Armed with cellphones, tripods and laptops, the crew of Bilan Media, a Somali all-women start-up, has set out on a mission to break the silence on gender-based violence in the troubled Horn of Africa nation.
Bilan (meaning “beauty” in Somali) is a rarity in the conservative, mostly Muslim country. It is funded by the United Nations Development Program and operates out of the offices of Dalsan, a popular TV and radio station based in the capital, Mogadishu.
His team of six journalists aims to challenge patriarchal norms by producing shows that focus on women.
This includes profiles of prominent Somali women and coverage of issues often considered too sensitive for public broadcast in Somalia, including issues such as domestic violence and rape.
“About 80 percent of the program will focus on stories that people might find shameful. Society needs to be informed about these stories,” said Bilan Editor-in-Chief Nasrin Mohamed Ibrahim.
The young journalists – all under the age of 28 – worked in local media before joining Ibrahim’s team.
It’s a very practical matter.
“Usually men are involved in the production of programs in other conventional media, but for us we write the script, conduct interviews, edit the videos and present the program,” 21-year-old Ibrahim said in an interview with AFP.
Her shows are broadcast on Dalsan and on Bilan Media’s social networks, where Ibrahim hopes to gradually build an audience.
– ‘Feel the same pain’ –
The biggest challenge is convincing Somali citizens to share their stories, Ibrahim said, noting that an all-female team has proved an unexpected advantage in this regard.
“The information I can get from a mother whose daughter was raped may not be available to male journalists because that mother trusts female journalists more,” she said.
“As women we are equal and feel the same pain.”
Talking about gender-based violence carries enormous risks in Somalia, where rape remains a widespread problem.
The country has yet to pass its first sex crimes law, which has been in the works since 2014.
Perpetrators have rarely been prosecuted or punished, while victims often face backlash when they come forward.
But according to Ibrahim, changes are occurring in this traditional society.
“Many women want to tell their stories to seek justice,” she said, recalling a case she covered in 2020 involving the alleged gang rape and murder of a young woman in a Mogadishu neighborhood went.
“Her parents decided to talk about it – I interviewed her father myself and as of today her case is in court,” she said, rattling off other examples of families refusing to blunt the stigma surrounding sexual violence.
“If those parents hadn’t decided to speak out publicly, the victims would have been buried without justice,” Ibrahim said.
– ‘Do it better’ –
The youngest member of the team, Shukri Mohamed Abdi, 19, told AFP the audience reaction was encouraging.
“As Somali journalists, we encourage and advocate for the rights of voiceless women,” she said.
“We recently did a story about a 16-year-old single mother… she returned to school after a break to continue her education and we featured her challenges and ambitions for the future.
“People enjoy stories like this because they discourage child marriage.”
Hafsa Abdulaziz, a mother of two who lives in Mogadishu, told AFP she saw some reports on Bilan’s Facebook page after its launch in April.
“There are so many harrowing stories about the lives of broken families that you don’t typically see or hear about in conventional media coverage, so this is special,” she said.
But not everyone is a fan.
University graduate Abdullahi Adan told AFP: “Honestly, I doubt the motive of this Bilan Media, all journalists are female and they only do programs… about women.”
“Maybe they’re trying to motivate women to stand up to men,” he said.
But Ibrahim is unmoved.
“There is no task that comes without challenges. So when you discuss (produce) programs like this, you have to prepare for the challenges,” she said.
“I believe that anything that men can do, we can do or do better.”
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