Journalists in Malawi are being challenged to rethink how they report on disability, following a media training in Lilongwe aimed at promoting dignity, accuracy and inclusion in storytelling.
Organised by Human Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities (WAG Disability Rights), the session focused on equipping reporters with skills to better represent women and girls with disabilities.
Project Lead Bridget Oscar Phiri said the initiative was sparked by limited media engagement during the Empower-Her Project’s pilot phase, stressing the need for stronger collaboration with journalists.
“We noticed that we had a few challenges, one of them being less media involvement, so we decided to conduct this training to capacitate media houses in disability communication and reporting,” she said.
She noted that the project, now running until 2029 with support from Finland, seeks to improve access to sexual and reproductive health services while tackling gender-based violence.
“We hope the media will help us disseminate relevant information and communicate appropriately as we implement our activities,” Phiri added.
Participant Joseph Mazizi of Capital Radio said the training opened his eyes to the impact of language and attitudes in reporting.
“It was imperative to have such a training because some of the words we’ve been using are not supposed to be used, and we need to report properly without injuring anyone,” he said.
Mazizi further called for standardised Chichewa terminology to guide journalists, saying inconsistencies often lead to misrepresentation.
“We need something like a handbook with key terminologies because we use different words due to lack of standardisation, and this issue needs urgent attention,” he said.
