Women's Empowerment and Good Governance Through - amarc

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Best Experiences for an Action Research Process
Community radio and democratization
More and more, free expression is becoming a reality in Cameroon, as among the most listened
to programs are ones on which people are invited, over the telephone, to say what they
think about the actions of their elected officials, of the government, without interference from
anyone. There is, however, no shortage of difficulties. In the first place, in our country, the
regulations governing community radio are silent about or badly adapted to today’s realities, or
they are simply flouted. Hence the numerous suits and the fiscal and political harassment that
radio managers have been subjected to. The community radio audience has generally been
satisfied with the programs, their complete openness to the voiceless and the use of the local
language as a means of oral expression and communication.
Furthermore, given the multiplicity of private radio stations, government radio stations find
themselves having to revise their broadcast programming and it is possible to observe a real
change in their practices. The trend is for them to become more open and less propagandistic.
Community radio stations must above all avoid to be driven to serve the game of political
parties. This is the main guarantee of their autonomy, allowing them to remain objective and
preserve their freedom of expression, but how can they do this?
Good governance is the exercise of political, economic and administrative authority, political
stability, institutional development and the respect for human rights. In other words, good governance
is the art of managing the city’s affairs well. Community radio stations have not fallen
short in the role they play in the community. Several seminars were organized by the government
and by civil society on “media and good governance.” How can the media contribute to a
constructive appropriation of the process of good governance in our country? These seminars
allowed those who benefited from this training to relay to their listeners adapted educational
programs on the issue of good governance.
The impact of community radio on women’s liberation in Cameroon
Community radio in Cameroon is becoming more and more a women’s affair. Many community
radio stations created under the UNESCO umbrella are women’s radio stations. The
only drawback is the total dependence on the funding agency, which would likely render them
inoperational should the funds be withdrawn. Few community radio stations have been able