Why I left the newsroom for politics
Coming face to face with governance issues pushes Ugandan journalists to join politics to push for change. Sarah Biryomumasisho interviews journalists who left the fourth estate for the legislature on their motivations
Equal representation still a dream for women in Uganda
When the 11th Ugandan Parliament is sworn in next month, it will have more women than the previous one, maintaining the country’s above-average rank in gender equity in politics. While currently ranked at number 37 out of 193 countries in the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s list, this above-average performance belies the stagnation that has choked the move […]
We couldn’t find suitable internships, so we created our own media house
Three years ago, three university students were at the cusp of their journalism careers, looking forward to starting their journeys in newsrooms in Zimbabwe. However, they met with unforeseen roadblocks. Nicole Kurebwasweka couldn’t get placement for the industrial attachment unit of her journalism course at the University of Zimbabwe. The production department of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation turned her down, saying they […]
In Farah-Salam, migrant women reclaim their stories one photo at a time
On a “normal” day in Farah-Salam, you might find journalists from Europe-based media clicking away at their cameras capturing images of residents in Casablanca’s migrant suburbs documenting the European migrant crisis. 2020 was anything but normal for the residents of Farah-Salam, one such suburb, and the photojournalists who cover them. Six years ago, there were […]
Sexual harassment scourge causing untold pain for women in media
Sexual harassment is media’s open secret, and journalism in Cameroon is losing many promising reporters who leave the newsroom to run away from it.
On campaign trail, women’s issues remain unspoken
When Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni and his ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) designed their manifesto for the January 2021 elections, issues affecting women were given little attention. Given that NRM has control over parliament, with more than 63 per cent of legislators, one would be forgiven for assuming that for the next five years, the […]
We defied bias to shine in male-dominated crime beat
“Journalism is not a crime” is often the rallying call against the injustice of the persecution of reporters the world over. But crime journalists can’t ply their trade without getting into the thick of crime, metaphorically speaking. This, however, is often used to perpetuate biases that keep women out of the crime desk. A cursory […]
Invisible scars: Cost of covering traumatic stories
Nelly Ating has been documenting the plight of child victims of Boko Haram, in the norther part of Nigeria. Ating, a photojournalist, focuses on the trauma inflicted on the children by the militia. While telling the stories of children caught up in the crosshairs of conflict is Ating’s driving force, she told AWiM News that […]
Journalism, bullets and trauma: Lessons from Uganda’s election
Culton Scovia Nakamya, a reporter at BBS Television in Uganda, was the only female journalist on Robert “Bobi Wine” Kyagulanyi’s campaign trail. On Wednesday, December 30, 2020, she joined Kyagulanyi, the main opposition candidate for the January 2021 election, who was heading to Kalangala, a tourist district that is part of the popular Ssese Islands. Nakamya was looking forward to visiting the island for […]
Journalism, bullets and trauma: Lessons from Uganda’s election
Culton Scovia Nakamya, a reporter at BBS Television in Uganda, was the only female journalist on Robert “Bobi Wine” Kyagulanyi’s campaign trail. On Wednesday, December 30, 2020, she joined Kyagulanyi, the main opposition candidate for the January 2021 election, who was heading to Kalangala, a tourist district that is part of the popular Ssese Islands. Nakamya was looking forward to visiting the island for […]
