African Woman and Child Feature Service

28th January 2008

Rosemary Okello and Mildred Ngesa briefed the meeting on the outcomes of a forum organized last Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th January where women representing the diversity of the women’s movement in Kenya met the team of Eminent Persons led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan followed by a subsequent meeting of the movement examining itself in the context of the post-election crisis. 

However the media women took note of the fact that organizing has been greatly hampered by the government ban and on peaceful assembly in all forms. In effect, the space available to Kenyans to speak and express their concerns have been clawed back and greatly curtailed.

The media women agreed on the following action points:

1. Begin immediate negotiations with media houses for public service announcements designed by the senior media women with specific peace messages.
   
2. Begin working on a media supplement to be published and aired concurrently by all media houses. This should be done in conjunction with the diversity of women’s organizations throughout Kenya specifically to bring out the stories of women from all the regions of Kenya that have been affected by the post-elections violence. They will be invited to express themselves in the quest for peace. There was a suggestion that the supplement be named “The Tribe of Women”.
   
3. Negotiate for more space in the print media for commentary and analyses preferably written by women championing the cause of peace
   
4. Coordination and resource-mobilization to facilitate access to sites of conflict so as to maintain contact with the issues and to amplify the voices of ordinary women caught up in the violence around Kenya.
   
5. An urgent meeting between members of the Senior Media Women and especially influential female presenters on the vernacular radio stations was identified as a priority within the week. The media women felt that this interaction would be a first step in the intervention against hate speech and prejudice.  
6. Subsequently another priority identified for follow-up and action this week is a meeting between the Senior Media Women and the 15 newly elected female members of Parliament. It is envisaged that this could be a powerful forum to bring out the seriousness of the issues as experienced and expressed by the women of Kenya and to leverage this voice into the on-going political processes.
   

Other action points to be undertaken concurrently include:

• Opening up a discussion among media practitioners on the language of peace; reviving traditional peace/conflict resolution mechanisms
  
• Further consultations on the logistics to facilitate the arrival of Prof. Allan Thomson who will conduct peace journalism training with the various media houses as well as a session with the Senior Media Women
  
• The possibility of a joint forum between Senior Media Women and women from Sudan, Somalia, Congo and Rwanda in order to have a regional perspective of the violence in Kenya
  

Conclusion:

Jane Thuo of AMWIK will advise on the time and venue for a meeting as soon as she secures the confirmation of the women presenters from the vernacular stations.

A venue for the meeting with the women Parliamentarians was identified. This is the Swedish Embassy annex at Eden Court, Chiromo Road. Annike will confirm the time and date.