Of the 54 countries, associated with the African Volleyball Confederation, only 3 have female presidents. In the case of Uganda, out of 53 Nationally recognized sports, only 5 are headed by women, namely; volleyball, netball, handball, hockey, and gymnastics. The Media has not been spared by this disparity. The USPA has a representation of 5 women out of the 15 committee members. The newsroom stands with a meager presentation of women at 7% and women in media at just 14% percentage.
After basketball sometime back, I drifted off to a friend's place as I was learning how to play PES. Once in the room, I tried to keep my mind busy as he set up the equipment, so I grabbed the nearest reading material and moved to the sports section. I had no intention to read it but rather to find out how many women were actually out in the media capturing these sports moments.
It was a worrying ratio of 2:5. Do not misunderstand me, I am not against men in the newsroom or in media but I am for the stance that women should have more representation in these fields. The idea of women capturing and uplifting other women in sports would be of great benefit as it normalizes women’s participation, coverage, and achievements in the field, and thus contribute towards the advancement of females in sport.
"How many international volleyball players do you know?" Both men and women. This question really hit hard. Or "How many international woodball players do you know?" If answering this question from an LDU on the streets of Kampala would save your life, would you live? Don't blame yourself for not knowing these details. The media has made their stories, "the other sports stories" and has placed emphasis on stories around soccer, basketball, tennis, and other select few.
Consider another situation in which you are on the verge of winning 10 million Shillings, and you are challenged to name 5 Uganda Cranes Footballers. Congratulations you are now 10 million shillings richer. BUT, there’s a bonus round, and you are tasked with naming one player on the National Basketball Team, lest you lose half of your loot. Chances are, you’ve lost. BUT, behind door number three is a chance to have your winnings multiplied by 5, or go home with 2.5 million, IF...you can give the name of the women’s national basketball team...I wonder how many would have got that right...
I may have drifted off to the media side of the story, but it is important to note how deep these things go, whether it’s in facilitation, incentives, or administration. I would like to refer to the appreciation pay or incentive that the She Cranes received upon finishing 7th in the World Cup, while the Uganda Cranes got a whooping 79 Million shillings after being kicked out of the AFCON games at the round of 16!
These and more topics concerning Women and Sports will be discussed this month during the 2nd Annual Women and Sports Conference, under the theme; ‘Women Taking the Lead’. The Conference will be live on the Score Beyond Facebook page, Sports Women Connect Foundation Facebook page and the Association of Uganda University Sports Facebook Page. A great set of panelists will be exclusively addressing these issues on the 28th, November 2020 at the Makerere Senate Hall.
Miss if you must.
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