How media can help narrow gender gap in science
When Hana Saada, a doctoral female student at the University of Algiers Benyoucef Benkhedda, looks at the news, she barely sees women in science on the pages of the newspaper or on screen. There’s barely a sound of them on radio too. One would be think that there are few or no women in science. The former […]
Pandemic took away my paycheck, but brightened my career prospects
Janet Otieno was editing the final page of a magazine for the Citizen, a Tanzanian newspaper, when she received a call from human resources. It was 5pm in April 2020, about a month after the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Tanzania. Janet, the acting managing editor and features editor at Mwananchi Communications in Tanzania, stopped mid-sentence […]
Digital archives can put the hidden work of women on record
When Nigerian journalist Angela Ulunma Agoawike was conducting research for her university project in the late 1980s, she had difficulties finding the information on women in politics. “I visited two university libraries – Nsuka and Port Harcourt – but there was not much literature on women like Margaret Ekpo, a frontline politician in her time. Despite the involvement of women in […]
Comedy duo takes on societal ills with satire
Samantha “Gonyeti” Kureya and Sharon “Magi” Chideu have been creating humorous and satirical content tackling the day-to-day issues affecting ordinary Zimbabweans for nearly a decade. Mention Gonyeti and Magi and you will get knowing nods and smiles in response. Kureya chose Gonyeti as her stage name with reference to the size of her body – Gonyeti is street slang for the size of haulage trucks. Chideu goes […]
Pandemic reporting drove me to the brink of suicide
I arrive for the Friday afternoon appointment with Eunice Omollo right on time. Eunice, a health and science journalist at the Nation Media Group in Kenya, has been hesitant to share her story, but when we set up this interview, she assured me she was ready. There is no sign of Eunice, and after a few minutes of waiting, […]
Directing the narrative
“Stories fundamentally validate real voices,” says Sophie Haikali. The story of Africa is not one she wrote herself. Decades after the abolishment of colonisation, and as most of the world marched through the gates of economic and technological advancement, Africa lags behind. Instead, the continent is marked with deep scars of fabricated propaganda […]
Founa K’s gift of optimism to late-night listeners
The novel Coronavirus global pandemic has ingrained itself into every sphere of society, forcing us to shift our focus away from life as we knew it and find new ways to preserve and define what is essential. During this period, we have had to adapt to new methods of existence as we come to accept […]
