My Vision of Alternative Media for Grassroots Women

My Vision of Alternative Media for Grassroots Women
My personal vision is women at grassroots level have access to alternative media to speak out against their oppression and marginalisation. Their views regarding matters that affect them can be better captured through the alternative media which resonates with their context and culturally appropriate to share their views, perspectives and circumstances which are rarely acknowledged in conventional media. The views of women will not be discriminated because they do not fall within the dominant hegemony in our society. Alternative media accept women as empowered citizens who dare express their opinions. Voices of women will bring the alternative to patriarchy.
My vision is entangled in GAMCOTRAP’s vision of empowering women with alternative media to promote grassroots activism. GAMCOTRAP is a space where women speak in their own languages the very personal and intimate experiences to express the challenges they face and share the coping strategies they have employed. Women take leadership to bring about change and the voices calling for change to empower women are connected through the media.
Women are confident and have the courage to share their opinion and a wider community listens and supports them. Women in difficult circumstances know that they are not alone; there are many others who understand their situation. Women realize the power in their voices.
My vision is GAMCOTRAP has the first women’s community radio in its true sense. The women’s radio effectively nurtures equality, diversity, and promotes democratic values amongst women and men in society. Women are empowered and they share their unique experiences and public institutions respond to such experiences.
Women’s wisdom is shared and expressed through singing, storytelling, and other forms of expressions on the radio to communicate, educate and inform society. Women over come fear of being castigated and they speak their minds. Radio listening groups are created to give support to the issues the women raise on air.
My vision is to have a women’s radio that provides alternative images that challenge the dominant gender stereotypes in place. Women in diversity is promoted in line with my personal vision of women in a global world who all share the desire to be listened to, be supported, respected and encouraged to share their stories.
Young women are mentored to know that silence is not an option and that a generation of activists have broken the biggest taboo about sexuality in our Gambian context. The taboo of talking about female genital mutilation, early marriage, and many others affecting female sexuality in the media has been broken.
My eyes are closed but my dream is shared on web 2.0. There are many more dreamers like me out there and by chance are connected through Pulsewire who will read this article and understand exactly my vision for my community and its global nature. Those of us who have access and control over resources, technical and financial will be connected and support my dream of having alternative media for grassroots women to be real.
There is so much determination, courage and possibility to transform my community and create an opportunity just like Janice Wong provided to Jensine to realize her dream and today women in diversity are availed the opportunity to share their stories, because they have space to speak out on Pulsewire. That was why I wrote in my assignment for week three on VOF application an article called “One Vision different Worlds” because my vision is that literate and non-literate women all have space to tell their stories.
If I am given the opportunity to be a Voice of the Future correspondence I will share my stories and that of the women I come across who want to be heard. They want the world to understand their situations and give them support. Being a Correspondent will avail me the opportunity to be part of the global voices documenting the lived realities of women and renew our hope in life, making us realize that in fact someone is listening. As a Voice of the Future correspondent, I hope articulate the voices of women as a matter of women’s human rights, and the space should be available for women to express themselves through alternative media.