Over the airwaves, the voices of Elbeka, Mariam and Awa travel from a small recording studio in Baga Sola, Lake Chad province, to homes across the region. With a confident and determined tone, they denounce the violence that girls like them endure just because they are girls.
“At first I was intimidated to speak on the radio, but after the show I was happy to express myself. If we girls start talking on the radio from a young age, we will be able to say anything, anywhere. In addition, it is a very good way to raise awareness in society to abandon practices such as child marriage. Everyone in the community has access to the radio,” explains Elbeka, 14.
Only 31% of men can read and write and only 14% of women
Organization of the United Nations
The crisis in western Chad’s Lago province deepened in 2014, with escalating attacks by various armed groups in Nigeria and northern Cameroon, leading to the displacement of increasing populations. Currently, the situation has deteriorated and the need for help has increased. The number of refugees in Chad is estimated at 1.1 million, of whom around 54% are girls and women.
In connection with humanitarian crises, radio plays a very important role. It facilitates distance learning in areas where access is already challenging for many conflict-affected children. In addition, it serves to provide the population with relevant information about safety, disease prevention and even the rights of girls and to protect them from harmful practices.
Elbeka, Mariam and Awa, members of the El club de las niñas project, on the recording set of Radio Ningui, in Baga Sola, Chad.Irene Galera
Hence the importance of community radio stations, democratic stations accessible to all and who do not understand the economic or educational level, which is particularly relevant in Chad as it is one of the countries with the lowest literacy rate in the world. According to UNESCO, only 31% of men can read and write and only 14% of women. In terms of press freedom, the country is ranked 104th out of 180 by Reporters Without Borders.
The radio as a mirror of oral tradition
In Chad, it’s not uncommon for a group of 15 or 20 people to gather around a radio in the shade of a tree. In many contexts in Africa, radio is much more than a means of communication, it is a social symbol reflecting the continent’s long oral tradition. It owes its success, among other things, to its adaptability to the specificities of the continent, since it allows to reach areas that are difficult to access and to cope with the geographical complexity and the lack of infrastructure. The girls recognized their potential and asked themselves: “Why don’t we use it to denounce the inequality and violence that we suffer in our everyday life?”
In addition to Elbeka, Mariam and Awa, another 21 girls, mostly refugees or internally displaced persons, meet several times a month in the Radio Ningui studio. They all form the so-called “Girls’ Club”, which is promoted by the Fundación Entreculturas’ campaign La LUZ de las NIÑAS. In this room, the girls meet to discuss subjects such as menstruation, female genital mutilation or early and forced child marriage, and to prepare the scripts for their programs that will be broadcast on this community radio up to 97.2. And it is that childhood in Chad goes through many difficulties, but the situation of girls is especially serious. 67% were forced into marriage when they were minors, 34% were victims of female genital mutilation and only 19% of girls reach first secondary school, compared to more than 40% of boys, according to the United Nations.
The success of radio is due, among other things, to its ability to adapt to the specificities of the continent, since it allows it to reach areas that are difficult to access and to cope with geographical complexity and lack of infrastructure
Let’s go back to the group of people listening to the radio in the shade of a tree for a moment. If we consider the numbers of violence against girls, after a simple calculation we come to the following conclusion: 13 of the 20 people who might listen to the radio think about forcing their underage daughters to marry, seven of them by performing genital mutilation on them , and 16 by taking her out of school so her male brothers could go on to study. That is why it is so important that the voice of girls and young people is present on community radio stations.
Koubra in front of the Radio Ningui studio in Baga Sola, Lake Chad.Irene Galera
“We are brave. When we returned home – after the broadcast of the show – our parents and people from the neighborhood congratulated us, they told us that the information we gave was very interesting,” says Elbeka.
As Elbeka explains, the courage of girls through radio has an impact on communities. However, for these initiatives to multiply their outreach, more government and institutional involvement is needed to ensure effective protection of girls’ rights. This is essential if we are to achieve what is set out in Goal 5.3 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which calls for the elimination of all practices harmful to women by 2030. Meanwhile, the girls of Lake Chad will continue to raise their voice to protect themselves from violence.
Laura Lora Ballesta She is responsible for the communication of the campaign La LUZ de las NIÑAS of the Entreculturas Foundation.
Follow PLANETA FUTURO on TwitterFacebook and Instagram and subscribe to our “Newsletter” here.