Nankwanga Eunice Kasirye

By Nankwanga Eunice Kasirye The Silent Struggles of an Unmarried Female Journalist in Afar, Ethiopia Rihana Abdela, 27, is a news anchor and reporter at the Afar Mass Media Agency in Ethiopia. In her four years of work, she has faced persistent marginalization and discrimination, both within her newsroom and from the wider society. She explains that women in Ethiopia are often second-guessed, and for female journalists, the skepticism is even deeper. Society views women as less capable, and this results in discriminatory assignments, missed opportunities, and exclusion from key decisions. Rihana’s situation is compounded by her marital status. At 27, she is unmarried-considered a cultural misfit in a community where girls are expected to marry as early as 16. Instead, she devotes herself to caring for her ailing parents. Yet this choice leaves her underpaid, overlooked, and constantly subjected to stigma. In Afar culture, marriage is seen as a woman’s shield. A husband is believe...

By Nankwanga Eunice Kasirye what kind of society do we want to be-one that breeds cruelty, or one that  nurtures peace? Compassion and empathy are not just virtues; they are the foundation of peaceful co-existence and a humane society. When one person chooses to show compassion, it spreads, touching others, inspiring them to carry it forward, and creating a ripple effect of humanity. Sadly, the reverse is equally true: when violence is accepted, tolerated, or even celebrated, it quickly spreads until it defines an entire community. A disturbing video circulating from Busoga, eastern Uganda, captures this dark reality. In it, a woman is seen assaulting a man with a sugarcane. Instead of intervening to stop the fight, the crowd cheers for retaliation. The man pins the woman down, strikes her with a stone on the head, and continues beating her with a stick as the crowd applauds. Even as the woman tries to escape-weak and disoriented-people, especially men, encourage the man to chase h...

By Nankwanga Eunice Kasirye  Sexual Harassment, Unpaid Work, and Denied Maternity Leave: The Silent Burden of Female Journalists in Upcountry Newsrooms in Uganda This is the story of Susan Achola, a Ugandan radio journalist whose career exposes the grim reality of sexual harassment, denial of maternity leave, exploitation, and unpaid labour in the country’s media industry. Susan Achola, in one of the Radio studios in Lira When you switch on your radio to catch the morning news, you rarely think about the voice behind the microphone, her struggles, her sacrifices, or the silent battles she is forced to fight. For many female journalists in Uganda, the studio is not just a workplace- it is a battlefield. Behind the powerful words they use to defend the rights of others lies a haunting irony—they themselves are denied their own rights. When Susan got her first newsroom job at a leading radio station in Lira City, she was excited. But her dream soon collided with the harsh realitie...