SECTOR 2 2.7 All media fairly represent the voices of both women and men In general, all media cover the voices of men and women. Panellists agreed that now, more than at any other time in history, women issues are taking precedence in the news. ‘There has been a clear and strong improvement in the last few years…women are making news and their stories are becoming newsworthy.’ Nevertheless, the majority of stories on women often relate to ‘soft’ or development issues such as sanitation and maternal and sanitary health. Women rarely feature in stories on politics or the economy, except during elections. Panellists stated that Lesotho is still burdened with patriarchy, pointing out that men and women are unequal in most areas of life (politically, economically and socially). The RomanDutch legal system, customary laws and patriarchal ideology socialise women to be perpetual minors whose guardianship or protection is male, either as the father, husband, or eldest son. As such, the discourse around the coverage of women remains negative in certain instances. In addition, women and girls are usually covered as victims in news stories, while men are the heroes and are portrayed as people with authority. Having female editors and journalists in the newsroom has had no positive outcomes as women in Lesotho have internalised misogyny. The negative portrayal of women is most prevalent on the radio, with presenters often voicing shocking, misogynistic views. Given the power of radio to authenticate public discourse, this could potentially contribute to sexism. Some male panellists did not believe that the media is gender insensitive. ‘Editors choose and dictate stories that sell news and not necessarily based on gender.’ It was also stated that in a race to reverse the tide against the negative portrayal of women and to promote the girl child, men are being portrayed as bad and evil and the boy child is being neglected. However, male panellists’ views differed. ‘The media reports about the key players in politics, sports and so on. And often these players are men. Therefore, the news will dominantly be male.’ It was asserted that the issue is then socialisation because very few women are entering these fields. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 28 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER LESOTHO 2018 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓✓✓ ✓ ✓ 3.2 (2015: 3.1, 2012: 1.5, 2010: 2.8, 2008: n/a, 2006: n/a)