Women Journalists in Namibia’s Liberation Struggle Women journalists neu.indb 1 20.05.15 13:15 Women journalists neu.indb 2 20.05.15 13:15 Maria Mboono Nghidinwa Introduction by Henning Melber Women Journalists in Namibia’s Liberation Struggle 1985–1990 Basler Afrika Bibliographien 2008 Women journalists neu.indb 3 20.05.15 13:15 This publication is the result of a collaborative effort between its author Maria Mboono Nghidinwa, the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation (DHF) and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien (BAB). The DHF recently initiated the Ernst Michanek Media and Development Event Series of which this publication is a first result. ©2008 The authors ©2008 The photographers ©2008 Basler Afrika Bibliographien Basler Afrika Bibliographien Namibia Resource Centre & Southern Africa Library Klosterberg 23 P O Box 2037 CH-4051 Basel Switzerland www.baslerafrika.ch All rights reserved Basic Cover Design: Hot Designs, Windhoek, Namibia The map on p.VIII has been adapted from “Contemporary Namibia. The first landmarks of a post-Apartheid society”, ed. by Ingold Diener & Olivier Graefe, Windhoek (Gamsberg Macmillan Publishers), 2001. ISBN Switzerland: 978-3-905758-07-8 Women journalists neu.indb 4 20.05.15 13:15 Contents “Struggles within the Struggle”. An Introduction by Henning Melber IX Acknowledgements 1 1 Introduction 3 Rationale for the study 6 Goal for the study 8 Research questions 8 Researcher’s personal motivation 9 2 Namibia’s History and the Dynamics of Race and Gender 11 Colonial history 11 Early resistance 12 Move to Independence 12 Race relations 15 Gender relations 16 Namibian women in exile 17 Overall role of women in the liberation struggle 19 Status of women in independent Namibia 20 3 Namibia’s Media History 23 SWAPO media in exile 23 Pre-colonial and colonial media in Africa 23 History of the press in Namibia 25 4 Theoretical Frameworks 33 Critical theory 33 Ideology, hegemony and women 35 Critical feminist media theory 37 V Women journalists neu.indb 5 20.05.15 13:15 5 Literature Review 41 Media in the struggle for liberation 42 Women in general in liberation struggles 43 Women in the media 47 Feminist media activism and gender and newsroom culture 49 6 Methodology, Research and Participants 55 Qualitative research as an approach 55 The interview as a qualitative research method 56 Selection of participants 57 Procedures 59 Profile of participants 60 Data analysis 60 Reliability and validity of the qualitative study design 60 Secondary sources 61 Operational definitions of terms 61 7 Women Journalists in the Struggle: Gender Constraints 63 Women had to work harder 63 Lack of promotions, hostile work environment 65 ‘Soft’ news for women, ‘hard’ news for men 65 The glass ceiling 68 Gender consciousness in the newsrooms 69 Women journalists as mothers 70 8 Women Journalists and Intimidation: Political Constraints 73 Government intimidation and death threats 73 Government ‘black’ list 74 9 Black Women Journalists and Racial Constraints 75 The lack of support for black women journalists 75 ‘Sell outs’ 78 VI Women journalists neu.indb 6 20.05.15 13:15 10 Resistance and Complicity 81 Resistance 81 Acceptance 82 11 Reporting Injustices, Fighting Gender Inequality 83 Reporting injustices and atrocities 83 Fighting gender inequality 86 12 Conclusion 89 Theoretical implications 90 Practical implications 94 Recommendations for future research 96 Limitations 97 13 Appendix 99 The participating journalists, their profiles, memories and assessments 99 Acronyms 135 Bibliography 137 Index 145 VII Women journalists neu.indb 7 20.05.15 13:15 Namibia and southern Africa VIII Women journalists neu.indb 8 20.05.15 13:15 “Struggles within the Struggle”. An Introduction by Henning Melber One year into Independence, Namibia’s capital hosted a pioneering UNESCO confer- ence, which on the World Press Freedom Day (May 3rd) adopted the “Windhoek Dec- laration on Promoting a Free and Independent Pluralistic African Press” (1991). It was certainly no coincidence that Windhoek had been chosen as venue. Namibia’s particular colonial situation as “a trust betrayed” and its singular status in terms of international law had been for decades of special concern to the United Nations Organisation. The country and its people achieved national sovereignty (declared on 21st March 1990) through a combination of a long and bitter anti-colonial resistance, including an armed struggle and militant internal mobilization against the South African occupation as well as UN based support by the overwhelming majority of the member states. The last steps to Inde- pendence were implemented with UN assistance and supervision, to obtain international legitimacy and recognition. Namibia joined the family of nations as a welcome member. UNESCO’s conference on the African media, held from April 29 to May 3, 1991, marked a milestone in the world body’s new policy orientation, which recognized demo- cratic movements in all societies as legitimate and the freedom of expression as an integral part of human rights. No longer were authoritarian governments able to justify media control and interference with reference to ‘more important matters’ and the protection of national sovereignty (cultivated as a handy argument to justify internal repression as ‘in the people’s best interest’). Already at the time of Independence, Namibia was blessed with a vibrant media land- scape, in which even independent media were able to survive and to expose the viola- tion of human rights under the Apartheid regime. The flagship of committed journalism, which was prepared even at high personal risks to name and shame whenever atrocities were committed, was the newspaper The Namibian and its courageous editor Gwen Lister. Not surprisingly, she also features very prominently (and rightly so) in this volume. Her initiatives in the mid-1980s paved the way for a human rights and democracy based media culture setting the standards to be measured against. As a journalist, she has since then remained a role model for any aspiring young professional seeking to define the bread-winning job also as an ethical challenge. While at the forefront of democracy then, but castigated by the regime and its sup- porters as an agency of the liberation movement and therefore a ‘terrorist subversion’ IX Women journalists neu.indb 9 20.05.15 13:15 acting on behalf of communist evils, The Namibian continued after Independence to maintain the tradition of critical journalism. Loyalty to the same ethical and moral values and norms, which required to take a stand against Apartheid and its inhuman practices, required to continue in the role as a watchdog against any form of abuse. By implication, the newspaper’s task shifted from criticizing those in power then to criticizing those in power now, if they were violating democracy and human rights or showed other forms of disregard towards the electorate providing them the mandate to rule while claiming to act in the public interest. As a result, The Namibian rather sooner than later ended up once again as ‘troublemaker’ and its independent reporting was labeled as ‘unpatriotic’. All of a sudden, it was accused of being a product of white supremacy and the arrogance of European foreigners – even though the stereotypes did not match with the empirical reality (meaning that almost all members of the staff are either black or Namibian and in many if not most cases both). Against all odds, this newspaper has grown with the years and remains among the most influential print media in the country since over twenty years now. Its editor Gwen Lister continues setting examples of intellectual integrity guided beyond opportunism by a commitment to values and norms and not to individual power. The history of The Namibian is motivating for all those, who believe in the might of the pen (or computer, for that matter, given that the laptop has replaced both pen and type writer). But even the example of The Namibian shows that one is hardly able to fight at all fronts. Racism and sexism are twin brothers (and mind you, brothers indeed, since they are mainly rooted in a concept of oppressive masculinity as reflected in male chauvinist attitudes and mindsets) which have or still are dominating societies. Under the given circumstances of South Africa’s continued illegal presence in Namibia, the fight against institutionalized forms of racial discrimination by the colonial minority rule guided the commitments of the newspaper. It did not necessarily prioritize gender equality postula- tions and subsequent actions in favour of it. Namibia, like so many of the Southern African countries, remains a male–dominated society also after Independence and its women face an uphill battle against entrenched forms of oppression. Horrendous cases of male violence occur on a daily basis and add to the sad conclusion, that ending a system of foreign occupation and racist minority rule is not the end of oppression and the beginning of liberation and emancipation in every re- spect.1 While a sovereign state since 1990, Namibia is hardly a liberated society. Current 1 See for example the recent chapters on various gender related aspects by Dianne Hubbard, Lucy Ed- wards and Suzanne LaFont in Henning Melber (ed.), Transitions in Namibia. Which changes for whom? Uppsala: The Nordic Africa Institute 2007. X Women journalists neu.indb 10 20.05.15 13:15