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Her Media Diary Episode 26: “Shunning Gender Stereotypes” with Peace Hillary
80 Plays4 months ago
Peace Hillary is an accomplished Rwandan journalist with over 20 years of experience in the media profession. She currently serves as the Managing Director of Family Magazine, which focuses on gender issues, family promotion, women’s empowerment, combating Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and family conflicts.
Peace shares her journey from surviving the Rwandan genocide, to becoming a prominent voice for gender equality and women's empowerment. She discusses lobbying for a gender desk at the Rwandese Ministry of Defense, founding Family Magazine, her efforts in combating gender-based violence, and her vision for a media landscape that includes and uplifts marginalized voices.
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· International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF)
· African Women in Media (AWiM)
· Public Media Women in Leadership
· International Journalists’ Network (IJNet)
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Transcript
Trailblazing Beginnings at Ingabom
00:00:04
Speaker
When I got a journalist, I went to work with the Ministry of Defense magazine. It was called Ingabom magazine. And I was the first woman journalist and civilian. On the first day of my job there, when I was entering in the corridor of the media house, there was this guy. He came and said, he wanted to touch my private patch. And he said, yes, touch me. And he was like, eh? You don't even have fear. I said, no, I don't fear
Introducing Her Media Diary Podcast
00:00:36
Speaker
you. are not so my
00:00:41
Speaker
Imagine a world where we have gender equality and equity in and through the media. That is our mission at African Women in Media. I'm Dr. Yemesee Akimbo-Bola, your host, and this is Her Media Diary, a podcast that captures the lived experiences of African women working in media industries.
Surviving Genocide and Founding Family Magazine
00:01:01
Speaker
In this episode, I'm joined by Peace Hillary and a company and a journalist with over 20 years of experience in media profession and the managing director of Family Magazine, a publication which focuses on gender issues, family promotion, women's empowerment, gender-based violence and family conflicts.
00:01:20
Speaker
Peace shares her journey with me from surviving the Rwandan genocide to becoming a prominent voice for gender equality and women's empowerment. She discusses how she lobbied for a gender desk at the Rwandan Ministry of Defense, a journey in founding Family Magazine, efforts in combating gender-based violence, and a vision for a media landscape that includes and uplifts marginalized voices. Now, throughout this series, we will be in conversation with African women who have become media legends by virtue of their long years of experience and invaluable contribution to the growth and actualization of gender equality and equity in intermedia. By inviting these voices into conversation, we hope to provide solutions to breaking down barriers faced by African women in the media industry.
00:02:17
Speaker
All right, well, thank you so much for joining me, Peace Hilary, all the way from Kigali, Rwanda. and Me and you have known each other for a couple of years now because we did some research in Rwanda looking at the barriers for women in media there and you hedge your own association there. Actually, you're the chair of the board of Women Media Owners for Change and you're the managing director of Family Magazine. and you focus a lot on gender issues, family promotion, women empowerment, combating gender-based violence and e etc. So you do a lot of work in the same space that I am in em but in Rwanda. Of course we had the conference there last year, the African Women in Media conference there last year. So thank you so much for all your input. you
00:03:01
Speaker
Brilliant. Thank you so much. I wanted to start with kind of saying that big thank you. So Hilary, I'd love to start this interview by getting to know the history of my guests, because often, you know, when we Google, us African women barely to be here, our stories, our own personal stories, not just our professional kind of accomplishments. So tell me about peace, your early
Exploring Family and Career in Journalism
00:03:22
Speaker
years. And, you know, I'd love to hear more. Yeah. Thank you, Dr. Emissi. I'm a PC guru for six years. And I'm a mother of seven. Of seven? Yes, of seven. I did not know that. You're a mother of seven. Wow. Yeah. Three of them are my biological children and the other ones are mine, my children. They are all seven.
00:03:51
Speaker
They are all my children. I don't divide them. yes And I'm a grandma of a handsome boy of five years. I'm a journalist for now 20 years of experience. I'm just entering in 20 years of experience in my journalism career. the chair as you said, I'm the chairperson of Women Media Owners and the founder of Family Magazine and I'm also the managing director of Family Magazine and now I'm the secretary general of Duwanda Gender Media Connect is ah a new organization that we found recently to head Family Magazine because Family Magazine we found that we are working in
00:04:36
Speaker
especially in the local community. So we needed to be headed by an NGO, an government organization. Yeah, we founded when the gender media connects. So I'm going to stop you there because we went straight into accomplishments, right? Yeah. But what I want to know is peace and your history as a human being, as an individual, you know, where did you start from? Where did you grow up? Like, let's go back to the early years, your earliest memories of peace. I was born in 1978.
00:05:10
Speaker
And I was the first daughter of my parents and following four boys, four good boys. My parents stopped having children after four boys. And after four years, they prayed to have another children and then another kid. And I was coming. I was coming there. I was the fifth child and the first girl in the family. It was a privilege to me. So I've grown up in my parents' hands, especially I was very shaped by my father. The most time I was spending with my parents, the most of them ah I was with my father. me He used me to
00:05:53
Speaker
to have a conversation with me, to lead me to become someone special in my life. He used to take me to his office to show me how people works and know I was in primary school. Even when I was in secondary school, he used to take me to the office and the show me that we get money from walking. So you will be someone you want if you walk hard. So I lost him during genocide against Tutsi in 1994. I was 16 years. It was very tough. Even my brothers were also killed along with him during genocide against Tutsi. So i I stayed with my mom and my other
00:06:38
Speaker
siblings, two girls and two boys. So it means five out of eight. So so it was very tough. ah do you Do you mind talking a bit more about that period of time and the impact it kind of had on you? You see if you have a dreams usually as a kid especially a daughter in the in the context of wonder and you are i empowered by your father and boom she wins so you You you you you see you you think that your dreams are going down so that what happened to me I was thinking am I going to continue my studies and Now I thought my mom she was a brave woman. She told us that you won't stop your studies. You're going to move on. You're going to study. I would do my best. She did her best. I had the opportunity to have an encouraging mother. She is actually my role model. I went to school. It was a struggle to to have something on blood. It was a struggle. but
00:07:53
Speaker
we We continued, we moved on. During the genocide, what impacted the genocide itself having you and kind of what you do today? And again, it's only if you feel comfortable to talk about it. I didn't get up just during genocide against Tutsi, but I was getting some information about other girls like me and women who have used their latest sexual assaults during genocide against Tutsi. And I saw that women are used like weapons during conflicts, especially in the genocide against Tutsi. I think we have more than 500 women who was
00:08:31
Speaker
sexual-related during the Jameson Institute. And this made me to see that women should protect themselves, as we are exposed in everything. We are exposed during the wars, during the conflict. yeah it because Even when there is peace, we are always exposed to we should protect ourselves. and so genocide left me with first of all hunger to fight for women's rights to fight for women to live in peace environment peaceful peaceful nation and worldwide so and it touched me how to do my best to stop like genocide ideologies to go with others to say never again genocide never again Rwanda even in the other countries of the world. And you said that after your dad had passed away and your mother obviously was trying her best that it was still very hard you know in terms of getting food and table water your memories of that period and the impact on you. The memories that they have I always see my mother.
00:09:45
Speaker
telling other women, let's stand, let's get up and work. Our husbands went, they're no longer there, but we still have children. We have to raise these children. We have to do decent work, decent projects to raise these children. So she found an organization that was called Imhore. Imhore is like, I can't fight you. Imhore, I had with the other widows, Jon said widows, and they created a tradition barrette and they also had a project of a restaurant, a big restaurant to prepare some foods for patients, patients that they were in the hospitals and they also created some projects on producing, not doing gardens, flower gardens and the
00:10:40
Speaker
Other projects, there there are many projects with those women in one organization that was called Emore and they got funded. So we had to go to school, we had something to eat, something to wear, because of those women who came together and say, We have to work hard to raise these children. And from this I can say that before that I was seeing these women at home. Today we are talking about unpaid care work. I was seeing them at home. Take care of all of them. all of us take care of their husbands and I was now I realized that just remember we were brave because they said okay we no longer have these husbands with us but we can walk we can stand get up and work to raise children to
00:11:36
Speaker
to get them in school, to live. Yeah.
Gender Rights Advocacy and Challenges
00:11:39
Speaker
And so what would you say inspired you to pursue a career in journalism, particularly focused on gender issues, women empowerment and gender-based violence? Yeah, there are two things. I was inspired by my father to get in journalism because he taught me that he was a journalist. He had been a journalist his young age. He was working with the then only media house that was all informed. the arab here today and then I was very excited to hear him talking about his journalism career, so I decided to become a journalist. But to become a gender reporter and fight against gender-based journalists,
00:12:24
Speaker
It was my from my childhood. We were staying, we were living as a family in a neighborhood of seeing women who were very abused, beaten up. It was very bad as a child to see a husband beating his wife at my age. It wasn't just normal. And they from then I was saying myself, no one can beat me. Even if I get married, I will put their by boundaries and me no one will beat me. My husband won't beat me. I will put some conditions before I get married. So when I started journalism, actually before I started journalism, I went to study the law and I was saying maybe if I study the law, ah we forget oh I protect some women.
00:13:20
Speaker
women were in my head that they are the most abused. So i I went to study law to protect them. And after I realized that, you know, there is a need of my voice to advocate using my voice, using my call as journalist. So that's why And I remembered that I was willing to become a journalist. So I dealt that decision and get into journalism and start fighting against database violence. And when I got into journalism, I went to work with Minister of Defence magazine. I was called in government magazine and I was the the first woman journalist and civilian. Wow, okay. So you're the first female journalist to work at the Rwanda's Ministry of Defence magazine, yeah? Yes. Describe that experience of being the first and only woman in that space and civilian. What was that experience like?
00:14:19
Speaker
The first experience I had, on the first day of my job there, when I was entering in the corridor of the middle house, there was this guy. He's no longer there. He's stupid. And he was he was there. He came and said, he wanted to touch my private patch. And I was just telling him, and he said, why don't you do it? If you wanted to do it, And he was like, it you don't even have fear. I said, no, I don't. I don't fear you.
00:15:02
Speaker
And it was the first time, the first day. And he just said, maybe you're not a woman. So you used to drop to him, you stood your ground and considering this is your first day in an environment where you're the only woman, you're the only civilian. And he doesn't know me, I don't know him. Yeah. Yeah. So from that day, he started respecting me. And I was influencing them during the interview meeting because there was, because I worked there to write stories on women and on gender. And they were saying,
00:15:39
Speaker
gender is for women and I was like no gender is not for women gender is for all of us and as I said no no peace gender is for women you you brought this thing from uh down to countries and you you brought them here you don't consider you don't consider our character And they will say, no, gender is for for for all of us. Gender is for our families. It's not for women. And we are not promoting just women. We are empowering them because if you know our historical background, we have to empower women through gender perspectives. So it was called those things of women.
00:16:20
Speaker
Even when we were getting invitation letters to go to cover stories on gender, they were like, please, come and see those things of yours, those the things of women. So it wasn't good for me. And because i was i was I was used to tell them, to face them and tell them, in please, don't say these things. for women. Please don't undermine women. And that I must call it shaga, shaga is like, you you are not so a real woman, you behave like a man. So, because you stood up for. Yeah, they were insulting me, I think.
00:17:03
Speaker
It's not a good name, but it means that you you are not a real woman. like you You want to behave like a man while you are not. And whilst you were there, you lobbied for a gender desk. Right? And so I'm i'm trying to picture your experience of this kind of gendered discrimination, biases, you know, sexual harassment and all that. And you're the only woman in this space and they're trying to put you in your place, so to speak. So in the process of lobbying for a gender desk and also dealing with all of that, how would you share your experiences of kind of navigating all of that?
00:17:45
Speaker
oh I always tell women that they should stand on what they believe in. So I was standing on my understanding and my ideologies as a woman and gender important. And so I had to live with these people and to work together. they They had to respect my rubric. I was responsible a rubric that was called Nyamming and I remember it was in January we are celebrating the new year so we got to go outside with the my colleagues and our
00:18:23
Speaker
director on the When we are discussing about our rubrics, our programs, you gave example of mine. You see, the rubric of our gender, the rubric that this is responsible. What do you think? It doesn't bring money? It's like it's not interested. It is very, very social and very soft. And they'll say, yeah, it doesn't bring money. Okay. If you want this program to bring money, I can give you an advice or suggestion. You see, that time, one of the national police have a gender test.
00:19:01
Speaker
And I was saying, you see, in the Rwandan national police, they have gender discs. In the Rwandan national police, when a policeman do domestic violence, he gets to be held accountable by the organization itself. But for a military, where do you go? Where do your wives report when they do domestic violence with their husbands, their military husbands? And I was saying telling them that we should We should suggest a gender desk, you know. We are just women.
00:19:35
Speaker
who has issues with their husband, Mr. Husman, can go and get support. And before that, military men should be trained on gender and on how they can fight against gender-based violence and domestic violence. And he was saying, please, do you think that project can work? I said, yes, I can even abolish it and defend it in a uniform, the UN Women Today. And he said, OK, if you think it can work, go god do the the project proposal. So I had to write the project proposal and my English was very bad. I had to contact my two colleagues and they helped me to edit the project proposal and I went to defend it in a uniform. I was with my boss
00:20:28
Speaker
I defended the projects and the projects was very, very interesting and they accepted to fund the projects. So when they funded the projects, the project was following the Home Magazine and we have been told that it can move to Minister of Defense. so We started the gender discussion within the Ministry of Defense, and the military men got to be trained, even women, military women, they got to be trained about gender issues, and about fighting against gender best friends. And when I write my CV, I post that part. We have the role,
00:21:19
Speaker
the establishment of gender destiny, I mean. Yeah, yeah. so I mean, that's
Inspiration and Impact of Peace's Work
00:21:23
Speaker
quite a story. And you then went on to found another company, the Family Magazine, which focuses on gender issues, family promotion, women empowerment, gender-based violence, a very similar and kind of area. And then family conflict as well tells your journey. Like how did you start this process of finding a magazine of this nature? Yeah, after the establishment of gender destiny, I saw that it was from my mind and I was just getting the no more salam as before. After that, I had to go to to work with the interviews. In Gabo magazine were closing the doors because they they wanted to write stories on online within the Ministry of Defense website and they I had to to go to the interviews. I was growing in my career.
00:22:16
Speaker
I had to go to the intermuse in Washington, but based in Rwanda. And when I was there, I also proposed another project, the intermuse, to train generalists on gender voting, and they got found. So after a while, I was thinking, why can't I just for create or found a major house that can even work and do projects.
00:22:53
Speaker
to strengthen journalists, to empower women in the and to fight against family conflict, to domestic violence, and gender-based violence, and child abuse. So, ah after realizing that I can propose some projects and get funding, I decided it to create family magazine. The first reason was, when you are in an other media house, you cannot propose some topics easily. If the editor or the manager doesn't see any benefit from your topics, they deny it. They refuse you to report on this. Today, they say that gender issues can pay, but it wasn't ah the case before. When you are proposing a gender issue article or news, you're saying, ah, these news are not paying.
00:23:50
Speaker
You can't get money from these topics. Okay. They were not interested in this. So I realized that if I have my own media house, no one will stop me to report on this issue. And if I hire journalists, they will post because I am the boss. So I will influence them. and they will put on these issues because issues of women, issues of gender, must be had people must be aware of this.
00:24:24
Speaker
gender-based violence and how they can contribute in combating this violence. That's why I created Fermil Magazine. The second reason was to get money, to propose projects, to go to network with the adult media houses outside Rwanda and they to connect with the different organizations. oh national region and robbery, and the to build this awareness on gender issues, especially women issues. So essentially what you're saying is that the magazine was your opportunity to kind of do what you really love, but also by making sure you're adequately compensated for the quality of the work you were doing, right? And so when you reflect on your role as a woman in this space, how would you say you've used your position
00:25:14
Speaker
your gender and your passion for such stories to ensure that media is adequately reporting on gender issues. First of all, I can say that this consistency of reporting on gender issues and creating my family magazine and getting money influenced and inspired many women journalists even men because I started showing them publishing stories on gender and I was very happy and starting seeing women creating their own media houses and they start reporting on gender issues I was very happy and that was a big impact
00:25:57
Speaker
For me, maybe it can't be realized in eyes like this, but for me, I will realize that What I was doing inspired many people, especially generalists. I had to be invited. oh First, first first I had to be invited in different platforms, globally and because of family magazines. Of course, I had to get connected to other women across the world who are voting on
00:26:31
Speaker
same topics and they I was entering in some boards as a board member in different organizations of women, women in media. So I got to be known as a gender reporter. That was my special occasion. So when I see today that if ah there is a gender issue and I'm consulted, I see that what I did and My journey was getting on impact. I think in the morning I told you that I was invited to a talk show with the, I heard with the minister of gender today. It's because I fought for women's rights. I fought for gender promotion. So I see that my mission is not going just like that. It's seen and synchronized.
00:27:27
Speaker
And when you reflect on all of that journey to where you are now, from the moment that you were the first female at the Ministry of Defence magazine to setting up your family magazine, how would you reflect on the challenges that you experienced and how you kind of combated them? What were the challenges and what how did you address them? Yeah, the challenges were many. And today I can say that I'm strong. I know how to face the challenges. But I see other women facing similar challenges that i I was facing. To be called ichégao, it's very harmful. And the to be considered like a rude woman. These challenges made me to realize that I'm a feminist. Maybe I was born a feminist, but to realize this, it was from these challenges.
00:28:25
Speaker
to always be called to piss your room, piss your not a journalist, your activist. You are this and this. And I was fighting for my rights. I was saying, I have the rights to report on these issues. I have the rights to to protect these young girls who are abused. I have their the rights to protect these women from domestic violence, from sexual violence. And I realized that I can use my voice in the most and better ways that I can find. I use social media, Twitter, Facebook. And I use all the platform I can get to make my voice heard, to be heard. So I can say, many challenges are there.
00:29:23
Speaker
But when you face them, you move on. I cannot give up. I even had some, I can say, violence. Even my family was attacked. I remember in 2018, I was like to give up. I was saying myself, why do I struggle with this? Why should I just leave this career? And I said, oh no, I can't fail. have February is not my option. I have to keep going on. Now I first my colleagues and I think I also became more strong than before because I know now how to protect myself. I know now how people can behave.
00:30:21
Speaker
when you are not on the same level of understanding. So I'm well prepared now. But I can see my fellow journalists, special women, they are facing challenges, many challenges, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, gender discrimination with their media houses, and cyberbullying on social media. Even women feminists, in the sense I was telling them, I don't i don't get attacked on social media. And I don't know why, because I say things like you, but now I think I became strong and they know if they attack me, they will fail. Nothing will happen to me. I will continue. They will not get me out. I will still write in my views, I will still
00:31:17
Speaker
facing them. So I won't change. I think this is why they no longer attack me on social media. Why they used to attack about women. I'm no longer facing cyberbullying on the social media. What impact did the cyberbullying have on you? That time I got to see three psychologists to get me out of this. It was very hard, even when my family, we had to get these sessions of psychologists, with psychologists, to get out of this, to overcome. It is something that I can't wish for someone. Today I see there's some women who live, who get out from social media because of cyberbullying.
00:32:09
Speaker
Some of them are journalists, there are some women who fear are writing, they have used it. Though on social media because of cyberbullying, there are some women journalists who live the career because of sexual harassment. And today, I also say in the blood that we we have now media and and I'm glad that I participated in this journey of having the sexual harassment person in the media, the role of media. So it's a big impact. And I remember when I started this fight,
00:32:56
Speaker
oh against sexual harassment in in media. People are saying, ah, you exaggerate things. Why? just No, hugging is not sexual harassment. Teasing is not sexual harassment. You always exaggerate with this. Maybe you are getting mad. And they say your feminists are bad for a bad society. Especially in one society, you are destroying our society. peace your body, very body. But now, when they were signing the sexual harassment policy, I was celebrating in my heart, i saying, wow, thank you, God. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now they understand that we need to fight against sexual harassment. We need to prevent this from our journalists, because I know that sexual harassment affects
00:33:55
Speaker
job performance and sexual harassment prevent women, most most women, to get in their career. They go to school, they start journalism, but when they graduate, they don't enter journalism because of those issues of sexual harassment and gender discrimination. Now we have a gender desk. I celebrate. My work didn't go in vain.
Innovations for Gender Equality in Media
00:34:26
Speaker
All right, so we're going to take a brief moment from the interview to tell you more about some of the things that we do here at African Women in Media. And today I'll be bringing you sourceher.com, that's source, S-O-U-R-C-E per A-T-R dot com. And it's a groundbreaking platform that we've developed as African Women in Media, designed to help editors and journalists to identify sources. Now on sourceher.com, The sources you will find are all African women who are experts in a range of fields from Women, Peace and Security Agenda to Aerophysics. Our objective will source her
00:35:04
Speaker
is to bridge that gap in representation of African women as expert sources on news media. So if you're a journalist, you're an editor, or you work in the newsroom or in other media industries, documentary filmmaking, for example, and you're looking to champion the voices of African women in your content, in your news story, and to address that big gap in gender representation of expert sources, particularly that of African women. Then visit sourceher.com and sign up to discover and interview African women as your expert source in your next content. Together, let's promote adequate inclusion and representation of African women.
00:35:48
Speaker
Absolutely. And, you know, it's it's been a privilege to have worked with people like yourself, you know, because obviously for you kind of supported the development of the research that we did in Rwanda to look at the barriers for women journalists in the country. And, you know, i I still remember coming to present the outcomes and to a room full of media managers, including yourself. and where we but We said, okay, well, but but the top issue that emerged from our research was sexual harassment. When you're presenting such research and to people who um are predominantly male in the room,
00:36:24
Speaker
the reaction has often, in my experience, been a sense of defense as opposed to really focusing on the issue. So I remember some people making comments like, you know, men are sexually harassed too. Why aren't we talking about that? And men are this and and and and all that. and And that's all, you know, they lie about us. And, and you know, there's there's a tendency to kind of take that defense and that approach. And you kind of get it because you feel, from their perspective, a sense of attack, perhaps, right, on their characteristics and things. But really that sense of a zero-sum ideology that if you are focusing on women's issues, then that means you're not focusing on men's issues. I think that's often forms of a barrier for people to accept that, okay, this is the issue we need to to deal with. So, you know, how awkward is to you being that kind of soldier, should I use that word, right? and In championing and being relentless in
00:37:17
Speaker
trying to get to a point where we are now, as you said, in Rwanda, having a national anti-sexual harassment and committee and a national anti-sexual harassment policy but for the media industry. So that's a significant, significant step. And it was a great pleasure to work with you and other media women and men and in Rwanda in doing that. So in your opinion, How can media play more influential role in promoting gender justice and empowering marginalized voices?
00:37:52
Speaker
Big question. Yeah, I think last week we had a session with the Women News, I think you know Women News Programme. They were here in Rwanda and we had the session about gender equality. and gender equity. There are different of inclusion, diversity and inclusion. And when they asked a question about inclusion, I said there are marginalized people out there that we need power them to them include them in our plans, in what we do, because we need the
00:38:39
Speaker
And we need to promote the power dynamic. And they were asking me, who are the marginalized people? And they were saying, there are many women are marginalized. There are some people who are vulnerable, they are LGBT, sex workers. Many people, I was naming them. Some women, Jonathan said, no, peace, peace, peace. hi coming with people
00:39:12
Speaker
We live in a diverse society. We live with these people and they have power, they can contribute. I can't discriminate someone because of their choices, because it's not my mission. My interest is to work with them to build the society, not go in their private life or in No, and there are some marginalized people because of who they are. Why? Why can't I bring these people on the table and get the potential that they have to achieve my goals? Because our goal is to build a society, to build a community. So we need to get together, to work together and to get powerful impact.
00:40:07
Speaker
And this is it. So I see that today we are we are fighting against gender stereotypes within the meeting. Also remember in those discussions when we were talking about the election that were coming in July in Rwanda, and you are talking the women participation during the elections. One journalist, a lady said that women don't give interview. Women are shy. Women have, and I was saying, no, that's a gender stereotype. All women are not shy. You can't say that all women don't give interview. No, it's a lie. There are women who want to talk. What are the topics that we are talking with women?
00:41:02
Speaker
What are the interview? What are the questions that we are asking for women? We always consider that women like weak people. We always consider them that they don't have so they't have something very important to share. We ask them questions when there is a case of GBV, when there is a case of like no lu is some some issues of prostitution. We describe them like sex objects. You see, if you you you go to ask a question to like example, I was giving example of a sexual violence victim. And you are guessing, you just go there with your microphone, your recorder, and you pull their recorder. Please tell us this and this.
00:42:00
Speaker
They want to respond to you. If this woman is a victim of GBV or sexual violence or domestic violence, go and discuss it. Go and have a conversation with them before you record them. Listen to them. Then tell them why you need that interview. Before they record, they will respond to you. And don't consider these women, the vulnerable women only, the women who had their ah big companies. If you go there and request interview, consider this woman like a strong woman. but We don't give spaces to women who are very strong in the society, who are powerful the society. We always giving interviews to to the vulnerable women.
00:42:52
Speaker
we have to consider all women in different categories that they have. So gender stereotypes is one of the things that generalists should avoid with the the content of the media in general. And also we should put more effort effort in the inclusive means because we need all people to have the place, the space in our media. in our content. Discriminations should be avoided within our media houses. We also have to be aware about human rights. All people all people have freedom of expression and they have rights to information. So we should avoid those genestral type of discrimination because of who they are.
00:43:50
Speaker
So what advice would you give to the future peace, right? so So young women um who are coming into the industry, who are kind of on a similar journey to you, what advice would you give them based on your experiences?
Advice for Emerging Journalists
00:44:07
Speaker
First of all, I can tell them that media is a good career, very, very good career when you have that passion. because they got to study journalism because they decided to do it. Maybe some some of them just get the scholarship to study journalism without knowing what is going to be there or what is going to happen with them. But journalism is a good career because it gives a space a journalist to talk
00:44:44
Speaker
to advocate and to share the views. It gives opportunity to do right things within the the community, within the society. So I advise them to, if they think they can be journalists, I advise them to to continue that dream, but to have. a Most of the time I tell them that if you are an expert in some and some sector within the media, you will be organized in what you're doing. Most of the time I see these young girls from the school of journalism.
00:45:29
Speaker
Some of them, when I so i talk with them, they say... I used to have conversations with them. They say, I want to go in the entertainment. I want to to be talking on social issues. And there are some who wants to be on just on air, on TV. I will be an anchor. I will be representing news. No, I will tell them, please. specialise in things. One thing, know better this domain, especially if you are specialised in justice. Go into it deeply. Know everything about justice. Read the laws. Know how the the courts are working. Know every aspect of justice. You will be known as a justice report. If you want to go on gender,
00:46:24
Speaker
Please be aware of everything which goes on for gender. oh If you want to go in the health reporting, but don't mix things you are, today you are reporting on health, tomorrow you are reporting on entertainment, on sports. No, don't mix things. So I used to advise them and another thing I represent you in the media, we don't have money. but if you want to have money, please focus on innovative creation and the focus. You can get grants, awards, but you can even propose some project and we find it. Don't go there just to get salaries. No. I give them the realities within our media, especially one in media. We find most of media houses don't get salaries to their journalists, but don't give up.
00:47:21
Speaker
You are at cause, you are new, you are paying. Don't even be stuck in one media house. You can work or have contracts within one media house if they tell you that they are going to pay you well and you don't have to go out. Please limit that media house. But if they don't, you can be a fund-managed journalist in one media and be a freelancer in the other media houses, especially mainstream media outside Rwanda, in America, in the US, in London, UK. I tell them that don't be stuck in one media house if the contract is open for you. I also tell them that say
00:48:08
Speaker
media we have challenges like sexual harassment, gender discrimination, gas ceiling please go there and if you know there are these things you will be able to fight against these issues. Be part of people who say no to sexual harassment, no to gender discrimination, sexual bullying, gas ceiling but don't support them because I know that even before these young generations, young girls who are graduating from the school of journalism, us, the senior old day seen they women journalists, as the old women journalists, I know that some of us were still struggling just to say, no, please, you know, we can't go any politics reporting because we are women.
00:49:06
Speaker
You see, I can't go to work during the late hours because I'm a woman. I can't go to field very far from my house because I'm a woman. No, we still have those women who've been like that. So what next for you, Peace? Next for me, I'm dreaming to have a TV station. But not for me only, because last year I went to Nairobi and they had to visit the standard group. And I saw that see we, as women in media organisations,
00:49:43
Speaker
we can get together and establish a TV station, a big TV station, which has different stations with the different topics and radius. So I have a dream to have a big media house like Standard Group in Kenya, which I visited. And I'm working on it. I even started mobilizing them, but women media organization members, to think about this and to see if you can work on this, to have this media. It will be the first big media in Rwanda owned by women.
00:50:31
Speaker
That's my dream. Well it's it is a dream that we help you to share and I'm 100% behind you and I really look forward to seeing that dream realized. Thank you so much Peace for sharing your inspirational story and I've really really enjoyed listening to it and getting so much from you. Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you for inviting me in this
00:51:01
Speaker
This episode has been a refreshing one that redirects us to the drawing board by exposing yet again to the prevalence and dangers of gender stereotypes, discrimination and cyberbullying through the experiences of Peace Hillary. Peace through her story calls for an all-round inclusion which not only amplifies the voices of men and women but also that of both vulnerable and trailblazing women to avoid a one-sided coverage and portrayal of all women as vulnerable. send me an email at yemc at africanwoinmedi dot com with your thoughts and please also email me if you'd like to appear on an episode of her media di
00:51:40
Speaker
To find out more about African women in media and our work, visit our main website at africanwomenimmedia.com. In the show notes, there is a list of organisations and resources to support you if you have experienced any of the topics we have discussed today. And don't forget, join the conversation using the hashtag and media diary.
00:52:01
Speaker
Hemendu Diary is a product of African women in media, an NGO advocating for gender equality in the media industry. And this episode, was hosted by Dr. Yemesia Kembabola, produced and edited by Blaise Nudervasi as part of a four-episode series on media legends. All music featured in this podcast is by Nana Kwabena. Thanks for listening and join us again next time.