Nankwanga Eunice Kasirye

By Nankwanga Eunice Kasirye  Yvonne Moka never imagined that reporting on femicide and violence against women and girls (VAWG) would mean reliving her own nightmares. Each story she tells is not just a battle for justice but also a fight for her own sanity. In a chilling interview, she reveals the haunting weight of being both a journalist and a survivor. Yvonne Moka’s Fight for Justice Begins with a Tear-Stained Story Yvonne Moka, a passionate social justice journalist from Botswana, never anticipated that her first major social justice story would be the one that shattered her heart. "My home girl, we grew up together. We shared everything—church, music, village life. She was like my sister. When I left for university, she stayed behind. Over time, she began dating a gangster from the village, and I was not pleased," Moka recalls. "But she made her choices. Then, one fateful day, I received a call from her neighbor: ‘She’s dead. The boyfriend has killed her.’"...

By Nankwanga Eunice Kasirye  Female journalists covering violence against women and girls are not just exposing injustice—they are risking their own safety. The very violence they report on is the same violence that threatens them. According to the United Nations, 85,000 women and girls were intentionally killed in 2023, with 51,100 murdered by an intimate partner or family member. This translates to 140 women and girls killed daily—one every ten minutes. Additionally, 736 million women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lives, with 30% of women aged 15 and older reporting such experiences. Beyond physical violence, female journalists frequently face sexual harassment, cyber threats, and targeted attacks. A 2022 UNESCO report revealed that 73% of women journalists globally have experienced online violence, with 20% facing real-world attacks linked to their work. These threats not only compromise their safety but also have severe psycho...