The International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) stands in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan calling for a peaceful transition of power with respect to the rights of everyone, especially women and girls.

IAWRT calls upon the international community to ensure that the rights of women and girls are respected, with special regard to women journalists and media professionals.

Threats and attacks against women journalists and media professionals, including our colleagues and fellow members in Afghanistan, have increased sharply in recent months since the withdrawal of allied forces from Afghanistan. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), there is a long list of journalists who have received death threats, driving many underground or to leave the country altogether. 

The declining security situation poses a serious threat to the achievements of the last two decades regarding freedom of expression and threatens to push back decades of hard-won progress for women and girls who are now terrified of a return to a repressive past under the Taliban. 

“There are many journalists and female social activists whose lives hang in the balance and whose stories may never be told as the Taliban takes over – once again. These are the brave women who challenged the status quo fighting for fundamental rights, but have been left behind while terror strikes,” says IAWRT President Violet Gonda.

IAWRT, therefore, calls on the following:

• The current leadership must guarantee the safety of women journalists, media professionals, and activists in Afghanistan.
• Women’s organizations around the world should join in solidarity to call for the freedom of women journalists, media professionals, and activists in Afghanistan.
• The international community should immediately facilitate visas for Afghan journalists and media professionals, especially women and their families including elderly dependents and minor children.
• In light of the rapidly deteriorating situation at the airport and in the city, there should be protection provided for Afghan civilians being airlifted – from their homes till they reach the airport terminal building.
• The international community must continue its engagement in brokering peace in Afghanistan.

IAWRT IDEVAW Statement 2020

The International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) is one with the global community in the observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW) on November 25, also the start of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence (from November 25 to December 10).

Violence against women is one of the most widespread and enduring human rights violations in the world today. It also remains largely unreported due to the stigma and shame surrounding it, contributing to impunity while impunity itself is among the reasons for unreported cases.

The United Nations noted how all types of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering this to be the Shadow Pandemic.

We stress our calls to end attacks against journalists, especially women and even our own IAWRT members around the world, some of whom have been at the receiving end of layoffs, assaults or arrests during coverage assignments, and/or online harassment during the lockdown in the months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

IAWRT is fully committed to its vision of a world where women have an equal voice and space in media and its objective of enhancement of women’s role and participation in media, as gender equality cannot be achieved without gender parity in media and communication. But these also cannot be realized, not even partially, when violence against women persist with impunity.

We encourage women journalists to continue to speak out against violence against women, to call for redress, justice and accountability from authorities, to give voice to survivors and victims and to contribute in any way so there can be a safer world for women.

A call to stop the attacks against media

IAWRT Philippines Chapter shares a statement on the state of press freedom and situation of women journalists 48 years after the declaration of Martial law (that effectively lasted for 14 years) in the country

We view with deepening concern the state of press freedom in our country.

Media died on September 23, 1972, the day President Marcos aired a declaration of Martial Law [SG1] throughout the nation. (The deed already done, Proclamation 1081 was signed on September 21, 1972.) Except for a crony press, all media were shut down and hundreds of journalists tagged as “subversives” were thrown into prison caused by the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus during that period.

Fast forward to today, almost forty-eight years later, and amid the pandemic, the dark times of Philippine history are repeating itself. The use of draconian or militarist measures to muzzle freedom of expression in the country, the recent signing of the Anti-Terror Law and its chilling effect on media are no stranger to Filipinos, especially those who have experienced the horrors of Martial Law in 1972.

There is no let-up in maliciously tagging critical media as “terrorist” or supporting terrorism. Even before this, summary extrajudicial killings have hit journalists hard. 

Fourteen journalists have already been killed. Many more are red-tagged, harassed, and put under surveillance. Even the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) has been called a “communist front.” A renewal of the franchise of media giant ABS-CBN was turned down and thousands of employees lost their jobs. Rappler and Philippine Daily Inquirer have been slapped with charges of libel and tax evasion. Alternative media outfits like Bulatlat, Kodao, Pinoy Weekly, AlterMidya and Northern Dispatch have been cyberattacked.

Our women colleagues in media have not been spared. The prevailing misogyny enabled by leaders in the country, put the women in media in the line of fire.

IAWRT Philippines’ very own members, Frenchie Mae Cumpio and Elena Tijamo, were targets of attacks. For exposing military abuses against farmers in their region, Frenchie of Radyo Tacloban was arrested and charged with illegal possession of firearms. Elena of Radyo Sugbuanon was abducted by suspected military agents in her home and is still missing up to this day.

Other names, and mostly community journalists, that were either arrested, harassed or subjected to fabricated charges included Anne Krueger of Pahimutad, Kim Quitasol of Nordis, Gie Herrera of Radyo Natin-Guimba, and Chinkay Porquia of Radyo Sugidanon.

The Anti-Terror Law is a threat to democracy and must be scrapped. The Constitution of the Philippines has been explicit that no law shall be passed abridging the human rights of every Filipino including their freedom of expression

The escalation of human rights violations, including the muzzling of the press, has no place in our society especially in this time of the pandemic. So many dreadful things are happening in the country today such as increasing state violence and the plunder of public funds that only a free press can uncover and keep our people duly informed.

In this light, we call on our members to up their vigilance, call on the government to stop the attacks against journalists and other persons, and release all political prisoners, including journalists. No matter the obstacles, we must continue to keep the fire of press freedom burning in our hearts and soul. Never again shall we allow the abuses that happened during Martial Law happen. Never shall we forget.

Guilty verdict handed down on Monday morning, June 15

The International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT), its more than 400 members and 14 country chapters, stands with Maria Ressa, Reynaldo santos, Jr., Rappler and Filipino journalists who in a few weeks’ time saw the shutdown of ABS-CBN, the railroading of the “terror bill” and a cyber libel conviction.

The journalism world was watching and awaiting the verdict to be handed down on the case against Rappler Executive Editor Maria Ressa and former researcher-writer Reynaldo Santos, Jr. on the morning of June 15. The cyber libel guilty verdict carried the penalties of six months to six years of imprisonment, P200,000 in moral damages and P200,000 in exemplary damages. They will appeal the decision and were allowed to post bail. IAWRT is horrified and hurt by this latest blow to press freedom.

Today’s verdict sets a dangerous precedent not only for journalists but also for every Filipino online. The one-year prescription period of libel is extended to 12 years in cyber libel. The “theory of continuous publication” makes it possible for all online articles or posts to be evaluated for violations of the country’s Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (also known as the cybercrime law). Journalists and the Filipino people fought the passage of the law that included stiffer criminal penalties for cyber libel than the current libel on print and included also posts online on Facebook, Twitter or other platforms.

The odds are against journalists and press freedom. But journalists and media workers must fight back.

Journalists and media workers would be hard put to practice responsible journalism and to serve the public’s right to information amid impunity and tyranny. Journalists, media workers and the public must all heed the call to defend press freedom anywhere we are in the world.

#DefendPressFreedom

#HoldtheLine

The International Association of Women in Radio and Television salutes women journalists and all media workers in the world on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

IAWRT statement on World Press Freedom Day 2020

Journalists are observing this day in solidarity with each other from the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, working from their homes under lockdown, in online protests and gatherings, or languishing in jails for simply doing their job.

As the profession of journalism has become an increasingly dangerous vocation in the world over, persevering in this job and affirming our commitment to the public and their right to information has become in itself a triumph for press freedom.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) tallied at least 1,340 journalists killed in relation to their work.  We remember them on this day. CPJ also recorded at least 250 journalists are incarcerated across the world. One of them is IAWRT Philippines member Frenchie Mae Cumpio, detained since February 2017 and vulnerable in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country’s jails that reported 394% congestion rate in 2019. We demand for the immediate release of imprisoned journalists.

In our world today, journalists not only face the dangers of reporting in conflict situations or risking their lives to bring the news, but also the many downsides of the virtually-connected world such as online harassment meant to intimidate us from reporting or bully us to leave this work or cyberattacks that keep our reports from the people.

During this time of COVID-19 pandemic, governments are employing extraordinary measures to contain the outbreak and the same justification has been used in many parts of the world for restrictions to reporting or access to information, “fake news” charges against the people or the press, and other instances that undermine press freedom and freedom of expression. We must be on our guard to defend press freedom at all times—as this would also enable the people to safeguard their hard-won civil liberties.

UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day theme this year is “Journalism without fear or favour.” This theme is embodied in 2020 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize laureate Jineth Bedoya Lima, a Colombian investigative journalist who reported on the armed conflict and peace process in Colombia and on sexual violence against women. She was herself of sexual violence in 2000 when she was abducted and raped in connection with an investigation into arms trafficking. We extend our recognition to Ms. Bedoya who can be an inspiration to many women journalists in these difficult times.

This theme is also embodied in so many other women journalists—each one of us who are now reporting in the frontlines, trying to carve out space for women’s voices and stories, fighting for women’s bylines or standing up for press freedom. We need media workers reporting without fear now more than ever.

#DefendPressFreedom

#WorldPressFreedomDay