CULTURE RELIGION AND GENDER - IPS

CULTURE, RELIGION AND GENDER

A TRAINING MANUAL FOR THE MEDIA

INTER PRESS SERVICE

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? Inter Press Service

First Published 2002 Published by Inter Press Service 127 Union Avenue, Harare Box 6050, Harare Email: mail@, romaser@ Website: Designed by Beryl Mutonono Printed in South Africa by DS Print Media The manual may not be reproduced without written permission from Inter Press Service.

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CULTURE, RELIGION AND GENDER

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Material in this training manual is largely based on information from the Impact of Religion on Womens Rights in Africa Workshop, held in Zimbabwe, 1 2 November 2000. The following people presented papers and participated in the discussion at the workshop:

Dr Farid Esack, SA Commission on Gender Equality; Dr Musa Dube-Shoman, University of Botswana Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki, FEMNET Victor Mugwagwa, Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association Dr Pat McFadden, SARIPS Laeticia Kaijage, Tanzanian Womens Media Association Mercy Odouye, IWRC Naira Khan, TARSC Mercy Wambui, ECA Pat Made, IPS Farai Samhungu, IPS Tafadzwa Mumba, IPS Colleen Lowe Morna, Gender Links Associates Zohra Khan, Gender Links Associates Colleen Lowe Morna, Chloe Hardy, Zohra Khan, Shireen Motara of Gender Links Associates and Patricia Made, Tafadzwa Mumba of Inter Press Service (IPS) contributed to the compiling of this manual. Special thanks go to Mufuliat Fijabi of Baobab, Nigeria, for her insights on women and Islam. The manual was tested at a workshop of African journalists convened by IPS in July 2001. Two more training programmes using the Manual one for Francophone journalists and the other for Anglophone journalists were conducted by IPS in 2002. The Ford Foundation funded the production of the manual, and the overall training programme and project that led to the production of this manual.

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .................................. 6

SECTION ONE

RELIGION, CULTURE AND THE GLOBAL CONTEXT ....... 9

SECTION TWO

RELIGION, CULTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS ....................... 13 RELIGION ......................... 15 CULTURE AND TRADITION ........................ 25 HUMAN RIGHTS ......................... 34

SECTION THREE

COVERING ISSUES RELATED TO GENDER, RELIGION AND CULTURE ................................................................... 42

SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS ..................... 44 CUSTOMARY LAW ........................ 72 HARMFUL CULTURAL PRACTICES ...................... 90 RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM ......................... 152

SECTION FOUR

GENERAL GUIDELINES AND IDEAS FOR COVERAGE ...... 157

APPENDICES ................ 161

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INTRODUCTION

As part of its commitment to strengthening the voices and perspectives of women in global media coverage, Inter Press Service (IPS) is developing a series of training tools for journalists, aimed at improving both the quantity and quality of coverage of gender issues. One of these tools, a training manual on covering issues of violence against women, is already in use around the world. IPS has subsequently identified the need for a second manual, to address culture, religion and gender issues.

The words sex and gender are sometimes used interchangeably, but in fact they have different meanings. Sex refers to a persons biological characteristics whether a person is male or female. Gender refers to the different roles that are assigned to males and females within society, and the socially constructed relationship between men and women. In terms of traditional gender roles, women are supposed to operate within the private, domestic sphere of the home and family, while men operate in the public world of politics and economics. Women are supposed to be nurturing, passive and subservient; men are expected to be aggressive, active and dominant. These gender roles result from societys interpretation of men and womens biological differences. These interpretations of the biological differences between men and women have become accepted as normal and natural. The problem is that these roles limit the human potential of both men and women, and create fundamental inequalities within society.

The media is a product of society and thus it reflects the values, ideas, attitudes, culture and practices of any given society. Simultaneously, it influences and shapes society.

- Thenjiwe Mtintso, speaking at the Southern Africa Gender in Media Workshop, 2001.

Gender inequality refers to an imbalance of power between men and women in society. This is reflected in the fact that women have less political power than men, less economic clout, they have less say within the community, and are subjected to gender-based violence both inside and outside the home. Around the world, women carry a double burden of paid labour and unpaid reproductive work in the home, and in almost ever y society, women are the poorest of the poor. Within religion and culture, this inequality is evident in the fact that men overwhelmingly dominate in the highest levels of the hierarchy in these sectors.

Religion and culture as powerful institutions within society play a major role in shaping gender roles and perpetuating gender inequality and are powerful institutions within society. Furthermore, gender relations within the religious and cultural communities are a reflection of gender relations within broader society. However, media practitioners often find it difficult to make the link between womens position in religion and culture, and womens position in society. For example, in religion as in the workplace or in politics, men dominate in decisionmaking positions and women are found in supportive and caring roles. While there are exceptions

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to this, the challenge to ensure gender equality in religion and culture remains a big one. In this regard, the media has a critical role to play in challenging inequality and highlighting areas of best practice. Religion has an extremely powerful influence over peoples lives. In particular, it impacts on gender relations and consequently on how women are treated in society and the home. Religion is often used to deny women their fundamental human rights. Some religions do not allow women to occupy decision-making positions, with the result that women are unable to participate in and influence civil and political life. These issues need to be factored into media coverage. The media is often guilty of ignoring these links in its coverage of religions.

THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA

The media is part of society, and like the rest of society, men have historically dominated it. While women have made significant inroads into the media in the past few decades, there are still very few women in decision-making positions. Women working in the media often encounter a difficult working environment, with a lack of childcare facilities, pay inequalities between men and women, and high levels of sexual harassment. Ultimately, these dynamics affect and impact on how the media interprets and reflects on issues of the broader society.

In terms of the inclusion of the voices and perspectives of women in all issues of media coverage, the picture is equally bleak. In 1995, an international survey showed that women formed only 17% of all news subjects. In 2000, the Global Media Monitoring Project repeated the study, and surveyed how often and in what way women are represented in the media. In the five years between the two studies, there had been a great deal of activity around gender issues in the media, including the adoption of the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, which commits governments to addressing issues of women in the media. Despite this, the Global Media Monitoring Project 2000 found that the coverage of women had risen just 18% - only a 1% improvement in five years!

The study also found that when women were represented, they were portrayed in a stereotypical manner. Women were shown in a limited number of roles: as victims of violence, as sex objects, or as dutiful mothers, wives and daughters, with no identity beyond their male relatives. Men, on the other hand, were shown in a wide variety of different roles, from powerful decisionmakers to the proverbial man on the street. However, men were very rarely shown as caregivers and nurturers. These stereotypes are drawn from the gender roles ascribed to men and women in society, but are reinforced by their constant use in the media.

The media, with its ability to reach into millions of homes, is a powerful force in shaping attitudes. It can either be used to maintain the inequalities in society, or be used to challenge them. Rather than being completely objective and impartial, the media is shaped by the society. Media practitioners come with their own set of beliefs and biases, which influence their views and reporting. But these views have a major influence on the public as they accept the world they see reflected in the media as reality. Media practitioners need to be aware of the power they wield in shaping public opinion, and take care that their own beliefs and opinions are not presented as the truth.

INTRODUCTION 7

Around the world, societies face the challenges of adapting to the harsh realities of the global economy. In many developing nations, people are seeking to establish their own identities and heal the damage to the social fabric inflicted by colonial regimes. This situation also provides the unique opportunity for people to create a society based on human rights and equality, which draws on the positive elements of tradition, and discards harmful and discriminatory practices. The media has a vital role to play in this process. This training manual is to assist the media in covering the often complex and sensitive debates around gender, culture and religion. The manual is divided into three sections:

Section One places the issues of gender, culture and religion within the current social, economic and political context. Section Two provides an introduction to covering issues of religion, culture and tradition, and their impact on womens ability to access their basic human rights. Section Three addresses some of the major issues around gender, culture and religion, and provides guidelines and suggestions for news coverage.

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