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Nigerian Girls in Damaging Highlight: A Name for Change
By Zeenat Sambo
Everywhere in the world, the media performs a vital function in selling gender equality and ladies’s rights in addition to defending girls. It’s undoubted that the media shapes public perceptions, influences social norms and drives conversations on essential points throughout the globe.
Girls’s rights and gender equality are interwoven and the media takes duty for each of them.
By highlighting points like gender-based violence, discrimination and unequal entry to alternatives, the media has through the years used the instruments to teach the general public and policymakers, resulting in larger consciousness and understanding.
The media may also function a platform for advocacy and activism. This is a crucial means by which girls’s rights activists can amplify their voices, offering them with a bigger viewers by which to advocate for change and combat discrimination.
Additionally Learn: Nigerian Women in the Eye of a Misogynistic Press: A Call for Action, by Rahma Oladosu
Nonetheless, the continual reportage on Nigerian girls as essentially the most untrue on the planet leaves a bitter style within the mouth and it’s a very unfair stereotype.
A report titled, “Nigerian girls are most untrue on the planet – Durex,” has been trending all around the web for some years.
Although the unique report was revealed in 2012, it’s stunning to see it nonetheless trending in 2023. Other than missing primary details, the weak try to impugn on the integrity of Nigerian girls by way of false narratives is basically unlucky.
Similar story, identical declare, identical lackadaisical poor reportage on Nigeria girls now got here again to dominate the house in 2023. The poor piece lacks each little bit of professionalism and customary parts of stories reporting.
The poor piece of writing was later fact-checked by PRNigeria on the twentieth September, 2023, and the declare on Nigerian girls being largely promiscuous was discovered to be false. Clearly, the narrative which circulated on mainstream, on-line, and social media that Nigerian girls are essentially the most untrue on the planet was based mostly on the misrepresentation of a survey on condom use, in keeping with PRNigeria.
“Since we couldn’t uncover the survey on the web site of Durex together with www.durexme.com/, a search on ‘infidelity’ and ‘untrue nation’ led us to STATISTA, the revered portal on information and statistics with a printed survey in 2017 on the “Most Untrue nationalities” the place nations had been ranked. Utilizing the proportion of married adults who’ve admitted having an affair, Thailand ranked first at 51%, adopted by Denmark at 46%, Italy 45%, France 43%, Norway 41%, Belgium 40%, Spain 39%, United Kingdom 36% and Finland 36%. Nigeria was NOT listed or talked about,” the PRNigeria report learn partly.
The actual fact-check additional revealed that the Durex survey was misrepresented and mischievously misinterpreted for sensationalism on Nigerian girls by mainstream and on-line media.
Accordingly, analysis performed in over 100 nations states that 46 % of all information tales uphold unfavourable gender stereotypes, whereas solely six % spotlight gender equality.
There is no such thing as a doubt that the media performs a serious function in fixing gender stereotypes that have an effect on how we predict and act. The truth that the story appeared on the pages of respected newspapers in Nigeria is a critical indictment on our professionalism, credibility, thoroughness and a focus to particulars. The media is meant have gatekeepers who vet their output, so, it’s embarrassing to see such content material being put out.
Introspection on the report would have proven that the story was an previous falsehood that ought to have been ignored. It’s improper to tag the womenfolk in an internet of promiscuity in a rustic the place majority of the ladies are preventing tooth and nail, making sacrifices within the face of adversity to care for their husbands and youngsters.
Fairly than becoming a member of the mob to undeservedly disgrace girls, Nigerian media ought to highlight the greatness of the ladies and have a good time the professionals and enterprise leaders who’re making the nation proud each domestically and internationally.
For our girls’s integrity to be protected, we should work collectively as people, communities, establishments, and governments to create a extra inclusive and equitable society. To make sure that girls are handled with the respect they deserve, it’s important to lift consciousness, problem biases and advocate for change.
Irresponsible reporting can contribute to victim-blaming and reinforce stereotypes. It can be crucial that media organisations are dedicated to moral journalism practices and gender-sensitive reporting tips to maintain our nation sane and steady.
Be part of the campaign! Cease the stereotype!
