Sexuality in Media: Emerging Issues in Africa - Africa Regional ...

Sexuality in the Media: Emerging Issues in Africa
the adolescents' problems. On the same day, Al-Ahram, also, published in
another page a long informative article on the personal health of adolescents.
However, the article dealt with every aspect of the health of adolescents except
the reproductive and sexual health. This article was earlier published in Al-
Ahram on 21-1-2004.
-Al-Ahram on 6-3-2004 in an article advised adolescents to sleep 8 hours daily.
The article quoted a recent American study and suggests that lack of sleep
might be the cause of depression in adolescents.
Al-Akhbar on 9-1-2004, reported on an awareness campaign on reproductive
health organised by the National Motherhood and Childhood Council targeting
adolescents. On the same theme, Al-Ahrar, on 8-3-2004, reported on other
efforts of the council in El-Gieza governorate, where 17 sessions were held to
raise the awareness of adolescents. A national committee for adolescent
reproductive health was formed under the umbrella of the National Council of
Motherhood and Childhood. The committee is working in three areas:
National Policies, services, and health education for adolescents (Al-Ahrar and
Al Ahram, 9-1-2004. Al-Ahram on 10-5-2004, published articles suggesting
that “Adolescents need their parents in this period more than any other time”.
In this article, there is a call on mothers to be available at the time when
adolescents return home from school. To do this, the article called on mothers
to quit work or to work part time!!. Al-Ahram on 26-4-2004, published an
article suggesting that “girls are ignorant about reproductive health”. The
article reported on an awareness session among university graduates girls.
Based on the questions they raised, it seems that there is severe lack of
information regarding reproductive health issues.
Sexual Violence
Al-Akhbar on 12-3-2004 carried a news article on the campaign “Stop
Violence Against Women”. The article gave examples from Africa about
sexual abuse and female circumcision, rape, kidnapping beating and forced
sterilization. On 29-2-2004, Al-Ahram pointed out “A new era of struggle
against discrimination against women”. Rose El-youssef on 21-2-2004,
published an article on a conference that address violence against women. This
particular conference dealt with the legal aspects of violence against women.
Al-Akhbar, on 26-3-2004, published an article on the causes of violence among
adolescents. The main reason that perpetuates the violence is the Video Games,
Print Media Coverage Of Sexuality Issues in Egypt
the article asserted. The rights of women to a safe life was the focus of an
article that addressed news about a series of awareness sessions that dealt
with: early age at marriage, consanguinity, violence against women and
discrimination against women (Al-Akhbar, 21-4-2004). Al-Ahram, on 24-4-
2004, published news about a seminar on “Violence against women and its
psychological implications”. Types of violence against women were
discussed in another article at the end of May. These included: Female
circumcision, young age at marriage, and domestic violence.
Female Circumcision as a form of violence against women was the focus of
several articles. The articles were mainly news / stories about activities in the
field. Training courses in Upper Egypt (Al-Ahram on 14-1-2004, EL-Wafd
and El-Gomohrea on 6-3-2004, Al-Ahrar, 10-3-2004, El-Gomhorea, 14-3-
2004, El-Messaa and Al-Ahram, 6-4-2004). A surprising article was
published by El-Gomhorrea on 26-4-2004. The title was “Towards a safe
circumcision for girls”. This article quotes a specialist in gynecology who
indicated that she searched the internet and found that circumcision, if done in
the correct way is very beneficial. She said that “In this time, while President
Bush is calling for the purity of American girls, some Muslim countries
prevent circumcision in-spite of the call by the theologians to perform it”.
She continued: “All the Islamic Schools call for female circumcision but
differ in the way it is performed”. She ended her statement by a call “to allow
female circumcision to be carried out in hospitals by health providers for
free”. This call, if implemented will affect, definitely, the efforts to eradicate
female circumcision.
An educational/informative article about female circumcision and its impact
on the health of girls was published by Al-Ahram, 27-1-2004. However, the
article used the “harmful traditional approach”, which is criticized by many
activists in the field. It, also, generalizes the complications arising from the
severe type to all other types. This would lead to the mistrust on the part of the
readers who do not experience such complications. Most of the
circumcisions which are carried out in Egypt are the milder types. It was
surprising to have the same article in the same newspaper on 28-2-2004
exactly one month after the first article was published.
A letter to the editor from a professor of History and Egyptology affirmed that