A/R: Journalists trained on gender-sensitive reporting ahead of district-level elections

A day workshop to build capacity for selected journalists in the Ashanti region on gender-sensitive reporting and women aspirants in the district-level elections has been held in Kumasi in the Ashanti region.

The workshop aimed at empowering journalists to enhance the inclusive participation of women in local governance by offering media spaces to women for their voices to be heard.

The training organized by the Alliance for Women in Media Africa (AWMA), was also to sharpen the communication skills of women contesting in the upcoming 2023 District Level Elections (DLE).

The program was supported by the Canada Fund for Local Initiative (CFLI) and was held on Thursday, November 23, 2023.

The Convener for the Alliance for Women in Media Africa, Shamima Muslim, charged the media to ensure fairness, balanced and accurate coverage of issues regarding women.

She stated that women should have equal media space opportunities to articulate their viability and visibility to boost their participation in the upcoming district-level elections on December 19, 2023.

“AWMA envisages significant contributions towards shaping a more inclusive local governance landscape in Ghana if the media professionals adhere to ethical and responsible media reportage to improve the visibility of female candidates,” Shamima said.

Head of Communication Studies at the University of Ghana (UG), Dr Abena Yeboah-Banin, in her presentation, asked the media to adopt narratives that empower women.

She also charged the media to extend invitations to women aspirants to engage their audiences to project their ideas.

“Explore alternative media engagement opportunities like the online, recordings if they (women) find it difficult coming to live programs,” Dr Yeboah-Bani appealed to media houses.