Supinya Klangnarong: Amplifying Silenced Voices

by Anna M. Dinglasan

In April 7, 2010, amidst escalating anti-government protests in Thailand, Prime Minister Ahbisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and other neighbouring areas resulting in the censoring of media in terms of content and the imposition of heavier restrictions in terms of media operations. Since then, more than forty-seven community radio stations were shut down, and forty nine persons in relation to the operation of these stations were arrested without warrants.¹ The state of emergency also resulted in the blocking of at least thirty six websites the same month it was declared. Figures rose to about 612 blocked websites ninety days after.²

Isis International spoke with Supinya Klangnarong of the Campaign for Popular Media Reform and the Thai Netizen Network in Thailand to talk about the situation in Thailand more than six months after the state of emergency was declared.

Isis International: Please describe the context in Thailand right now -- how are different forms of media, for example, the radio and internet are being censored.

Supinya Klangnarong (SK): In Thailand, the internet is now being used widely. Thailand has a population of 66 million and about 25percent use the internet, that's around 20 million people, mostly middle class and educated people.According to a survey, most users go on the internet to seek information they used to get from mainstream media like newspapers and television. Now, majority of the internet users use it to keep updated in news and current affairs.

Since the political crises, after the military coup in 2006, even more people use the internet to seek information and express their ideas. Yet as people have begun to exercise their freedom of expression in relation to the serious or controversial political issues, the government has also started to dramatically censor websites. In fact most of the dissidents websites in Thailand have been blocked. Before the crisis, blocked websites were mostly related to pornography but the problem is that there is no criteria as towhat they mean by pornographic websites. And now, they have become stricter so that political websites that are related to controversial issues,especially those related to the monarchy or royal family have also been blocked.

In addition, a number of internet dissidents or users who log on to the internet to say something controversial have also been detained or arrested.They may be convicted through the Computer Crime Act which not only looks at users as perpetrators but also Internet Service Providers (ISPs), webmasters or the owner of websites if they are found guilty of publishing any information that is against national security and public order.

The problem with Thailand and with this law is that we don’t really know the criteria or qualifications — what does national security mean? What does public order mean? Normally it is generalised or politicised, especially during the crisis and it is even worse now that the government has declared a state of emergency on April 7 of 2010 because of the demonstrations.The state of emergency is still being implemented in Bangkok now and its allowed the government to block any website without accountability.

Computer Crime Act
Computer Crime Act: Took effect on August 2007. The ComputerCrime Act is Thailand’s first serious attempt at dealing with crimesin cyberspace. The goal of the act is to plug the loopholes in existinglaws in order to empower law-enforcement agencies to more effectively deal with crimes committed via the computer or Internet. Such crimes include hacking, unlawfully accessing computers ornetwork resources, and the unauthorised interception of emails ordata transmission with the aim to commit theft or do harm to others. Without this law, law-enforcement officials would be unable to applythe Criminal Code and criminal procedures in order to go after cyber-criminals.

Editorial: New law takes aim at cyber-criminals

The Computer Crime Act will finally enable authorities to protect“netizens” and enhance e-commerce.

Earlier, according to the Computer Crime Act, when the government wants to block a website, they have to get a court order. But since we are in a state of emergency, they don’t have to do so. The government can now block any website immediately. Up until now it is still a big issue, a lot of political websites are being blocked and a number of internet users are being arrested.

Isis: You said that initially, the censoring of the website had a lot to do with pornographic materials and later on, particularly during the crises, it has become more political in nature. How does this duality – the cultural or political censoring of the internet affect women in Thailand? For example, greater restriction on the internet in terms of pornography would be advantageous to women and has probably helped alleviate cybercrimes. Yet there is a lack of criteria when censoring such websites. So what have been the particular effect on women?

SK: Women have been targeted by the authorities.A number of internet users are women because it has allowed them to openly participate in politics because in the communities and other contexts women are reluctant to talk about or express their concern over political issues. So in this sense,the internet has encouraged women to speak up and be heard. For instance, you can say that the number of Thai women using social media like Facebook and Twitter is increasing. Almost 70%of women are using the internet, especially the social media. Through the internet, specifically through social media, Thai women are better able to express their political point of view. In essence,the internet has allowed and encouraged women to participate in politics and express themselves more freely than ever before in other platforms.

If you follow some of the women in their Facebook wall, especially during the political crises, you will observe that before they never say anything or never talk about politics but now they engage and talk about it more. Of course some of them may be too liberal, aggressive, some of them may be too conservative, others moderate,it doesn’t matter. Somehow the internet hascreated a space for them to talk about politics.But this happened only during the politicalturmoil – they have used the internet a lot forinformation, to chat with their friends aboutwhat’s been happening, even to sign petitionsnot matter which side they are on. Social mediahas allowed women in Thailand to express theirconcern and ideas in politics,especially during the turmoil.

Isis: In a huge way, the internet has allowed women to participate more in politics especially to express their own concerns and opinions.

SK: The internet has allowed women to be themselves and to express themselves more. It may allow women to become more open than they were through interpersonal communications. It has allowed them to express their inner feelings in every matter. On the other hand, there maybe negative effects too. Many young females do not know how to handle the situation when they open themselves too much and receive negative criticism or feedback form Thai society which is still quite conservative. There are different levels or degrees of how the internet has allowed women to be more open. And this can be applied to political situations as well.

Isis: While the internet has allowed women to bemore open and expressive, the same openness has also resulted in criticism from Thai society just because these are not acceptable in Thai culture.What does this imply for Thai women?

SK: I think it is quite a contradiction. For example, when you are talking about sexuality. Thai people do not talk about sexuality openly but in reality you will see sex workers everywhere even if it is illegal. Thailand is considered one of the biggest sexual industry destinations in the world. People come here because of the sex industry or sex workers but Thai people or media never talk about it openly. Even in schools where young people are not encouraged to talk about sex and contraceptives because these are controversial issues.

This is why the internet has become a new platform for young people to seek information on things that they want to know more abou t– sex, sexuality, contraceptives. Many young women can't talk to their parents so they search in Google – how they can find out whether they are pregnant or not, where to find contraceptives, or if they have sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Some of the websites that are being blocked now are about the morning after pill. It is illegal and young women buy it online. Thailand has a high rate of unwanted and teenage pregnancies and this is because young people don’t know how to protect themselves. There is a high rate of illegal abortion too. The internet allows them to get the information they need but we know this is not enough. It should be supported by other means of education – in the school and also openness in the family.

What I’m trying to say is that internet is not enough. The culture in Thailand needs tobe changed and should be able to accommodate changes outside of our country.

Isis: How has civil society responded to this kind of censorship?

SK: People are becoming more disturbed by the increasing degree of censorship. We are quite an open society but people will draw the lines when national security or public order becomes at risk. We are under a Constitutional Monarchy our King has been revered and respected by the people so even if the government does not censor a particular website that speaks negatively about the King, the people will still react. Thai society is under deep paralysis and conflict.

So when the internet has become a platform where people can talk about sensitive issues, and when government doesn’t try to block the websites, some of the people who are not happy with this pressure the government and even encourage them to use legal action, especially when it comes to sensitive issues pertaining to the royal family. According to the lese-majeste law⁴,Thai and foreign people who violate its provisions could be sentenced up to 15 - 20 years. If you look at the freedom of expression perspective, this kind of action violates it completely. It is really a contradiction within Thai society. I think we have to discuss this more seriously – how far should the government censor and how much could we tolerate? Those related laws and regulations on expression need to be reviewed too since many acts have been misused. However, there is a limitation – this issue can't be discussed openly and it is difficult to defend freedom of expression because it is perceived to be against some public sentiment, against the views of some people who believe that internet should be controlled by government, not only for political issues but also for social issues too.

Since young people are addicted to internet and new media, the older people have become upset saying that the internet has been exploiting their kids. So that is why they tend to agree with the government when they start to control or highly regulate the internet. That is why our group should be concerned and that is why we are working with different groups as well because not all people think that internet is an opportunity, they see it more of a threat. So it is important to know how to balance the Thai society.

Isis: Are there particular programmes or projects that have aim towards trying to create this balance? What are you engaged in?

SK: We had a dialogue with our prime minister last year who agreed that there was a need to create a balance between cyber liberty and internet liberty. We wanted to engage with government and policy makers because this is an issue related to the law and one that needs legal actions. At that time, we had a good talk with the PM and he said there really is a need to balance internet liberty and national security. However the government also is going through a political turmoil and the government had to take sides rather than uphold internet liberty. Then we eventually lost contact since there are many cases of internet users and webmasters being arrested continuously. We observed that the situation was beyond the negotiation but I am still optimistic that the government will change the way it has dealt with the issue. The government, because of the political situation has controlled the internet and new media such as satellite TV and community radio as they are seen as threats to political stability. Opposition groups have used these forms of media quite effectively and efficiently and government has responded by using authoritarian or special control over them.

But after the crisis, we have been talking about reconciliation. The government too has begun the Thailand Reform and Reconciliation Campaign⁵ because they realised that the way that they controlled the media was not helpful.

For now, we have been keeping distance from the government but while we do that, we are engaged in education campaigns, public forums and such to raise concern about the issue with the public and to get attention of the media. We are also looking forward to the coming election. We are hopeful that it will be a time that Thai people can take advantage of.

We are also taking time to resume debate on the issue of liberty, as the country becomes more stabilised. It's not easy to talk about liberty because people talk and say if there's too much liberty in this country what will happen to us? That's the reason why we have this kind of disaster. So what we are doing now is the education campaigns to inform others and engage other sectors to participate and to elicit their concern about this issue.

Isis: How has this particular issue affected women?

SK: The turmoil really affected women because during this time a lot of people died – form the police, the military, the other groups, many of them were men. The problem is that the women who are wives of the victims suffer greatly. The women are carrying a lot burdens. Political conflict in Thailand has penetrated deeply in every home and women bare much of the responsibility. There was a case that one woman from a rural area who is married to a red shirt but her son is a member of the military. The father participated in the protests and was injured – not by the his son but by the military and of course this has implications on their relationship and how each of them would relate to their own group and the mother/wife has to deal with this too.

The whole conflict is between elite groups but has resulted in a battle where poor people are fighting poor people. Most of the victims are poor people from the countryside who love Mr. Thaksin and they joined the Red Shirts because they believe that Thaksin, the Red Shirts and Democracy will help them rise from poverty. That's why they are not happy with this government. The male children from poor families can't go to universities so they join the military. Women—the mothers and the wives have to take responsibility, they take care of the family and the kids. So this is a double burden—she wants to participate in politics on the one hand but on the other hand, she has responsibilities for the family too. And it becomes heavier if someone in the family gets injured or dies – especially the husband or son.

Isis: Given that context, are there a lot of participation from women in terms of the action you are doing?

SK: Yes but I must admit that there is not a big group that is involved in the issue of cyber liberty. And in our group, even if there is more men than women, we still have many active members who are women and who participate. In our group though, it is mostly comprised of people from the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector which we know is still male dominated. But even if this is the case, men and women within the network, I can say, are quite equal and respect each other. Some of the men who are very interested in the issue have been very open-minded and have liberal thoughts about gender issues. Some of the males activists, who believe in internet freedom tend to believe in other freedoms and liberties and respect other issues. So you can see mutual respect especially in terms of gender.

In general, the movement is still very small and there are very few organisations working on this issue. In other countries, there are a lot of organisations and individuals working on the issue of internet liberty. But in Thailand, there are still very few and I really don’t know why. This may be related to how many people believe in internet freedom but if it involves specific issues like the monarchy it becomes very difficult.

People think that Thailand has much freedom already, and that this is just one issue, so why does it matter? Some people argue that...we are quite open and can talk openly about anything. The only issue we can’t talk about openly is the monarchy. Thai people love their King and so we should limit ourselves, that's one of the reasons why there isn’t a lot of groups talking about internet freedom. Also there is still an ambiguity in terms of what we can discuss or not so most people practice self-censorship. There is a lot of philosophical and theoretical debate around this but at the same time we also want to develop the legal standard especially in human rights protection. What we do is to raise concern and talk to government and get everyone involved, especially women. We are also interested in the gender perspective in internet use.

Isis: What kind of education campaigns do you do?

SK: We are concerned about two aspects – one is on access. We hope we can also do work on internet literacy. Only 25% of the people of Thailand has internet access and this is mostly concentrated in the urban areas. I am working with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in order to liberalise mobile communications. And working towards 3G technology and work towards this has been very slow because the government does not want to invest in internet infrastructure. But we work towards a policy that would give people access to internet by women in the rural areas.

Isis: You mentioned that people from the rural areas do not have access to the internet, they also use community radio. Have community radio stations or programmes been able to increase women's participation in politics as well, the way the internet has for many urban women?

SK: Yes, community radio provided opportunity for women to participate in politics especially these days that Thailand has gone through the period of political crisis. Thai citizens are more politically motivated and women have been more engaged on social and cultural issues. However, in general, men still occupy most of the leadership and high level positions in community radio such as producers, announcers and management positions. Also community radio is voluntary therefore most women can’t participate because they are pre-occupied with housework and care-giving.

Isis: Community radios have also been censored by the government. How has this affected the women?

SK: Yes, most of community radio affiliated with the opposition or those represented by dissidents voices have been censored and shut down by the government under the state of emergency law.This censoring has prevented the airing and spread of opposition point of views. I feel that this has affected women too, and has pushed them to be more passionate and involved in politics. Yet while this is happening, community radio has also been a space where hate speech and violence are cultivated – a very critical issue to reflect on as people’s political engagement increases through the use of media.

Isis: Given the political and cultural context in Thailand right now, what do you think would the future of community and independent media would be? Do you foresee a rise or a decline in the creation and use of such media? Why/ why not?

SK: There is a critical need for independent and impartial media in Thailand especially during this time when the country is highly polarised and divided, as well as in a critical transition, a situation which, while brought about by the political crises, also highly influenced by partisan media. Community radio stations are considered a media that serves local taste and affairs. However, there needs to be fair and proper regulatory policies in place, including a code of conduct that is agreed upon by all stakeholders. It is also important to develop gender fair capacity building within the community and to ensure the participation of women so as to provide them with more opportunities to engage in community radio. I think this is necessary if community and independent media is to foster a healthy and democratic society.

Anna M. Dinglasan is currently the Coordinator of Isis’ Community and Independent Media Programme. On her free time, she likes to pretend that she’s a domestic diva.

Sources:
1 From “Thailand: Where Thinking Differently is a Crime,” a report of community radio intervention during political conflict situation prepared by the Campaign for Media Reform (CPMR) in August 2010.
2 “Silenced Smiles: Freedom of Expression in Thailand,” East Asia Forum.
3 Supinya Klangnarong is a Thai media rights advocate and current vice-chair of the Campaign for Popular Media Reform (CPMR). A graduate from Chulalongkorn University she holds a BA from the Faculty of Communication Arts, a MA from the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication at Thammasat University and a MA in Communication Policy and Regulations from the University of Westminster. She previously served as secretary general of the CPMR from 2003-2008. (http;//www.wikipedia.org)
4 Is a crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state (Wikipedia.org). In Thailand, this is enshrined in Section 8 of its constitution.
5 Launched on 10 June 2010 by Prime Minister Abhisit who called on all Thais to participate in reforming the country. The campaign was launched under the premise that government alone could not pull Thailand out of the political crisis it is in and that it needs the help of its people in order to build a better future for the country. The campaign resulted in a five-point national reconciliation plan that discusses various issues such as respect for the monarchy, socio-economic reform, political reform, media reform, and constitutional amendment. The reconciliation plan also includes the conduct of a fact finding mission on the incidents that transpired from the protests in April and May.

Women Rising the Quest for Space in Community Radio

by Noor Chasanah

The involvement and participation of women in the community radio station Suara Warga in Jombang was very minimal at first due to the reality that the domestic activities of many women take up most of their time, leaving them with little opportunity to take an active part in community media. Similarly, women broadcasters encounter several problems in their practice, such as constraints of broadcast time, the lack of self-confidence to broadcast, and the tendency to be regarded as inferior to men in the public domain. In response to these issues, the radio managers of Suara Warga sought to develop programs aimed at increasing the access and participation of women in radio. As a first step, Suara Warga conducted a gender audit and implemented affirmative action so that women and men have equal access and representation on the radio.

Developments surrounding women’s increased participation in Suara Warga are evident in the internal workings of the station. Women staff members are prioritised when conducting training or focus group discussions (FGD) with radio stakeholders — people from the government, NGOs, media networks, and community organisations who invite our station to discuss these issues with them. A gender policy in Suara Warga was implemented through the enforcement of an organisational structure designed to ensure gender balance within in the station. As such, policies that support women’s involvement in radio, including one that requires every woman staff member to know how to operate the broadcasting and production equipment such as mixers, computers, microphones and receivers so they will not depend on male staff members were implemented. The station also manages a radio program that provides a space to discuss a variety of gender issues in relation to social, economic, political, cultural contexts at the local, regional and international levels.

Demonstration of Rima (woman reporter of Community
Radio Suara Warga).

Photo courtesy of Noor Chasanah

Female broadcasters now actively and equally communicate with male broadcasters, especially in terms of management, decision making and radio production. There are also more women broadcasters in the station’s management and executive positions for radio programmes. Also, almost all women broadcasters in the station are capable of working at all levels and positions — as announcers, reporters, treasurers, program manager. Women are also encouraged to take positions in human resources and staff development, marketing and network development.

From the perspective of outsiders, women broadcasters have also shown a lot of progress. The experience of Eka Rimawati, a female reporter, highlights this. Initially, when she needed to look for news stories and interview a speaker from the government office, she did not believe in her abilities as a reporter because she was a woman. She felt that she always had to prove to all her interviewees that she was just as talented and professional as any of the male reporters. This changed after attending a training where she gained valuable experience in journalism- which she shared with other women journalists. Because of the positive results brought about by her participation in the workshop, Eka is now trusted when conducting interviews and news coverage by a variety of sources.

A gender policy in Suara Warga community radio was implemented through the enforcement of an organisational structure designed to ensure gender balance within in the station.

The impact of the implementation of the gender equity policy is much felt by women broadcasters at Suara Warga. For example, women get balanced positions and opportunities in radio management. Every announcer, regardless of their gender, has an equal right to give their opinions and ideas in all decision making processes. Women broadcasters are also able to participate in all managerial activities of the community radio station. Moreover, communication among the crew has become more open with everyone being free to express themselves without causing any insults.

The implementation of a gender policy has further strengthened the motivation and ability of the women’s movement to voice their aspirations through the community radio. It has also helped strengthen the commitment of the crew of Suara Warga in developing radio programs discussing women’s issues such as violence against women, sexual harassment, trafficking, and reproductive health-to name but a few. Suara Warga hopes that the continued implementation of the gender policy guidelines will be able to encourage more women not only from the local communities, but the whole of Indonesia to challenge patriarchal institutions in this country.

Talk show about women issues in community radio Suara Warga.

Photo courtesy of Noor Chasanah

Currently, Suara Warga has a special programme on women called “Women Voices.” Through the programme we invite women leaders or activists from both the domestic and public domains to be resource persons in the program sharing their perspectives and stories. Many of the women who are invited to the show are empowered and successful women who participate in critical dialogue about women’s issues. The program was created specifically to address women’s issues such as domestic violence, gender equality, reproductive health, trafficking and HIV/AIDS. The listeners of “Women Voices” welcome the special programme and actively participate via phone or text messages. “Women Voices” also has many male listeners who openly give their opinions about the issues being discussed in the programme. Such programmes have been both enriching and encouraging to the general public as it has been able to increase women’s participation in media as well as foster a better understanding of gender equality and justice in all aspects of life (social, economic, political and cultural).

The programme has been well received by the public. For example, when ”Women Voices” invited Afif Fatinnur, a community organiser, to share her experiences in assisting pedicab drivers and garbage collectors (many of who were mostly men) the show got a lot of positive feedback from its listeners. Some listeners gave comments about the important role of women in community organising, while others expressed their admiration for what Afif has done for her community. There was also a listener from an organisation working with the disabled who expressed hope that Afif and her organisation would assist them in making their issues more visible to encourage government responses. The listeners implicitly acknowledged that women also have the capacity to provide assistance in the community. This counters the dominant public opinion that only men are able to perform these roles.

Along with the development of new ICT, women broadcasters at Suara Warga have also actively participated in expanding their network by sharing information through Facebook, Twitter, mailing lists and other social networking tools. These tools help women broadcasters share and get vital information more efficiently.

Women broadcasters at Suara Warga also use new ICTs to develop women’s networks at the local level (for example, Women’s Crisis Center, the rural women's organisation), at the national level (such as National Commission for Women, Women’s Solidarity). Additionally, we also work with other networks and women’s organisations at the international level (AMARC WIN, Isis International). Development of these networks further strengthens the voice of women’s issues and enhances mutual support among women’s organisations and networks in campaigning for women’s rights and ending violence against women.

Noor Chasanah is a Broadcaster in Community Radio Suara Warga, Jombang, in East Java, Indonesia

Levelling the Playing Field

by Sonia Randhawa

Community radio¹ can have the potential to empower disenfranchised communities. Yet like other communication tools, community radio may also further disenfranchise the most marginalised within communities. For example, it’s been hard to find female participants for trainings that I’ve conducted with indigenous communities in Malaysia. This is not surprising considering the multiple roles women play in their daily lives. They can’t easily travel to a central location for these trainings as they would need to organise child-care, find someone to cook for the family, and sometimes, even seek permission from their husbands or fathers. In this context, it’s so much easier to just work with men – perpetuating and strengthening imbalances of power within the communities.

This problem was brought to the attention of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) Asia-Pacific by women from Lao PDR. Their government wanted to work with people from one of the poorest of the country to set up a community radio station.² One of the principles behind the creation of Khoun Radio is a commitment to gender equality, but the women were finding it hard to see this commitment put into practice. As such, they had asked for some guidelines they could refer to. They approached Bianca Miglioretto, Women’s International Network (WIN) representative of AMARC Asia-Pacific, and community radio officer at Isis International and thus began a consultative process on the formulation of concrete gender policy guidelines for community radio. The consultation process lasted for a year and involved people from three continents.

However, it wasn’t just the approach from Lao’s Khoun radio that drove the formulation of a gender policy for community radio. First, the media has obligations under international conventions to portray women in their diversity. One of the key documents is the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) the outcome document of the United Nations 4th World Conference on Women held in Beijing 1995. Section J of the BPFA consists of two parts – increasing the participation of women in media and promoting a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in the media. To achieve this goal, the women’s movements must work in close partnership with the media. However, fifteen years after Beijing, most of the world’s media have been slow in taking up the challenge. On the other hand, community media should be at the forefront of promoting these goals, given the movement’s commitment to participatory and empowering forms of communication. The natural synergy between the goals of the women’s movement and those of community media gives ground to the necessity of ensuring that women have voice, and that there is equal participation between women and men in community radio. This in turn may serve as a stepping stone towards transforming the way other forms of communication treat women and gender issues.

The natural synergy between the goals of the women’s movement and those of community media gives ground to the necessity of ensuring that women have voice, and that there is equal participation between women and men in community radio.

Another reason that the AMARC Asia-Pacific WIN committed itself to taking the lead on the gender policy was a research conducted on women in community radio stations in the region. It found an absence of women in decision-making in community radio even when women are far better represented in community radio than in other forms of media. Women occupied just over a quarter of leadership positions, despite being 45% of staff and volunteers. Just under a third of technical staff were women – a much higher percentage than we’d have anticipated but still far from parity. These figures also hide that some stations (designated as “women’s stations”) employed only women, which skewed the statistics towards higher representation of women. Interestingly, although some stations that responded to the questionnaire had no female staff or volunteers, they did not consider themselves “men’s” stations. But the biggest driver towards formulating a gender policy was that a majority of respondents wanted change, they wanted to improve access to the station – that this change was not materialising indicated that they perhaps needed help and guidelines on what needed to be done.

In December 2007, AMARC WIN Asia-Pacific met as a response to the pressing need for a gender policy in community radio. The meeting centered around discussion on what the gender policy was for and how it would work in practice. Given the diversity of experiences across the region, it was decided that instead of a strict set of rules that needed implementation, there is a need for a general set of principles and ideas that could be modified and adapted by stations to suit their needs and the concerns of women in their communities.

The result of the meeting was the creation of six key areas where policy was needed. First, there needs to be equal access to the airwaves. The overall aim here is to create an affirmative environment for women’s equal participation. And key to that is training – women must have equal opportunity to access training. This does not mean that places are reserved for women in each and every training (though it might initially mean that a system such as establishing quotas to encourage their participation must be put in place). But because of the barriers women face, equal place doesn’t necessarily mean equal opportunity. Women also need to have the space to produce programs – and not just women’s programmes. Women should be an integral part of all production teams because women’s concerns are the community’s concerns.

Gender Policy for Community Radio in East Timor
by Cristina Ximenes
The Rakambia Radio manager Mr. Eurico Pereira emphasized that “gender policy for community radio is a valuable guideline and reference for community radio practitioners, especially in East Timor. It is an essential tool in ensuring the participation of all members of the community, especially women, on the airwaves. It has helped raise awareness and educate women and the community about the importance of including women's voices in broadcast media. It has also helped families to understand the necessity of allowing women to access and participate on the airwaves at any time of day.”

Rakambia Radio operates from the capital of Dili City and broadcasts nationally. It has a limited number of women in their staff, especially for programmes scheduled at night. This is because there is no available transportation at night to ensure women's safety and security.

In response, volunteer journalists, have mobilised on their own so that they can participate in the programmes scheduled at night, and use their own transportation. According to Mr. Pereira, they have four female volunteers in their staff who are involved in night programmes.

“The Gender Policy is positive for us to implement in our organisation, but we need time to adapt it slowly in the context of East Timor and our working conditions; disseminating information through our website and news broadcast.

This information is most important for community media and will support the radio management, as well as increase knowledge for all people” Mr. Eurico said.

Dulce da Costa Silva, a reporter from Boa-Ventura Community Radio Manufahi District said, “I think this gender policy is important to implement in the community media to change negative images of women in media, such as victims and sex objects in pornography. Those negative stereotypes have adverse effects for women, the community and young generations in the future. Community media should tackle these important issues, to care for our mothers, sisters and brothers should decrease for these attitudes that happen right now.”

The women who experienced sexual violence and abuse find that nobody helps them. And some time when they report to the police station it takes a long time and it is difficult to get help.

The community media should create a mechanism or should establish a women's association to pay attention to those issues.” Dulce said.

Mr.Pedro do Asuncao Goncalves, Coffee Radio Manager from Ermera District said, “I think the gender policy gives benefit to our community media especially women's participation in the community radio. This is an extremely positive step because community media does not only meet the problem or information that related with man only but a lot of information have relation with the women's lives. It is important to involve women themselves in the community media and become the leader liaison.”

Women’s access also means a safe, secure environment in which to produce programmes. An important part of this is an anti-sexual harassment policy that clearly states how complaints are handled and specifies the person responsible for handling these cases. It means zero tolerance for violence against women, not just in terms of what happens off-air but also in the programme content (including in the music!). This also means being aware of threats both inside and outside the station, as well as helping women negotiate these threats. For instance, in one station, this means that women are only allowed in the station until a certain time of night – while men have access to the station much later. This is far from ideal – a more creative solution might be to have people on duty to walk women home after a late shift, or working with other organisations to provide a mini-van on night service. In other stations, they encourage women to take part in self-defence classes to help them in case of an attack. What works in one station may be inappropriate elsewhere. The key is to discuss with both men and women what changes are needed, and have a women’s officer or a women’s desk to ensure that the changes are made.

The second key area aims to ensure the representation of women’s diversity on air. Women are not a single homogenous body. Some women are more likely than others to have access to the commercial or state airwaves, and it is important to ensure that those most likely to be marginalised are heard on community stations. One way of ensuring this is to make sure that nobody feels discriminated against by content on the station – regardless of class, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or whether a person is disabled. Neither men nor women should be constrained into particular roles: men can cook, women can chop wood. Stereotypes should not be reproduced in programming. While women should not be confined to special programming, there should be special programming reserved for women. However, this doesn’t address the sources that are used, for example, in making current affairs programmes. A women’s directory of experts can help to ensure that women’s voices are heard on air.

The third key area deals with the special needs of women. The aim of this is to address discrimination – to right the wrongs that currently exist in terms of women’s representation in the media and their access to the airwaves. To do this, women who are marginalised for reasons in apart from their gender (their sexuality, caste or race for example) should be given priority in community radio. Spaces, both physically and on-air, should be created for those who suffer from oppression, whether from the State or from others in the community. And to ensure that these needs are met, special training or other assistance may be required. An example is a station that is looking at having a programme run by short-statured people – which requires an audit of all equipment and facilities to ensure that they have the same infrastructure available to them as all other programmers.

It has been circulated to community radio stations and activists across the world. Though it has reached a wide audience, issues about its implementation still needs to be addressed.

Section four deals with women’s representation in management. After much discussion and consultation, the gender policy recommends quotas of at least 30% for women’s participation at all levels of station management. This has been the most controversial of the points within the policy, and it is important that it be read in conjunction with the points on training. If it is believed that there are “no capable women”, the reasons behind this need to be addressed through capacity-building and training. Other obstacles to women’s participation at the management level need to be addressed as well, whether this means child care or a child-friendly policy at the station.

Section five is on appropriate technology. It recognises that there is a digital divide, that not only runs along class and economic lines, but also along lines of gender. One response to this issue is by using free, open source software (FOSS). FOSS is more likely to be accessible to women, and community radio stations because it is free and its open source nature makes it easier to manipulate to make readily accessible to marginalised people in the community. It fits in with the ethos of community radio – community ownership, participation and empowerment. Moreover, appropriate technology also means technology that is being used appropriately. Some studios are set up in a manner that suits larger men, but which is both intimidating and too large for smaller-framed women. Lastly technology and trainings need to be in an appropriate language, whether this means translation into the local language or materials for people who are unable to read and write.

The final section is on the financial resources and capacity building to implement the gender policy in the respective community radio station. The implementation of a gender policy for community radio can not be realised unless there is funding available for it. This could mean that a percentage of the money raised through subscriptions is set aside to achieve the objectives set by the gender policy. It could also mean that special funding must be sought for women’s programming and implementation of gender policy. However, talking about capacity must move beyond talking about money. To achieve gender parity, both men and women in the station should benefit from gender training. More importantly, it should be recognised that though men may not have considered the problems or obstacles experienced by women, they must be treated as creative partners towards the implementation of gender policy. Lastly, capacity also means monitoring what is being done and whether initiatives are doing what they’re supposed to do.

The gender policy, with these six sections, has been translated into 18 different languages and approved by the General Assembly of AMARC Asia Pacific, AMARC-WIN, the board of AMARC Europe, the Community Radio Forum of South Africa. It has been circulated to community radio stations and activists across the world. Though it has reached a wide audience, issues about its implementation still needs to be addressed.

It is crucial to gain the support of the station and this could be done by initiating dialogues with those in positions of authority. It could likewise mean conducting gender sensitivity training for all staff and volunteers.

It is also important to have the policy adopted by the highest decision-making body in the station. The reason behind this is that the policy needs all the clout it can have. It should be treated as an authoritative document that is mandated by the entire station. The gender policy guideline can not be relegated to second priority and seen either as a “women’s thing” or merely something to be referred to once a year on March 8. Only when it gains the support of management and when it is prioritised will changes begin to happen.

It is also necessary to conduct a needs assessment which may yield startling results. For example, one station that boasts of high participation of women in their staff and managing committee found that women were badly under-represented on-air. Conducting a needs assessment allows stations to identify and respond to problems that are not obvious or visible.

Funding has always been crucial. For the gender policy to be fully implemented funds must be allocated for it. And then get the money to implement the changes needed to have more women involved in and contributing towards the station.

Community radio can be, and is, a great tool for the empowerment and development of marginalised sectors of society. But it plays this role best when it is critical and self-aware – the gender policy is a tool for helping community radio be the best radio it can be.

Sonia Randhawa was part of the AMARC Asia-Pacific drafting committee for the Gender Policy, and at the time was AMARC Asia-Pacific Deputy President. She produces a radio show, Accent of Women, a feminist programme broadcast across Australia, and available as a podcast at www.3cr.org.au.

Endnotes:
1 Much of this article was directed by a presentation by Bianca Miglioretto, though any mistakes or omissions are solely the responsibility of the author.
2 The station is community-operated, but not community-owned, and was initiated by the Government, so is, strictly speaking, not a community radio station, but the principles discussed here are still applicable!

Writing and Acting Our Own Stories for Change

by Du Fangqin; translated by Huang Yan

“A mother is the dearest of all in the world and a child in a mother's care is the most precious of all treasures ...”

This is the beginning of a popular song that has touched the hearts of millions of Chinese people. However, whether girls are as precious as boys is another story. Though Chinese laws strictly forbid sex testing and sex-selective abortions, women who have only given birth to girls face discrimination because traditional patriarchal ideas such as the importance of having sons to carry on the family name and care for their parents in their old-age are deeply rooted in the rural regions of the country.

The traditional preferences for a son has caused serious harm in women’s reproductive health in China and has led to the proliferation of female infanticide. Because of the pressure a woman has to face when giving birth to a female child, many women opt to terminate their pregnancy and in turn suffer adverse effects from unsafe abortion. Moreover, the preference for a son has also resulted in a serious imbalance in the sex ratio of newly born children in some regions. In recent years, government bodies such as the Population and Family Planning Committee have been working with NGOs to address these concerns by advocating gender equality through the forum of community theatre.

An example of this was a unique celebration on Mother’s Day, May 9, 2010, in Dengfeng City in Henan Province in central China. Twenty rural women from the villages of Zhoushan and Xiyao, who had written about their own experiences, debuted in an acting performance called “The Story of a Mother and Her Daughter.”

The play is a riveting enactment of the women’s shared experience of facing pressure and discrimination of giving birth to a girl child in these communities. From before birth, when a tender moment between a mother and her unborn child is disrupted by her family's demands for an abortion, to when the baby is born and mother and child become the subject of abuse and violence, it is a moving tale that poured forth from the pain and suffering that the women have endured.

“I have a daughter only and I’ll persuade my husband and his family to give up the idea of having another kid. We shall manage to bring up our daughter well so that she can have all her talents developed!”

The story likewise tells of how these experiences are replicated through generations but it ends in a hopeful tone. The play concludes with a scene where the unwanted daughter is taking care of her ailing mother in place of the favored son, who has abandoned her. At the end, the actors – the mothers and daughters – make an appeal to the audience to change their perspectives and abandon the old rules as they call out the following messages:

“I have a daughter only and I’ll persuade my husband and his family to give up the idea of having another kid. We shall manage to bring up our daughter well so that she can have all her talents developed!”

“I used to regard men as superior to women, and would not allow my daughter to go on studying in high school. I’ll change and make sure that she can enjoy her right to education!”

“I am going to change: I am a married woman living in my husband’s house. But I have on my shoulders the responsibility of supporting and caring my own parents. The homes of my parents-in-law and my own parents are both mine, and so are the dear ones from both families!”

“I am going to change: I am the Party Branch secretary at Xiyao Village. I’ll work with the villagers and have our old village rules revised. We shall train more women cadres and have women’s social position promoted!”

Their adamant claims were followed by loud applause from an audience of thousands of men and women – echoing their calls as they cheered, “We want change!”

Months after the performance, the women who acted in the play still feel exhilarated. One of them emphasised, “The play allowed me to vent my anger. I have suppressed these thoughts and emotions for decades. Now I have just poured them out by acting on the stage. It feels great!”

Women who were not part of the play but who saw it also felt a sense of relief after watching it. A woman from the audience shared, “I took my son to the performance. He was wondering why I cried while watching the play. I told him that it was a real story taking place in our family.” A male leader said, “The play is so touching that I burst into tears. It is Mother’s Day today, I’ll phone my mother and convey my regards to her.” Still others believed that the play had been effective in communicating an important message and it needs to be shared to an even wider audience “This drama should be recorded on DVD. It is so thought provoking. The old rules ought to be changed! ”

The sharing of women’s stories through theatre is a project initiated by Henan Community Center for Education and Research (HCCER), through the leadership of Ms Liang Jun, it’s founding director. The Center is a grassroots women’s NGO founded in Dengfeng City over a decade ago.

The mass drama activity started with selecting performers before the scenario writing. Twenty actresses were selected from a pool of volunteer women villagers.Their ages ranged from as young as 20 to over 50, and they were from Zhoushan and Xiyao Villages. These women were trained in storytelling and acting in preparation for the play by Lian Yihu, a drama artist from Hong Kong.

In this process the women are the performers and the playwrights, and their experiences are a rich source of materials. Moreover, the women emphasised that allowing the women to reflect on their experiences by asking them questions about them allow them the time and the space to let out suppressed feelings such as pain, anger and frustration.

Through the course of the training, Yihu asked them, “How did you feel when you were informed of being pregnant with a baby girl? “How did you take it when giving birth to a daughter?” or “Who take care of you when sick?” The emotional answers the women gave to these questions became the material for the play and their shared experiences fueled their performance.

“The entire family is looking forward to having a boy as a first born child. I had to get my baby girls aborted several times in order not to disappoint them. Finally, I became too weak to get off the operation table by myself...” “My mother-in-law and my husband were very disappointed seeing that I was to have a daughter. My mother-in-law hid the little girl away when I went to work in the fields. When I came back, it was her crying that helped me to find her. From then on, I dared not to leave the baby girl alone at home...” It was from the women’s tearful narration of their personal life stories that the final play gradually came into being. After three days of intensive rehearsal, the women succeeded in moving an audience of over a thousand to rethink about their values and to take action.

When the women returned to their villages in Xiyao, they restaged the play and performed it all over the village. The performances educated the other women and resulted in gradual changes in the discriminatory traditions and practices against women. For instance, previously a girl’s placenta could not be buried in the courtyard of the house which indicates a girl must move out her parents house after getting married. Now, this is no longer the practice in Xiyao.

Through this initiative, women are becoming the major driving force in reforming their villages. Presently, Dengfeng is advocating the revision of village rules in the entire city, adding aspects of gender equality into the rules. Community drama, one of the most effective tools of advocacy, is challenging old ideas and arousing people’s consciousness and enthusiasm to move towards gender equality.

Du Fangqin, Director and Professor at the Institute of Gender and Social Development Studies, Tianjin Normal University, China. She is also a Vice President and Board of Directors, Chinese Women’s Research Society (CWRS). She also sits in the Board of Directors of Asian Women’s Studies Magazine. She started her research in women’s / gender studies since 1985. Her Areas of research include Chinese ancient women’s/gender history, women’s development and empowerment, and women’s and gender studies curriculum building in higher educations.