Every Girl In School Alliance (EGISA) Org, in partnership with Plan International Malawi, and the Norwegian Embassy to Malawi, hosted some very bright girls from Chilambula CDSS for the She Talks session on “Media Representation of Women and Girls” at the Warm Heart Cafe in Lilongwe.
The girls were such a light, some of them with some rather inspiring enthusiasm as they journey through self-discovery.
Attendance was by invitation, and the event started on time with the arrival and registration of participants.
This was followed by brief welcome remarks from the Co-founder of Egisa, Shalom Rugare.
The EGISA co-founder, Wilson Chivhanga, shared a background of the SheTalks events, and all they are about.
Catherine Ball, the Business Development Manager, on behalf of Plan Int. Malawi shared some statistics of the representation of women and girls in Malawi.
The first speaker was Watanja Mphande, who really went into the details of what is wrong, from a feminist point of view, with the portrayal of women in the media. She spoke on the oversexualisation and objectification of women in the media – and the rare portrayal of women as leaders.
“Women portrayed in the Malawian media are either whores, or they are mothers.”
The second speaker was Zilanie Gondwe, who has been in the media industry for near two decades, and has much knowledge to share about the industry.
She shared some things about how she is raising her daughter, and how she makes sure her daughter is protected, in a world that is situated to harm her.
She brought up how girls are always discussed as a social problem – something to save; never just regular human beings, living, winning.
“When you watch the TV, when you read the News, do you see girls, women, who look like you?”
She asked a lot of thought-provoking questions, and advised the younger women to never shy away from the spotlight – to never shy away from getting their voices heard and standing up for what is right.
There is so much more to the lives of girls and women than the airless box we are minimised to fit into. We are a kaleidoscope of possibililies. We are the ones who can save the world. Thank you Ntha.
— Ukhwini (@ZilanieGondwe) October 6, 2019
I was honored to facilitate the open dialogue between the girls, and the present stakeholders. It was a build up from the previous speakers, and getting views from the audience.
Sara, among the students, was the most prominent, and she advised her fellow students to be confident in their voice. She said that they must always remember that they matter, and that as girls, they can achieve anything that a boy can. Such beautiful energy and confidence from a teenager!
A beautiful conversation, and a necessary one.
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