BREAKING: MRA calls for empowerment of female journalists

The Media Rights Agenda, MRA, has urged media stakeholders to take decisive steps to empower female journalists by ensuring they play more prominent roles in newsrooms, editorial leadership and decision-making processes.......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>

Making the call via a statement made available to our reporter in Taraba State, on Friday, the MRA’s Programme Officer, Ms Ayomide Eweje, highlighted the challenges female journalists face.

Such challenges, according to her, include gender inequality, safety risks and limited leadership opportunities.

Despite the obstacles, she noted that female journalists have made significant contributions to the Nigerian society by informing the public and holding those in power accountable.

Eweje stressed that women in the media play a key role in promoting diverse perspectives and fostering an inclusive landscape.

“However, increasing incidents of intimidation , harassment, and cyber bullying, have underscored the need for stronger legal protections and institutional safeguard,” Eweje said.

To ensure the safety of female journalists, she recommended multifaceted approaches that addresses both physical and digital threats.

The recommendations include enforcing existing laws and adopting gender sensitive policies to tackle violence against female journalists.

Providing cyber security training to help female journalists counter online threats, ending impunity by ensuring swift investigations and prosecutions of perpetrators, and increasing female representatives in media leadership positions, she said, have become necessary.

“We must challenge systemic biases that hinder the growth of female journalists and create environments where they can thrive without fear of harassment, discrimination, or violence,” Eweje noted.

She also called on media organizations to adopt gender inclusive policies, implement mechanisms for swift action when female journalists face threats, and ensure equal opportunities for women to lead and influence the profession.