are not met. Community radio stations, together with local opinion leaders, are taking advantage of the wide audience they reach enjoy they can succeed at legitimating women’s needs. The problems women bring up with radio hosts are debated on the air, which allows solutions to be found or at least permits the issues to be raised. These specific women’s issues of access to potable water, access to land, the right to self-determination, the schooling of girls, forced marriage, etc. then make their way into the speeches of local politicians and elected officials, into people’s conversations, and, as demonstrated by the example of Pengdwendé
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