If they are unable to see your work; it doesn’t mean you are worth nothing! by Joyce Wangui Wachira-Kangema

“Life is a test, never give up”

Journalism is not for a faint heart! Every Female journalists around the world has a story to tell about the terrible ordeal they (have) had been through while in the line of their duties. Some say they missed opportunities, promotions or those ‘big’ assignments because they said no to the bosses advances.

I believe that all of us journalist get fulfillment when we do that great story, and want to get the great assignments, anyway everyone loves good things but we can’t always have them and this is life, so what do we do to make the ordinary stories (soft news stories) great or the greatest ones?

So what is the big deal if I am assigned to cover feature stories? ‘Women entered journalism mainly to appeal to female audiences and were to write about topics considered interesting for women: food, fashion, family and furniture – which cover décor and so on.’ If this is the case, why do we say that what a man can do women can do better?

Ruona Meyer (Our Trainer), said in a live session for Identifying gendered angles and impact stories module that we should, “take our stories to the gym to make them strong!” isn’t this a good ticket to get that hard news assignment instead of trading our dignity? Start small and keep building; a thousand mile journey starts with a single step; is my mantra.

So never give up you ripe time will come and you will triumph; women should never trade their dignity for the sake of stories and fame. I have seen women who compromise so as to get promotions and greener pastures. However, after being used another one comes and the trend continues, so it is always wise to be alert of ones subconscious since everyone knows this strategy is bad.

On the other hand, Female journalists are most targeted, vulnerable into failing into the traps of the abusers and scammers. Ruona Meyer said that sometimes the abusers may not be aware that they are harassing the women.so women should always set boundaries; we can’t always trust our male friends or colleagues to keep us safe.

On the safety for journalists module by Vicensia Fuko, this is a key are where female journalists need to pay more attention since they are venerable and mostly targeted, understanding and detecting threats stood out very well especially in regard to online platform during this era that digital media is thriving.

I trusted one who had requested to be helped in a course he was doing but only to find myself in the hands of an abuser, the buddy turned out to be a monster; The situation worsened when I talked to female colleague whom I though was my friend and instead she shared what I had planned to do in order to get my Justice with the said man and the man threatened to use his connections with a politician who also play a big role in deciding our career/lives.

This was in the beginning of my career as a journalist (radio presenter), then I developed a rebellious attitude and would see everyone especially men as an enemy; this translated to depression and I almost lost my job due to my rebellion.

“If they are not able to see your work; it doesn’t mean you are worth nothing!”

Today I am grateful for the opportunity to share this since the struggle I have had in my career life have shaped the person I am today; fearless confident that regardless of if I am given a soft story I can make it a great story; thanks to the Journalists programme which is coordinated by African Women in Media (AWiM), in partnership with UNESCO, through the IPDC framework and the live sessions for the six modules that we interact with great mentors who inspire and mentor.

The courses are so rich that it is a wake-up call that sometimes as female journalists we need to be aware of our environments share and encourage each other; change the meaning of masculine dominance in order to triumph.

If they are not able to see your work; it doesn’t mean you are worth nothing!