A total of 13 groups from Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Johor and Kedah submitted their entries on the theme Men and women unite to end violence against women for the competition organised annually by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ).

With the skills they have learnt on recording voices and sound editing, these women have shown that they can and want to articulate the problems they face to a bigger audience. They are housewives, students and working women from the age sixteen to fifty-five.

"Women need a platform to express their everyday issues such as violence against them. It is even more crucial for women from the lower income class because the availability of a platform allows them to learn to express themselves articulately," said S. Govindammah from the Kindergarten Teachers Association (Persatuan Guru Tadika- PGT).

Govindammah is one of the contestants in the competition, which has entered its third year in 2009. She was also one of the participants last year in the competition that was themed Documenting Women's Rights.

CIJ executive director Gayathry Venkiteswaran said the annual competition was a way of recognizing women's efforts as well as making a statement about the importance of media plurality.

"Women in many countries make use of community media to communicate local issues as the national media is not adequately attuned to their voices. Community media is not a luxury, it is a necessity. Developing countries have it, such as Thailand and India, so do first world nations such as Denmark," Gayathry (left in pix, with Kuala Langat councillor A. Janarthani) said.

The first prize winner was K. Malathi and her team from Segamat. They produced a 10-minute program using a talk show and call in format to discuss the theme. The group scored high for relevance and clarity in presenting the discussion.

R. Puvaneswary and her team from Kepong came in second with their entry on a wife's double whammy - her husband is infected with HIV and he has secretly married a Muslim woman. When he dies in an accident, the wife loses the right to bury her husband and has to get legal aid to claim his estate.

The third prize winner presented in the form of a drama, the cultural stigma associated with infertility that can be construed as a form of mental violence. The programme highlighted the kinds of discrimination against a woman who is unable to conceive - ranging from the hostility shown to her by the in-laws and being barred from participating in certain Hindu ceremonies because being barren is associated with bad luck. The team was led by K. Lachmi from Batang Berjuntai.

 The event was organised with the support of the Taman Langat Jaya Residents' Association, the Kuala Langat District Council and local councillor for Kuala Langat A. Janarthani.

Winners received a set of recording equipment and hampers. The audio training and competition programmes were supported by funds from the Global Fund for Women and partly supported by the Foundation Open Society Institute (Zug).

CIJ conducts trainings for communities on audio production, using open source software for sound editing like Audacity.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REQUEST FOR THE

PARTICPANTS' AUDIO PROGRAM, PLEASE CONTACT S. THANAM AT 03 40230772 OR 013 2203091