Gender Matters: Eritrean Women and Mediated Messages of Foreign Television Channel

Abstract

Eritrea is a tiny Northeast African country in the horn of Africa that was under series of colonial aggressions and conflicts. Italian, British, and Ethiopians have colonized Eritrea approximately for hundred years. Eritrean independence came at a heavy price, as Eritrea waged one of the bloodiest wars in the modern times. Two splinter groups, Eritrean People Liberation Front (EPLF) and Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) waged guerilla warfare to free Eritrea. 35% of the liberation army was women that played key roles and fought on par with men from beyond the trenches. Women are playing crucial role in the post-war reconstruction of the country. 50% of household in Eritrea are female headed today in the absence of men due to war and compulsory military service. Eritrean independence came at a time when the liberal policies of trade, economy and communication revolution were sweeping the countries of the world. Global media with its digital images started its operation in the Gulf Region had profoundly changed the way the people of Middle East and Africa used to view and interpret messages out of media, particularly from across the borders via satellites. War in the Gulf could get the digital media images from across the borders to the Gulf region via satellite and people could see the live telecast of the war on the Gulf. Middle East Broadcasting Company (MBC) started its operation with Dubai as its base. Eritrea, which is adjacent to the Rea Sea could capture these images and sounds and foreign TV Channels started beaming into Eritrea since 1996. Eritrea, a mosaic of religion, languages, geography and culture is exposed to a culture that is truly align and the Eritrean women that are nurtured in colonial aggression, revolutionary ideology and the orthodox patriarchal feudal set-up are exposed to the messages from across the borders. Following an exploratory survey, the researchers would like to examine the role of gender in perceiving the messages from foreign TV channels. The researchers are interested in exploring the way aspects like family norms, Lifestyles, Sexual norms, Social roles of Women and the Music preferences of the young Eritrean women in the age group of 18-25 are affected as a result of exposure to the mediated messages across borders.