Kampala — Somalia's first and only all-women media team, Bilan, was on October 2 nominated as one of the three possible recipients of the 2023 Index on Censorship Press Freedom Award in the Journalism category.
The Index on Censorship's Freedom of Expression Awards celebrate journalists who have had significant impact fighting censorship anywhere in the world across four categories: Arts, Campaigning, Journalism. and the Trustee award. Winners are honoured at a gala celebration in London and receive financial support.
Bilan's recognition came after almost two years of pushing back taboos and blazing a trail for women journalists in what several global media monitoring agencies refer to as one of the most dangerous countries to report news.
Established in April 2021, with support from the UNDP, Bilan which translates as "bright and pure" is staffed and run entirely by women with full editorial independence.
"Bilan's arrival on the Somali media scene is completely unprecedented," said Achim Steiner, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator.
"As well as directly raising important issues for public debate, the quality of their work makes its own case for women playing a key role in media and journalism. This nomination is a recognition of their journalistic talent, commitment and determination."
Working across all platforms including radio and television, the unit covers hard news and in-depth features, holding leaders to account and making sure women's stories and voices are heard.
The six-woman team has provided the first opportunity for Somali women journalists to exercise complete editorial independence, deciding what they want to report and how. They have used this freedom to be the first to report on some of Somalia's major stories on a range of previously ignored issues; including the terrifying discrimination against albino communities, the life of HIV-positive Somalis living on the streets, the abuse of female orphans, schools for autistic children and teachers, and an epidemic of opiate use among women in Mogadishu.
Inside Somalia, Bilan's reports have reached millions via the radio, TV and social media channels of Dalsan Media Group, which hosts Bilan at its offices in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.
Bilan's reports also appear regularly in international media, including The Guardian, BBC, El País and Toronto Star, raising the profile of Somali women journalists and proving they can compete at the highest levels, even while dealing with challenges that range from discrimination and threats of violence to interviewing high-profile figures with new-born children in tow.
"Bilan shows just how baseless traditional stereotypes can be and provides women with a powerful voice for free expression," said Bilan's Deputy Chief Editor, Hinda Abdi Mohamoud. "We've demonstrated through our work how a group of women journalists can manage a media unit and produce stories that reveal the truth and change lives."
"Despite the risks, we believe passionately that women deserve a place at the top of journalism," said Bilan's Chief Editor, Fathi Mohamed Ahmed. "We know our work is dangerous, but if we don't speak out about the issues affecting us, who will and how will things ever change?"
She added: "The stories we have produced this year would never get attention in Somalia before, including elderly people living with HIV, drug addiction among young women, female farmers studying agriculture degrees and many more."
Journalism not for the faint-hearted
Ever since Somalia's authoritarian government collapsed over 30 years ago, the country has struggled to have a functioning state. Freedom House; the Washington D.C-based non-profit organisation that tracks trends on freedoms and democracy around the world, categorizes Somalia as "not free" owing to its scores on civil liberties (6/60) in its latest report.
Last year, journalists continued to face arrests and physical violence. Freedom House documented the arrest of Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, the head of the Somali Journalists Syndicate in October after his organisation criticized a government directive banning the "dissemination of extremist ideology" which it said could limit free speech. Abdalle was charged with bringing the state into contempt, among other offences, and the case was pending at year's end.
Separately, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) documented the deaths of two journalists as a result of bomb blasts in September and October last year. The CPJ also reported Al-Shabaab's killing of two journalists in 2021, and the United Nations recorded the detention of multiple journalists throughout the year.
The CPJ and the Somali Journalists Syndicate noted that many of those arrested and harassed were targeted because of their reporting on political tensions around the postponed presidential elections. These are some of the circumstances that the journalist community in Somalia has to routinely contend with.
Women journalists often suffer more
But, observers of Somali society say it is often worse for women journalists as they have to contend with harassment on the streets, abuse at work and exclusion from jobs and career opportunities.
In fact, although Bilan's women journalists have experienced a meteoric rise, all of its journalists have faced a difficult road to their current success and their individual stories show how tough it can be for Somali women to make it in journalism.
Bilan's women journalists come from across Somalia and bring a wealth of media experience to the table, along with a passion for women's rights, fair reporting and journalistic integrity.
Kiin Hassan Fakat, a reporter who grew up in a refugee camp in Kenya, regularly covers stories about refugees and IDPs.
"Living in Dadaab was a mixture of pleasure and hardship," she says. "Some people probably find it strange that I say that living in a refugee camp was pleasurable, but it was enjoyable compared with Somalia because there was peace," Fakat says in her bio on the Bilan website.
The youngest team member, Shukri Mohamed Abdi, faced down intense social disapproval when leaving her home in Baidoa for the first time to work at Bilan in Mogadishu.
"I come from a rural clan which does not want any of its members to become a journalist, especially young women."
"We come from the bush, where the concepts of being a journalist does not exist," Abdi says in her bio on Bilan's website. On the other hand, the Chief Editor, Fathi, has reported from the scene of terrorist bombings and faced abuse in the streets for going to work while pregnant.
Paying the ultimate price
In a previous interview, Nasrin Mohamed, Bilan's former Chief Editor noted how being a female journalist in Somalia often means being prepared to pay the ultimate sacrifice. In the interview, Nasrin said, female journalists do not just have to brave the bombings and the harsh living conditions that everyone else faces, there are also other issues specific to being a woman in the media.
Somalia journalsim remains dominated by the men who own the media houses and still hold most of the powerful, decision making and editorial positions. She said female journalists tend to be stuck in junior, poorer-paid positions. And, although some work as presenters and can appear to be the "face" or "voice" of a programme, they are usually unable to contribute or give an opinion on editorial content.
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Nasrin remembers an incident when two journalists she knew once got offered a training opportunity in Mogadishu, but their boss wanted the male journalists to go instead. The women insisted on going and when they returned to the station, they were fired.
In response, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) set up an all women-editorially independent media unit inside Dalsan Media Group, one of the most respected media houses in Somalia, that will allow female journalists to take control of the narrative.
"It's not easy being a woman in a senior position," says Nasrin, "Every woman journalist faces prejudice both inside and outside office. "Members of the community; especially men, challenge you every step of the way. Even your family resists you becoming a reporter."
Yet, despite all these obstacles, Nasrin wants to inspire more women to join the profession. She plays a leading role in Somali women's media groups and has been Deputy Director of the Somali Women's Journalists' Organisation since 2013. Her role at Bilan offered her another opportunity to promote women's journalism, she says. "Somalia's first ever women-only media unit is a brilliant innovation. It will allow us to tell stories that have always been hidden," she said. Nasrin believes people will talk to female journalists about issues they have never before spoken about in public, like the abuse of domestic workers and the rape of young girls.
"Women journalists can be more productive than men if they have the freedom to think, a safe place to work, and a platform, like Bilan, to express their ideas," says Kiin Hassan Fakat, the reporter at Bilan.
