After our seminar discussions on the influence of the media in Tanzania in connection with activism and finding one’s voice, both Robyn and I became interested in researching about other ways the media has been utilized to support different causes. While on the Community Media for Development (CMFD) Website, we began to read about their radio program Crossroads and it’s multi-faceted approach to educating women and Africans in general about women’s rights and the AU Protocol.
Simiyu Barasa and Loraine Anyango’s Crossroads is a successful merging of education with creativity. CMFD partnered with FEMNET (African Women’s Development and Communication Network) and FAHAMU (Networks for Social Justice) to create a program that would educate women about the African Union Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. This protocol, which as of 2008, had been signed by 23 countries in Africa, explains women’s rights and their implications in a detailed and organized structure. Unfortunately, this document was only known by those in government, in NGO’s, or in positions of power. The majority of the women that it truly affects were unaware that it existed and had no idea what it meant for their lives. Crossroads does its part to encourage women to explore this document and work with their communities to make changes that support women and women’s rights. Crossroads is one of the three projects working towards the same goals. A Current Affairs Radio Programme, which targets those in power, focuses on the Protocol is a more direct manner. Children’s cartoons are also being made which help to inspire the youth and teach young girls about their rights early on.
Crossroads is exciting to listen to with its dramatic and passion-filled script, yet it carries great purpose. The show was launched in the fall of 2008, and now is heard in four different languages: English, Swahili, French and Portuguese. The show is broadcast throughout the Eastern coast of Africa and is able to target small communities as well as larger cities due to the prevalence of radio broadcasting. Over the six, 20-minute episodes, different storylines play out which focus on various problems within society. The six points from the AU Protocol that are targeted directly are: Women’s rights to peace, freedom from violence, marriage and divorce, political participation, education, and reproductive and sexual health. These different points are carried out through the story’s central characters’ struggles.
Within Crossroads, Mama Bahati is the mother of a missing, widowed girl named Raha, who she is desperate to find. She is also abused and bossed around by her own alcoholic and demeaning husband, Baba Bahati. In her search to find her daughter, Mama Bahati drinks a potion from the intelligent brewer Mama Sweety and faints. When she awakes, she finds herself in the body of the corrupt police chief, Inspector Tumbo. Through this switch, Mama Bahati is able to see the corruption and bribing first hand, along with the oppression of women in the police field when she meets Deputy Sifa. She also learns that Inspector Tumbo has gotten Tausi, Mama Sweety’s niece, pregnant and is now forcing her to have an unsafe, back-alley abortion. Inspector Tumbo, in Mama Bahati’s body, is subjected to all of the abuses that she endures daily. He is made fun of in the market when he is unable to set up and run his stand correctly, he is beaten at night by Baba Bahati’s, and is even raped by him when Baba Bahati comes home drunk with no intention of listening to his protests. This swap of bodies gives the characters and the audience insight into what it is like to see from someone else’s perspective. Crossroads, in its presentation, encourages outside dialogue surrounding these issues. Each radio station that chooses to broadcast Crossroads, also receives a package with information on how to conduct conversations, workshops and activities that relate to these issues. As a program, it is meant to wholly inspire, educate and push for change in the future.
How can we use the media as a tool for education, political agency and community empowerment?
The Crossroads radio drama is so empowering because of its social and political messages on women’s rights. Specifically, the radio program brings education and awareness to the African Union Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. The AU Protocol addresses the reality of many women’s situations around the world. The AU Protocol addresses the rights of refugee women, promotes sexual and reproductive education, and outlines what constitutes physical and sexual abuse. This document is very important in showing the needs of women in African communities. The AU Protocol also demands affirmative action, equal wages and respect for jobs.
In taking on women’s issues and showing the social and political realities and repercussions, the radio program has become a tool for education, political agency and community empowerment. The first episode that was described above sheds light on many of the articles in the AU Protocol including Article 12: Right to Education and Training and Article 8: Access to Justice and Equal Protection before the Law. In the first episode, the new police detective is a woman who is discriminated against because of her sex. She does not have the respect or the permission from the Police Chief to do her job. Also in the first episode, the case of Mama Bahati’s missing daughter is not seen as important enough to pursue by the Police Chief because of his corrupt nature.
The AU Protocol has been ratified in 23 countries, but this number oddly enough does not include Kenya, the site of Crossroads’ original production. This drama engages the listener, causing them to become truly invested in the characters’ struggles. Hopefully the spread of this program across Africa will allow more women to learn about their rights and how the AU Protocol can affect their lives. Furthermore, with its growing popularity and ability to raise awareness, there is hope that Crossroads will be able to hold governments and communities accountable to women and their rights.
Posted By: Robyn Gibson and Megan Frame
Bibliography
Live Radio Recordings
Crossroads Radio Drama Recordings – Community Media for Development Website (CMFD) – http://www.cmfd.org/library.html
Crossroads’ Two Partners:
- Fahamu: Networks for Social Justice Website – http://www.fahamu.org/advocacy/
- The African Women’s Development and Communication Network Website (FEMNET) – http://www.femnet.or.ke/default.asp
Protocol Documents:
- “The African Union Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa” – Community Media for Development Website (CMFD) – http://www.cmfd.org/cmfdprojects/protocolinfo.html
- “Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa” – Adopted by the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union – Maputo, 11 July 2003 – http://www.achpr.org/english/women/protocolwomen.pdf
