Radio Broadcasters in Eritrea

THE UNIVERSITY OF READING Educational and Developmental Radio for Rural Women: Understanding Broadcasters and Listeners in a Case Study of Eritrea PhD INTERNATIONAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT Mary Myers June 2004 Declaration I confirm that this is my own work and the use of all material from other sources has been properly and fully acknowledged. Signed Mary Myers 2 Abstract Rural African women’s disadvantaged position in relation to accessing developmental information and participating in education is well-known. It has been posited that radio broadcasting is potentially a tool which could help overcome some of their disadvantages. Through an empirical case-study of radio broadcasting in Eritrea, the research examines the extent to which radio is fulfilling this potential educational and developmental role in relation to rural women. The practical and socio-cultural factors influencing the production of educational and developmental programmes by broadcasters are explored as well as the meaning and attraction that such programmes hold for listeners. For rural women, a model is proposed, based on the research results, which shows the determinants of interest in and uptake of educational and developmental radio. It identifies the obstacles to hearing and understanding the radio, as well as four important factors, namely, the need to feel the relevance of radio content, to like it, to have a sufficiently positive self-image in relation to radio listening, and to believe it. For broadcasters, a second model is proposed, showing a range of factors which are mostly negatively influencing the production of programmes for rural women in Eritrea. These are related mainly to broadcasters’ self-images, their organisational constraints, their working ethos, and the ideological and political factors governing the way broadcasting is planned and structured. It is argued that these various factors, and the background reasons for them, must be addressed, and/or allowed for, in order to make educational and developmental radio more meaningful for rural women. Some pointers for communication planners are given to this effect, and some suggestions are made for further research about rural broadcasting in Africa, particularly that which is run by state-owned public-service oriented structures. 3 Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................3 Acknowledgements ................................................................................... 11 Glossary and Abbreviations ..................................................................... 12 Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................. 14 1.1. Focus ............................................................................................................. 14 1.2 The Importance of Radio ................................................................................. 15 1.3. Why rural women? ......................................................................................... 17 1.4. Why Eritrea? .................................................................................................. 18 1.5. The need for this study ................................................................................... 20 1.6. Gender ............................................................................................................ 21 1.7. Theoretical Framework .................................................................................. 22 1.8. Structure of the Thesis .................................................................................... 28 Chapter 2: Literature Review ................................................................... 30 2.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 30 2.2. Main Methods and Debates ............................................................................ 33 2.2.1 Radio for Development .............................................................................. 33 2.2.2. Radio for Education .................................................................................. 37 2.2.3 Key debates in the field of educational and developmental radio .............. 41 2.3. Previous Literature on Women and Radio and Rural Broadcasting ................ 46 2.3.1. Women and Radio .................................................................................... 46 2.3.2. Literature on Broadcasting for a rural audience........................................ 56 Chapter 3: Context ................................................................................... 59 3.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 59 3.2. Geographical and socio-economic features of present-day Eritrea................ 60 3.3. Outline of recent history of Eritrea ................................................................... 61 3.4. Background to the EPLF ................................................................................. 64 3.5. Status and Roles of Women ........................................................................... 65 3.5.1. Evolution of women’s status during independence war ............................ 66 3.5.2. Changes in women’s status since independence ..................................... 68 3.5.3. Women’s roles in rural areas .................................................................... 69 3.6. Background on broadcasting .......................................................................... 72 3.7. Education ....................................................................................................... 79 3.7.1. History of education .................................................................................. 80 3.7.2. The EPLF approach to education ............................................................. 81 4 3.7.3. Education in Eritrea today ........................................................................ 83 3.7.4. Issues in Education .................................................................................. 84 3.7.5. Information Provision ................................................................................ 86 3.8. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 87 Chapter 4: Methodology ........................................................................... 91 4.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 91 4.2. Research methods .......................................................................................... 92 4.2.1. Research Questions ................................................................................. 95 4.2.2. Observation .............................................................................................. 97 4.2.3. Potential problems with participant observation ....................................... 98 4.2.4. Research Assistance .............................................................................. 101 4.3. Research in case-study villages.................................................................... 105 4.3.1. Introduction............................................................................................. 105 4.3.2. Questionnaire-based survey (survey A) ................................................. 112 4.3.3. Focus Groups ......................................................................................... 116 4.3.4. Information Sources ............................................................................... 118 4.3.5. Further Discussions with Focus Groups ................................................. 121 4.3.6. Radio-Listening Focus-Groups ............................................................... 122 4.3.7. Quantitative Survey (Survey B) .............................................................. 125 4.3.8. Survey and interviews done outside Case-Study Villages (survey C) .... 127 4.4. Interviews with Key Informants ..................................................................... 129 4.5. Consultation of Secondary Sources .............................................................. 131 Chapter 5: Rural Women Listeners in Eritrea ....................................... 132 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 132 5.2 Factors Affecting Radio Listening for Rural Communities .............................. 132 5.2.1 Lack of sets and batteries ....................................................................... 133 5.2.2. Reception, Scheduling and Languages ................................................. 134 5.2.3.Critical Listening ...................................................................................... 134 5.3. Women’s Listening Patterns ......................................................................... 136 5.3.1. Control of the Radio Set ......................................................................... 136 5.3.2. Radio Listening patterns within the household ....................................... 137 5.3.3. Sharing of radio sets .............................................................................. 138 5.3.4 Regularity with which women listen ......................................................... 138 5.3.5 When women

Load more