Funding Local Media, Strengthening Human Rights

In this article, Manisha Aryal, Director of Internews Global Human Rights Programme, argues the following four points about the value of media:

1. Media promotes access to information.
2. Media shapes perceptions, creates space for dialogue.
3. Local media has the potential to empower women.
4. Local media is a trusted and valuable lifeline of information, and can be used as a tool or a weapon.

As context, Aryal describes the experience of meeting with leaders from North Waziristan to discuss their request for radio communication to help women - who cannot leave home due to tribal custom - learn about health and hygiene issues in the language they understand. "The dialogue that followed allowed me a rare glimpse into a society where tradition restricts women’s movement and tribal codes enforce women’s silence and invisibility. Is it a wonder then that in war-torn communities and in conflict zones, civil society organizations find it a challenging task to get even the most basic services to those who need them most: women and children."

The following, organised by each of the four points above, supports the value of media:

• Media promotes access to information.   "....The right to access information is not only a right in itself, but is essential for exercising other rights. Local media, in the language the community understands, is an essential tool for pursuing a human rights agenda."
• Media shapes perceptions, creates space for dialogue. "Media, by itself, may not be able to change deeply entrenched community norms. However, print features, radio programs, television documentaries, mobile media products and online media outputs (i.e. blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc.) can provoke and sustain dialogues that lead to positive change. Media can influence and challenge what people consider normal and acceptable. Accurate, well-informed and insightful stories can inspire community members to make changes in their lives, and motivate policy makers to consider public reaction while forming public policy and laws. Media also gives audiences the facts and an understanding of context to help them make informed decisions, understand policies and initiatives and interact effectively with the institutions and systems that shape their realities, their lives and their times."
• Local media has the potential to empower women.  "Media has the power to determine how society views women and the multiple roles they play in their communities. Local radio, in particular, can be used to engage, convince and inspire communities to seek justice, respect and equality. Combining radio with mobile phones, for example, creates the ability to engage in two-way communication, allowing radio to 'be/carry/give voice'. From including women journalists in training, to developing more stories about women and girls, expanding the media landscape for women helps build and mainstream a human rights framework for women."
• Local media is a trusted and valuable lifeline of information, and can be used as a tool or a weapon.  The author describes the use of radio in 2008 and 2009 to spread the word to listeners of one individual, Fazlullah, opposed to elections and education for girls, among other things. "Fazlullah, and others like him, prey on rumors, feed misinformation and thrive in information 'black holes.' While FM Fazlullah is no longer on the air, radio in Pakistan continues to be the dominant medium to reach women, many of whom are illiterate. Indeed, in border regions and in rural Pakistan - like many areas struck by political and natural disasters - local radio is still the only source of reliable information for internally displaced people."

In addition, local radio can contextualise "human rights"." "During our discussion with the Waziri leaders, no one used words typically associated with 'human rights, women’s empowerment, gender equality, social justice' etc. - to describe our mutual agenda. Yet for the 90 minutes that we sat around the table sipping Kawah (green tea) and listening to each other, we found common priorities, and agreement that radio can get information and news about health, sanitation, and education to their women - meeting critical information needs of their community members, but also starting to address two of the important challenges listed in the Millennium Development Goal."

For more information, contact:

Manisha Aryal
Internews Global Human Rights Program
manisha@internews.org