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By Fatmata Bundu
(Source- SALONE TIMES) – Women in the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL) on Friday 10th March 2023 held their Annual General Meeting at the Atlantic Hotel Beach Road Lumley with the theme Positioning Female Journalists to Promote Women in Politics.
The outgoing president of WIMSAL Femi Coker said her main aim was to help her female sisters in the media to be more powerful in society. She disclosed that during her tenure in office she was able to award scholarships to twelve members to enable them get college requirements. She expressed thanks and appreciation to both the members and executive WIMSAL for their support during her tenure. She noted that WIMSAL has done much in her life and hoped and prayed that the newly elected president will continue the good work she had done during her tenure
In his statement, the SLAJ President, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla said it was an honour to be the at the Women in the Media in Sierra Leone Annual General Meeting to promote female journalists.
He pointed out in Sierra Leone, women are underrepresented in both politics and the media. “According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, only 13.1% of seats in the Sierra Leonean parliament are held by women. This is despite the fact that women make up over 50% of the country’s population. Similarly, the Global Media Monitoring Project found that only 24% of news stories in Sierra Leone feature women as protagonists or experts,” the SLAJ President noted.
He went on to note that the various forms of violence not only harm individual journalists but also have a distressing effect on women’s participation in the media field. It’s difficult to feel motivated to speak up and share your opinions when you know you may face abuse or violence for doing so, he maintained. He revealed that training is provided for female journalist to help them build up their skills and become experts in terms of digital media, conflict reporting and to advance their careers to become good leaders in the field.
Dr. Sylvia Olayinka Blyden in her statement spoke about the importance of women in the field journalism noting that it is hard for women to become a journalist. She recalled that in November 2007 Women in the Media Sierra Leone was found WIMSAL in the wake of the 2007 elections and now the country is approaching the 2023 election WIMSAL is also having its elections. She congratulated for holding the AGM and wished them a peaceful deliberation.
At the end of the meeting, WINSAL delegates consented to entirely elect all national executive unopposed thus bringing an end to the tenure of their former national president Femi Coker.
