Kaliati persudades media to develop gender focused programmes: Lauds Luntha TV for tackling GBV
Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, Patricia Kaliati, has applauded the Catholic-owned Luntha Television for playing a pivotal role in addressing gender based violence (GBV) and inequality in Malawi.
With funding from Norwegian Aid for Development Cooperation (NORAD) through the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), Luntha Television in partnership with Women’s Legal Resource Centre (WOLREC) and Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN) is implementing Media Voices for Inclusive Development and Reduced Inequality (MVIDRI) Project.
The project aims to address the challenge of inequality and GBV by utilizing the media platforms to amplify the voice of the voiceless and demand transparency and accountability in the public services and interventions against all forms of violence against women, men and children that have risen to unprecedented levels.
Thus, Luntha Television organized the extraordinary conference to allow stakeholders to reflect on the best practices and experience in the implementation of GBV and gender equality interventions in Ntchisi and Mangochi.
Kaliati observed that media is a powerful tool in the socialization of people on gender sensitive attitudes and practices; hence, she recommended that it should assume a greater role in tackling social ills in society.
“As Malcolm X once said; ‘whoever controls the media, controls the mind of the people, because media transforms the great silence of things into its opposite, it has the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s the power of media’. I would therefore like to urge Luntha TV with the support from NCA to embrace gender responsive programs even beyond the life-span of the project,” she said.
Kaliati further implored the media to assume a bigger role in raising awareness on the contents of the laws as well as advocate for reforms,particularly stiffer sentences on perpetrators of violence in the country.
“What is pleasing is that Luntha TV has a target audience of most of the Catholic faithfuls who also constitute a greater part of the country’s population. It is thus important that the station should have more gender focused programmes and initiatives targeting all gender groups including children, the youth, women and men,” she said.
The minister commended NCA for providing the financial support, which enabled Luntha Television and its partners to implement the project.
She emphasized that the positive impact the project has made in Ntchisi and Mangochi, where the project is being implemented, are also needed in other districts.
“The two districts are but just a drop in the ocean taking into account the many districts that Malawi has. It is my sincere hope that the best practices and lessons shared through this conference will be a good case for mobilization of more resources so that in the next few years, the deprived districts should also benefit from the resource envelop,” said Kaliati.
Luntha Television director Father David Niwagaba said the extraordinary conference was organized to enable stakeholders to reflect on the best practices and experiences in the implementation of GBV and gender equality interventions in Ntchisi and Mangochi.
Niwagaba therefore thanked the government for providing the media with a conducive environment to operate.
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Everyday the news is about gender based violence, rape, and early marriage. But nothing like why these days rape cases are on constant rise. Women check your children dressing before they leave your homes. Your children leave your homes almost naked and you don’t care, you say it’s modern style of dressing. Girls of today their dressing has contributed alot to rape cases. Even at home mother’s must advise their daughters what to dress before they appear before their father. It’s a great shame to the nation the way rape cases and incest rise. But we must check both sides… Read more »
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