Media Focus on Africa

Published purpose

This project aims to empower and raise the voice of Kenyan women to become leaders in building and governing a more peaceful and equitable Kenya through the use of media for social change. The project works to produce a 26-episode reality television series, called Ms President, where women are selected to act as presidential candidates and engage on issues such as women’s rights and the empowerment of women, adolescent girls and girls in politics, peacebuilding, reconciliation, and social cohesion. In parallel, the project facilitates media practitioners’ ability to change media content to portray women as leaders in their communities and to challenge discriminatory social norms that continue to depict women as inferior to men. It also strengthens the capacity of the selected women presidential candidates in the reality television series to have more effective messaging and to act as influential political leaders and change agents for gender equality in Kenya. In addition, the initiative partners with civil society and women’s rights organizations post-production and use the television series as a way to increase dialogue among civil society actors, local and national conflict resolution and peace-building groups, as well as government officials about women’s leadership roles in peacebuilding in three counties in Kenya affected by insecurity and violent extremism.