23 Mar. 2012 Benin
Local residents raise human rights awareness through Radio contest in Benin.
One weekly discussion recorded every month
Awareness raising on human rights
In Benin, women are in an especially vulnerable position. They cannot inherit land or property, Sand are forced to marry very young. So HFW has been conducting an awareness raising project since 2008 to provide local residents with accurate knowledge of their rights to where they can protect themselves, and ensure that not only women but also children, who are also vulnerable, can participate in community development. Skits, songs and video teaching materials are created based on “The Family Code (a national law)” provided by the Beninese government and meetings are regularly held in which local residents participate in discussions. This awareness raising project is supported by about twenty residents who were taught “The Family Code’ as well as instructed by HFW on the procedure for moderating these discussions.
In April 2011, HFW launched two programs broadcast by radio. One is a program in which the local residents talk about their rights. Once a month, the local residents discuss one theme selected from The Family Code, such as marriage, childbirth or divorce. Their discussion is recorded and broadcast the next day by “Radio Lama,” a local radio station which covers the whole region, including Gbeto Village. This is the most instructive program that this region has ever seen, and the radio station has been much impressed by it. As a favour, it rebroadcasts this thirty-minute program over and over again.
The other is “Radio Contest,” a live show broadcasted by Radio Lama once every three months. A resident who moderates the show asks questions about The Family Code and listeners respond by telephone. Those who give outstanding answers are awarded prizes such as cloth or dishes. When the show was first broadcast in June, the excitement was such that too many people phoned in and some listeners complained that they could not get through to the station.
The number of participants in the weekly discussion meetings had decreased before the radio broadcast, but thanks to the radio show, many residents started to attend the meetings again. People living outside Gbeto Village have begun to ask us to start the project in their village. (TAMURA Rumi, Ex-Program Coordinator for Benin and Burkina Faso)
A woman says, "we are supposed to apply for a divorce if there is injustice such as violence from a partner," when discussing the problem of divorce
A resident facilitator asked if there were any tips for married couples to avoid friction. Answers such as "respect the partner and have a dialogue even if he/she has a different opinion" were given.
