Arts, heritage and media
Bilan Media: Somalia's first all-women newsroom
Bilan Media is a Somali newsroom run entirely by women. It was founded in Mogadishu in April 2022 with the support of the UN Development Programme, with six journalists. Its editor-in-chief is Fathi Mohamed Ahmed and its director Nasrin Mohamed Ibrahim. In 2024 it launched Somalia's first women-led current affairs TV show and won the One World Media Press Freedom Award.
Founding
Bilan Media was set up in April 2022 in Mogadishu with the support of the United Nations Development Programme. It started with a team of six women journalists and is the first newsroom in Somalia run entirely by women (Bilan Media, Wikipedia; France 24, 7 July 2022). Bilan means "bright" in Somali (Wikipedia). Shortly before the launch, one of its journalists survived an attack by al-Shabaab (Wikipedia).
The editor-in-chief since the start has been Fathi Mohamed Ahmed, and the director is Nasrin Mohamed Ibrahim (Wikipedia; Le Monde, 24 October 2023).
What it covers
Bilan reports mainly on social issues and on women's lives. Wikipedia cites stories on period poverty, interviews with women and girls, and drug use among poor people in Somalia, topics rarely covered in Somali media. Its work goes out on radio, television and online (Wikipedia; Christian Science Monitor, May 2022). France Inter and VOA Afrique have profiled the newsroom (Radio France; VOA Afrique).
How it works
The Christian Science Monitor, citing The Guardian, reported that Bilan produces news and features for TV, radio and online with a focus on gender-based violence and women in politics and business. It trains and mentors its reporters with established journalists and offers internships to women journalism students. UNDP funded it at first as a one-year pilot. Nasrin Mohamed Ibrahim, one of few women senior news producers in Somalia, wrote in The Guardian: "Never before have Somali female journalists been given the freedom, opportunity and power to decide what stories they want to tell and how they want to tell them." The Monitor also reported that sexual harassment is common in Somali media and that women journalists struggle to win promotion (Christian Science Monitor, 16 May 2022).
2024: a TV show and an award
- January 2024: The Guardian reported that Somalia would launch its first current affairs TV show led by women, made by Bilan (The Guardian, 30 January 2024).
- June 2024: Bilan won the One World Media Press Freedom Award (RFI, 26 June 2024).
The setting
Wikipedia, citing Reporters Without Borders, describes Somalia as the most dangerous country in Africa for journalists (Wikipedia; RSF, Somalia). Women journalists in Somalia have faced particular barriers, which France 24 reported Bilan was set up to challenge (France 24).
Read more
Sources
- Bilan Media, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- France 24, 7 July 2022 · france24.com
- Le Monde, 24 October 2023 · lemonde.fr
- Christian Science Monitor, May 2022 · csmonitor.com
- Radio France · radiofrance.fr
- VOA Afrique · voaafrique.com
- The Guardian, 30 January 2024 · theguardian.com
- RFI, 26 June 2024 · rfi.fr
- RSF, Somalia · rsf.org
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