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Women Will Run this Somali Media Company

Somalia's first women-run radio and television company opened in the capital, Mogadishu. Supported by the United Nations, Bilan Media plans to produce stories important to women and their rights in the conservative country.

The launch of Bilan Media in Mogadishu marks a step forward in the efforts by Somali women to take a more active part in Somalia's male-controlled society.

Bright and clear

Bilan means bright and clear in the Somali language. The founders¹ say they hope to discuss some of the most important issues relating to and affecting women.

Nasrin Mohamed Ibrahim is the editor at Bilan Media.

"This project is designed to overcome many of the problems facing the community," she says. It will focus on the problems of women.

By going all-female, Bilan hopes to gently break apart Somalia's conservative society. In the male-dominated news business, subjects such as rape², sexual assault and women's medical issues are not usually reported. So, Bilan will be telling those stories.

Raising women's voices

Bilan says it does not seek to compete with the usual media, but to move in a different direction by raising the voices of women, which may have an effect on the male-dominated society.

Fathi Mohamed Ahmed is the deputy editor.

She says, "I can say that the reason for the formation of this media outlet³ for women is that in most parts of Mogadishu and Somalia as a whole, there are media outlets⁴ where both men and women work but are managed and owned by men. The circumstances of women's needs are not discussed in detail. For example, violence against women is not discussed in depth."

Ahmed says the owners of the media station are not trying to make money. Instead, they want to show the productivity and power of women. The women journalists want to improve their skills and present them in a workplace free from corruption⁵ and abuse.

Danger for Somali journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 71 reporters or journalists have been killed in the ongoing⁶ civil war by Islamist militant⁷ groups.

The situation is bad for female journalists who have to fight other problems such as sexual harassment⁸ in newsrooms, cultural stereotypes¹⁰, pressures from families as well as low pay, compared to male counterparts.

Hinda Jama is head of gender¹¹ affairs at the Somali Journalists Syndicate. She says Somali society is not used to seeing women doing things alone or being journalists working alone. Religion-wise, she adds, some leaders may consider women unworthy to speak in the media. Bilan Media is scheduled to go on the air April 25th.

Words in This Story

outlet – n. (media outlet) an organization providing reports on the news

circumstances – n. (pl.) situation

journalist – n. a person whose occupation is journalism¹²; reporter, news editor, or the like

stereotype⁹ – n. a fixed¹³ or conventional idea, as of a person, group, or the like, held by a number of people, and allowing for no individuality or critical judgment¹⁴

gender – n. the fact or condition of being a male or a female human being, esp. with regard to how this affects or determines a person's self-image, social status, goals, and the like

syndicate – n. any group organized to further some undertaking

1 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

2 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

3 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

4 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

8 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

9 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

10 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

12 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

13 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

14 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。