Human Rights, African Stories

We should avoid the kind of senseless reporting that leads to helplessness; we should stop, reflect, verify. And we should collaborate across borders. In this episode project partners reflect on the future of human rights journalism in Kenya and Nigeria. It features John-Allan Namu of Africa Uncensored as well Felicia Dairo and Akintunde Babatunde of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development.

Why don't women leave violent relationships? It's complex; Nigerian journalist Caroline Ameh has been covering the issue in her reporting, and finds that religion, economics, and community expectations play a part. For some women, the right to life is not protected because it's not easy to get out of an abusive relationship. Which is why we need to end the taboo on discussing gender violence. Caroline's story: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nigerianobservernews.com/2022/09/domestic-violence-breaking-the-silence-of-culture-and-religious-bias/&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1668206694362623&usg=AOvVaw045VOmYnAm427u7hFCjwzf Nigeria's 'women and welfare' budget cut by half: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/gender/559800-2023-budget-women-affairs-ministry-gets-nearly-50-cut.html IWPR's reporting health handbook - contains guidelines on reporting gender-based violence: https://iwpr.net/global-voices/print-publications/reporting-health-disinformation-age Femicide and the lockdown: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/during-lockdown-we-saw-spike-violence-drop-femicides

Hawkers are everywhere in Nairobi; they are the people who sell things but don't have shops. From SIM cards to kitchenware, you can stop a hawker and buy lost anything. But their livelihood is precarious, as we find out from Hellen Shikanda, a reporter at the Nation Media Group. Hellen's story will appear here: https://nation.africa/kenya/author-profiles/hellen-shikanda-731514 Haki Africa: https://hakiafrica.or.ke/

It’s not just innocents getting caught in the crossfire; the security situation in Nigeria means that armed gangs are carrying out raids with impunity. Anibe Idajili was funded by the IWPR to report on how the rights of children are being affected by ‘the insecurity’ in Niger State. Thousands of people are being displaced by bandits, and children’s right to an education is suffering. Anibe's story is here: https://www.thecable.ng/death-throes-in-nigerias-crisis-ridden-state-mothers-watch-as-hunger-batters-children For more on ready-to-use therapeutic food, and to find out how UNICEF is using it to save lives, click here: https://www.unicef.org/nutrition/RUTF

Life, liberty and security of person [part two] Why do some people in uniform behave with immunity? Qosim Suleiman is a Nigerian journalist who covered the story of an incident involving off-duty airmen, an argument over a girl, and the protests against security services which started in 2017 and continue to this day. What happened? And why are extrajudicial killings a big human rights issue in Nigeria? Qosim's story is here: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/555722-special-report-years-after-nigerian-air-force-officials-killed-two-innocents-justice-remains-elusive.html

Life, liberty and security of person [part one] Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. What happens when that right is taken away? In this episode, we'll meet Perpetua in Nairobi, who became a human rights campaigner when her brother went missing. Missing Voices Kenya https://missingvoices.or.ke Kayole Community Justice Centre (Facebook page) https://www.facebook.com/KayoleCJC/ Africa Resilience Network resources https://iwpr.net/projects/focus/africa-resilience-network

How do reporters use fact-checking and open source intelligence techniques to get their stories? How are campaigners finding new ways to tell the world about injustices like extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, and gender-based violence? We'll hear from Kenyan and Nigerian journalists talking about journalism; as well as communicators who work on human rights issues. It's about stories. How can a bar-room disagreement change a life forever? Why are hawkers being harassed? And how do social media celebrity cop killers escape justice? Whether it’s pressuring the police and security services to be more accountable, or getting issues like domestic violence out into the open, this podcast is about the way that we tell these stories can change lives on the ground. Meet the storytellers. Written, presented and produced by Nick Raistrick.for the Institute for War & Peace Reporting.