Culture of Silence, and How Gender Based Violence Has Gripped Kano Media Landscape
By Hadiza Musa Yusuf
In the heart of Kano’s newsrooms, a chilling silence seeps through the clattering keyboards and ringing phones. It’s a silence that speaks volumes, not a lack of stories to tell, but of voices stifled by pervasive fear.
The media space, intended to be safe platform for journalists to report on societal happenings, is unfortunately tainted by the pervasive issue of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) undermining the dreams of young female journalists.
Hadiza Musa writes on how young female journalists, brimming with idealism and ambition, now find themselves navigating a landscape where their voices are met with threats, intimidation, and abuse.
According to the World Health Organization’s 2022 report, Gender Based Violence (GBV) is any form of violence that is directed against a person based on their gender identity, gender expression, or sex characteristics. This encompasses a wide range of harmful acts, including; Physical, sexual, emotional, economic violence and harmful traditional practices be it in public or private.
In the period between 2020 and 2023, Nigeria documented 27,698 cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), as reported by the Data Manager at the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Mr. Sunday Agbakaba in November 2023.
Notably, the UN Women’s 2022 Global Database on Violence against Women highlights the pervasive nature of GBV, revealing that 22.3% of women in Nigeria experience lifetime physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, while 43.4% of young girls are victims of child marriage, and 19.5% of young girls are subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM)/cutting.
The organisation also revealed that Forty-eight per cent of Nigerian women have experienced at least one form of violence since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.
Also in a recent study conducted by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and American-based Solidarity Centre, said 56 per cent of women workers reported experiencing Gender-Based Violence and Harassment (GBVH) in the world of work; 52 per cent said they had been threatened at work, or on their way to and from work; while 42 per cent of women workers said a supervisor has said or done something that made them uneasy due to their gender or sex.
Accordingly, women journalist in Kano state, weren’t left out of the scourge. This reflects on Asmau Muhammad, 25, who embarked on her journalism career right after graduating in Kano. Unfortunately, she faced harassment and had to leave two different newsrooms.
“The second radio station I worked at started well. I was assigned to an editor who edited most of my reports. Initially, I thought it was with good intentions that he wanted me to grow but he began sending me unnecessary messages, including obscene content in stickers, chats, messages that I always avoided.
“It reached a point where he started making unwanted advances at work, touching me at every opportunity he gets. I distanced myself at work and stopped responding to his non-work-related messages, which only fueled his frustration.” She said.
“As he couldn’t get to me, he made my work life miserable—giving me excessive tasks, scolding me for no reason, and even sending me out of the newsroom when he felt like it. Despite enduring all this, I couldn’t bring myself to speak up at home or work. I endured it all to learn how to be a professional journalist,” she continued.
According to her, she noticed eventually that it has started affecting her work output as a volunteer. Wanting to secure a permanent position, she pleaded with the head of the department to change her editor and the request angered him even more”.
“I stopped reporting to him, reducing his control, which led to physical aggression. He abused me at every opportunity in the newsroom, even in front of other staff.
“During one incident, I submitted a report to my new editor, and he forcibly grabbed it, insisting I leave. He began abusing me in front of everyone. When I stood up for my right to submit the report, he slapped me, accusing me of lacking manners. Others intervened, and I was asked to leave as he threatened to harm me.
“He followed me, insisting on beating me. That’s when I shouted that he wanted to harass me sexually. I immediately called my family, and my mom met with the head of the department. After narrating the incident, the head initially questioned if I had provoked him.
“I exposed everything, including the chat records because I was using an iPhone and the case went to the disciplinary committee. Initially attempting to intimidate me, they eventually agreed and sacked him.
“Around the same time, I received another job offer as a permanent staff in a different radio station, which I accepted. When the truth came out, some ladies approached me, revealing he had harassed them as well, expressing gratitude for saving them.”
Similar to Asmau’s situation, Habiba Usman (not real name) worked at a radio station in Kano last year.
However, she left the station two months into her service due to experiencing sexual harassment from two male staff.
“One always tries to tell and show me inappropriate things. At first I thought it was because I am not Hausa by tribe that he thinks I am easy and can give out my body easily but then I realized perhaps that’s not the case.
“I gave him several warnings which he ignored and thought I was bluffing that I can’t do anything until I slapped him in the newsroom in the presence of some staff.
“I didn’t wait any further and didn’t tell anyone the reason, I decided to leave the station and never return. I changed my PPA to a school. I don’t know if I can really pursue my career in journalism which I had been planning. What he did really discouraged me.” She said.
Habiba story is one out of many silent stories female journalists endure in their career path.
The Silence Lingers, as Perpetrators Increase
Silence lingers as zero to few reported cases of journalist harassment are reported in centers such as the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), human rights commission and even the police.
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Mal. Shehu Abdullahi, the state coordinator of human right commission said female journalist harassment though happening on a daily basis is not something that is been reported like other aspects of GBV.
“Victims do not see it as part of sexual and gender based violence and feel it can be solved at individual or organization level,” he said.
“Many journalists fear to report harassment by colleagues because they feel they are going to be at the losing end especially if the lady in question is married.
“She fears that her husband might end up telling her to stop going to work, especially in this part of the country,” he said.
He also said that because of the stigma that comes with such cases and the interpretation society gives to the whole thing makes them grow silent.
“We do normally get few of such cases but they mostly settle themselves. But it is very minimal.
He said the commision haven’t received more than 10 cases of female journalist harassment in Kano in 2023.
“And these cases normally ask for intervention and compensation, that is the commission should come between the victims and the perpetrators,” he said.
He further stated that gender based violence cases keep increasing because it is underreported.
“Any kind of offense when it’s not reported and handled will keep increasing because the perpetrators know they won’t be reported.”
Hafsat Usman, Nigeria Association of Female Journalists (NAWOJ) chair said since her assumption in office last year, no journalist harassment cases have been reported.
“It is happening but no one is reporting, journalists.”
She advised female journalists to always open up and report such cases for the association to take necessary action.
She also said that NAWOJ has organized several training, seminars and workshops on how female journalists can go about the menace of GBV.
Expert react
Amb. Mujahidah Maria Alikote, an expert and passionate women’s rights activist, disclosed in an interview that gender-based violence (GBV) is highly prevalent in the northern part of the country.
She cited religion, tradition, and various man-made factors as contributors to the increasing cases of gender-based violence (GBV), particularly in Kano State.
“GBV has many causes. Inequality across all aspects of life forms the fundamental basis of GBV. Misinterpretation of religious teachings, traditional norms, and values, along with beliefs that consider violence against women and girls as normal and acceptable contribute to the issue.”
Additionally, she included lack of affirmative action, inadequate policies, war, conflict, crises, preference for male children, underestimation of women’s potential, illiteracy, gender imbalance, and poverty as other contributing factors.
The initiator of reach out to make a difference (ROTMAD) said sexual harassment is also very common in organisations.
“Male overuse their socialization as an easy way to go overboard.”
According to her, some ladies rather work from their comfort zones or have a private organization belonging to them.
She stated that though male counterparts do face GBV, it is negligible.
“In the news room and organizations, GBV is more on the females as most of them are used to achieve results without much consideration afterwards.
“The female is more at risk as she may be subjected to all kinds of threats before she can move forward. She could also face double threats if she is married, meaning from her husband/ in-laws and her superiors at work. In fact married women in Kano face all kinds of GBV in Kano, almost the case I have so far been involved in, are female victims and young girls with very few males,” the woman activist added.
Globally, she said, an estimated 736 million women which is almost one in three women is subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life (30 per cent of women aged 15 and older).
“This figure does not include sexual harassment and other forms of GBV,” she added.
Haj. Maria, discussing the role media organizations play in addressing GBV cases, emphasized, “The media serves as a strategic platform for widespread messaging. While some cases may be sensitive, the importance of careful and delicate reporting cannot be overstated.
“The media should adopt effective approaches in disseminating information about GBV, aiming for a clearer understanding among listeners. This approach builds trust.
“Ensuring the accuracy of information before dissemination is crucial. Media outlets should be backed by legal support for justifications.”
She recommended that, “In media houses, preferences should be based solely on qualifications.”
Supporting this, Rukayya Abdullahi Maida, a journalist with experience in various media organizations spanning print to broadcast, highlighted stereotyping as a prevalent issue in media organizations.
“Some media organizations opt to send male colleagues for reporting assignments, not because women are incapable but due to personal biases.
“Having personally encountered this in various media organizations, I chose not to speak out, as I felt that male counterparts often had the support of superiors or that these biases stemmed from higher-ups.”
She advocated for providing more opportunities for women, emphasizing that editors should avoid biases in news reporting and gathering and always carefully monitor what is going on in the media space.
Way forward
Amb. Alikote said the way forward in curtailing the issue of GBV in newsrooms is for victims to learn how to speak up.
“Most female victims are too scared to voice out what is happening.
“It is when you speak up, the media will take affirmative action at the right time without hesitation,”she said.
She stressed the significance for media organizations to boost the capacity and sense of purpose among their staff in order to establish defense mechanisms against GBV.
She stated that educating both gender on the dangers of GBV to humanity. “The consequences of the menace are devastating and can have life-long repercussions for survivors. It can even lead to death.”
She therefore urged the government to strengthening policies on GBV and ensure justice is been carried out.
