WOMEN’S COMMUNITY RADIO IN AFRICA: THE CASE STUDY OF GINDIKU FM IN SENEGAL by FATOUMATA SOW A DISSERTATION Presented to the School of Journalism and Communication and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2014 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Fatoumata Sow Title: Women’s Community Radio in Africa: The Case Study of Gindiku FM in Senegal This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the School of Journalism and Communication by: H. Leslie Steeves Chairperson Carol Stabile Core Member Gabriela Martínez Core Member Yvonne A. Braun Institutional Representative and J. Andrew Berglund Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded September 2014 ii © 2014 Fatoumata Sow iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Fatoumata Sow Doctor of Philosophy School of Journalism and Communication September 2014 Title: Women’s Community Radio in Africa: The Case Study of Gindiku FM in Senegal Since the 1990s, women’s community radio has been part of the media landscape of Africa countries. Set up and run by women, community radio is giving voice to women and empowering them. Drawing upon feminism and participatory communication, this research has used multiple methods to explore the rich and innovative experiences of the women’s radio stations in Senegal. The case of Gindiku FM, one of the four women’s radio stations in Senegal, is used to assess the community radio’s revolutionary potential for development and progressive social change. The findings show that women’s community radio has emerged as a response to women’s marginalization in both mainstream media and in alternative community media, as well as to women’s need to have their own communication means. The findings reveal that Gindiku FM is an outstanding model of a women’s community radio station that has successfully articulated gender and participatory communication to empower rural and poor women living in a context dominated by a Sufy Islamic Order. The findings show that three key factors have contributed to the success of Gindiku FM. The first factor is a clear commitment to integrating a gender perspective in all of their actions and therefore to question gender-based discrimination and iv marginalization. The second factor is the set-up of a network of 60 rural women reporters and 60 listening groups, in as many villages, as a scheme to ensure women’s inclusion and participation in the radio station. The third factor is the implementation of gendered programming targeting inequality, social injustices, and women’s subordination. The findings of this study indicate that Gindiku FM has produced changes both at individual and community levels. Women have been empowered technically, culturally and socially. The traditional image of a silenced woman, lacking agency and self-esteem, is fading for a new one that is more vocal, dynamic and less entrenched in traditional and patriarchal values. Therefore, Gindiku FM has emerged as a powerful model that can inspire women’s media activists, as well as donors willing to support initiatives in gender and communication for development. v CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Fatoumata Sow GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Université Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg, France Université de Dakar, Sénégal DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, 2014, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR Master of Arts, 2007-2008, Utilisation des Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication dans l’Education et la Formation, Université Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg, France Degree in Journalism, 1979, Centre d’Etudes des Sciences et Techniques de l’Information, CESTI, Université de Dakar, Sénégal AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Journalism Communication for Development Gender Studies PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Coordinator of the Community Multimedia Centres Scape-up Project of UNESCO, 2005-2007, 2008 Media Consultant, 2007-2009 Executive Secretary of Association of African Communication Professionals, 1990-1997 Editor in Chief of Family Health and Communication newsletter, URTNA, 1985- 1990 Coordinator of IPS Women’s Features Service, 1982-1984 vi Public Relations for the Senegalese Ministry of Social Development, 1980-1985 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Person Fellow, International Development Research Centre (IDRC) 1998-1999 ASHOKA Fellow, 1997 vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to Professor H. Leslie Steeves for her advice and guidance throughout my journey at the University of Oregon and for her invaluable support for the writing of my dissertation. She was my advisor, the chair of my Committee, and a caring friend. Thank you Leslie. I want to express my gratitude to my dissertation committee members, Professor Carol Stabile, Professor Gabriela Martínez, and Professor Yvonne Braun for their insight and support. I also want to extend my thanks to all my professors at the School of Journalism and Communication. I owe my gratitude to Professor Dennis Galvan and family for his endless support. This dissertation would never been completed without the support of Dennis. I am grateful to ARLS members, the staff and volunteers of Gindiku FM, Manooré FM, Afia FM, Kassumay FM, and to the World Education manager and program officers. They all have been great, facilitating my research. I would like to thank Abdou Salam Fall and Massaw Fall for their invaluable assistance while I was conducting the audience survey. Much thanks to Bator Sow, my sister, for being there for me while I was away. I would also like to thank my sisters and brothers and my friends, in Dakar and in Eugene. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my husband Babacar and to my daughter Khady for their loving support, for sharing my stress and anxiety while writing this dissertation, and for always pushing and motivating me. viii To my Beloved Parents To Babacar and Khady ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 Community Radio .................................................................................................. 3 Defining Community Radio ................................................................................... 7 The Main Features of Community Radio .............................................................. 11 Defining Women’s Community Radio .................................................................. 15 Problem Statement and Rationale .......................................................................... 17 Significance of the Study ....................................................................................... 19 Overview of the Dissertation ................................................................................. 20 II. THE CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH ................................................................. 25 The National Context ............................................................................................. 25 Community Media ................................................................................................. 32 Women’s Conditions ............................................................................................. 35 From Animation Rurale to the Stratégie Nationale pour l’Egalité et l’Equité de Genre (SNEEG) ........................................................................................... 43 Women’s Organizations, From Welfare and Patronage to Feminism ................... 49 The Parity Law ....................................................................................................... 51 Thiénaba, the Site of Gindiku FM ......................................................................... 54 Thiénaba: A City in the Midst of Brotherhoods .......................................... 56 Poverty and Low Public Access to Basic Social Services .......................... 58 Women in a Weak Decision-Making Position in Thiénaba ........................ 61 Significant Development Initiatives in the Rural Community ................... 64 Summary ................................................................................................................ 66 III. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ......................................................................... 68 Communication for Development .......................................................................... 68 Critiques of Modernization .................................................................................... 71 Participatory Communication ................................................................................ 72 Empowerment ........................................................................................................ 78 Gender and Development ...................................................................................... 80 Feminist Standpoint ............................................................................................... 84 Summary ................................................................................................................ 88 x Chapter Page IV. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................... 91 The Community Radio ..........................................................................................