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Community radio gives shanty town women a voice

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Summary of story from Aljazeera, July 30, 2011

Women of the Complexo do Alemao favelas (‘shanty town’) on the north side of Rio de Janeiro are broadcasting to their community on thorny issues such as sexual violence, unemployment and environmental issues.

Another subject under discussion is employment for women.

Without job prospects the women of the shantytowns  are dependent on men and are often forced to remain in violent relationships as a result.

Because of this, Anatalia dos Santos, one of the first trained at the station, said many women in Complexo do Alemao and other favelas are trapped by the reasoning that “better to live badly with him than worse off without him”.

Young people are being targeted by the radio station as they are most likely to be victims of violence in Brazil.

Drug wars claimed the lives of many young people, that is, until November 2010 when the government drove out the armed drug trafficking gangs that previously controlled the area.

There is now a strong commitment to community policing and the authorities are determined to bring basic services like running water, sanitation and education into these areas.

The women of the community radio station are seen as key to this improvement.  As women they will have mothering and care-taking skills that can be developed into social leadership roles.

The radio station gives a voice to these skills and allows the women to make “peace” a tangible, day-to-day reality in the favelas.

Ivanir Toledo, who survived as a street child, homeless and on her own, wants the radio station to address an issue that still causes her pain: sexual violence.

Now happily married and the mother of a teenage daughter, Toledo, who is an active member of Women of Peace, has not forgotten that the streets are especially violent for girls.

“If you ask a man for a plate of food, you know the first thing that will pop into his mind. I started suffering violence as soon as I left home (at age nine). I’m talking about rape and abuse.

“And not just at the hands of one or two or three guys, but more. You’re there against your will, at that person’s mercy,” she said in a quiet voice.

Although the Women of Peace (WoP) are the operators of the radio station, it will be open to all voices in the community, not only because of its role as a community station, but also, they said, because it is their calling.

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