By Albert Njebusi*
Female journalism students of the Advanced School of Mass Communication (ASMAC), in Yaounde have been urged to be proactive when they get into the industry. The call was made during a conference themed: “The role and place of Women in the Media”, which held at the Amphi theatre Herve-Bourges of the institution on October 10. The Cameroon office of Médias et Démocratie (M&D) partnered with ASMAC to organize the conference with support from the French Embassy in Cameroon.
Speakers included Secretary General of ASMAC, Prof Alain Assomo; Cooperation Attaché, Governance, Development and Humanitarian Affairs at the French Embassy in Cameroon, Anaelle Roucou; French media expert, Nicole Chavranski and the Cameroon Country Director of M&D, Sah Terence Animbom who moderated the deliberations.
In his welcome remarks the Secretary General of ASMAC recalled the brief history of the school and encouraged students to gain from the win-win partnership between ASMAC and M&D, which he said is just two years old and already yielding fruits.
During discussions, the panel challenged young female journalists to be proactive and steadfast in order to make more female voices heard in the journalism profession.
Nicole Chavranski one of the panelists, also a female media professional, said the journalism profession needs to be more gender sensitive. “The voices of young female journalists need to be heard more and more. Most often, we listen to the men. Women are not allowed to treat certain topics because they feel men can do it better. It is not a matter of quantity but quality. Female journalists should stand tall like the men,” she encouraged her womenfolk.
Participants at the conference saluted the initiative saying they need to fight the odds in order to gain grounds in the profession.
Ewoukem Sharon one of the participants said: “it is important to talk about women’s role and place in the media landscape. It is necessary to make our voices heard. It was very enriching. I learned not belittle myself while practicing”.
Challenges and way forward
During interactive session, Therese Faida, a female journalist practicing in the North Region of the country shared her four-year experience as a female journalists to the pupil female journalists.
“Being a lady, I face a lot of challenges,” Faida said. Among the challenges she cited instances where she is regarded as poorly dressed when she puts on a pair of trousers to rather be smart. “There are also religious and traditional believes where by a Lamido says he cannot talk to a woman meanwhile I had to talk to him to gather facts for my news article,” she narrated saying female journalists face a challenge of access to some reliable and credible sources of information.
That notwithstanding, Faida explained that she had to impose herself on the field in order to meet up with her obligations while respecting religious and traditional rules of her Muslim-dominated work environment. She encouraged budding female journalists to do same and not give in to the challenges.
The gathering was as also an opportunity for young journalists to get information about training programmes abroad. Sah Terence announced that Médias et Démocratie will organised a competitive selection next year and best students will have the chance to be trained or participate in seminars in Bordeaux, France.
*Albert Njebusi is a journalism student at ASMAC
This report was first published in NewsWatch newspaper No 188 of Wednesday, October 16, 2024.
