“Patriarchy defines leadership from the perspective of public office but not a woman running 25 support groups in the village,” explained Nyaradzayi Gumbodzvanda in session she presented about patriarchy during day one of the Global NGO Forum in New York.
I have met many women in Uganda who are doing amazing work in their villages, towns, sub-counties but still work in isolation with little or no connection to like minded people whether in their town or country or even globally. But with technology fast advancing, how can a simple village woman take advantage of this? How can she be connected to international processes, influence policy and decision makers and connect with like minded people?
I attended a session on linking the local woman to the global agenda at the ongoing CSW session in New York. For me what I learn was life changing. The answer remains in the use of the new media and art.
Not many mainstream newspapers may run a story written by a small group of women in a village. The answer for such women to connect to the world remains in the internet and new media.
Employ every medium if the mainstream newspaper won’t pay attention to you. Blog and use social media including Facebook and twitter to connect with the world and put pressure on the decision makers. Blogs and social media help you connect with people in places where you don’t have a physical presence.
But where technology fails, there still remains a long African way of communication through art and drama. “Art helps people create new space for a different conversation. Create messages that are simple, impacting and makes people think again,” explained the founder of sistersong.net while discussing the winning strategy for organizing and empowering women from local level to join the global agenda.
This article was writen by Esther Nasikye and published on genderit.org
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