Changing Times, Changing Attitudes: Alternative Portrayals of Men and Women

UNESCO-DANIDA Special Project for Women and Girls in Africa has organised and supported a series of training workshops for the production of radio programmes and reading materials. These workshops brought women and men radio programme producers, interviewers, scriptwriters and literacy workers together. During the two-week training, the participants were introduced to gender issues and learned how to apply them to their specific media. Based on real-life situations, they produced radio programme scripts and complementary illustrated booklets. Packaged together to reinforce one another, they are, according to UNESCO, free of gender biases and responsive to a wide range of needs and conditions of African women. The radio programme scripts were presented in a variety of formats including dramas, interviews and question and answer sessions.

The Literacy and Non-formal Education section of the Division of Basic Education at UNESCO has transcribed and edited a selection of these radio programme scripts. Although intended for use with non-literate women and out-of-school girls, the messages in these radio programmes may also be relevant for use with the listening public at large.

The packages cover a range of themes such as HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, exploiting girls employed as domestic servants, projecting positive role models for women and girls, broadening opportunities for productive work, the negative consequences of child marriage and the need for a more equal division of housework between men and women.