By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, the president of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) has said in Freetown that a draft gender policy which has been developed by his organizations Gender Advisory Panel will be presented in January 2023.
He made this statement during the fifth annual Presidential media Cocktail at the Country Lodge Hotel in Freetown on the 7th December, 2022. He said part of the recommendations the Media Viability and Investment conference was to urge the government of Sierra Leone to address gender imbalance in the media industry. He said the document will make a gender-sensitive media possible in Sierra Leone.
Nasralla pointed out that SLAJ was represented at the recent IFJ Regional Workshop on gender in Togo and Senegal and that two sessions were assigned to SLAJ. The SLAJ president said the first session dealt with designing gender-sensitive programmes to attract more women journalists into the unions, especially women journalists working online and that the second session dealt with promoting gender equality in the media: Fighting together as a union to end sexual harassment and all forms of gender-based violence in the media industry.
“Our representative in Togo, Dr. Williette James, said from the discussions during experience sharing sessions, the media in Sierra Leone was recognized as solidly anchored on better ideals of Freedom of Expression. The legal and other institutional frameworks for media operations in the country, the relationship between the Media and the Ministry of Information and Communication and the Independent Media Commission and other operatives, are all well-designed and can best serve as a point of reference for most countries in Africa,” said Nasralla.
The SLAJ boss narrated that, they only achieved the remarkable results they gained as an institution due to the political will to ensure the media makes progress. He further said that, they achieved these results due to their approach, collaboration, engagement and consultation with other stakeholders.
He said the first thing he did when he became President of SLAJ was to inform government that it has a fundamental responsibility to ensure the independence and growth of the media as the bedrock of democracy and governance. “Hence, we have to collaborate with the government at the level of the Ministry of Information and Communications where we have a fantastic minister and a dedicated and committed team of professionals, “he said.
President Nasralla thanked president Julius Maada Bio on behalf of the media fraternity in Sierra Leone, for taking the bold action of repealing the criminal and seditious libel law which he said has laid a very strong foundation for the growth and development of the media in the country.
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