Abstract:
"The power of the media to make and unmake the image of women, to hasten or retard the progress of women in society, cannot be denied or underestimated" (Ogundipe-Leslie, nd:55). However, since the 1980's, when the roles of African women have been undergoing a fundamental change to increased participation in the political, social and economic sectors of society, the tendency of the media has been to ignore or distort these significant events. In fact, in the first United Nation's document recognising the media as a "critical area of concern" for women, the media are listed as one of ten major obstacles to women's advancement" (Ziyambi,1997:1).
In highlighting this rather polemic insight, this essay attempts to go further and grapple with defining and understanding the underlying relationship between the media and gender issues, primarily in Africa. The study will include gender formation, media content and portrayal of women, employment patterns, SADC media policy on gender and, suggestions for the media on gender reporting.
At the outset, it is necessary to provide a theoretical framework for the discussion by listing and discussing the three various types of media including mainstream, alternative and folk media, in terms of their relationship to gender issues. The concepts of sex and gender, which are critical to such a research, will then be outlined.
