Radio Islam believes women should remain veiled and silent. JACQUIE GOLDING-DUFFY reports
A MUSLIM community radio station – Radio Islam, in Lenasia – has come under fire for allegedly violating its licence conditions and the country’s Consitution by not allowing females on air.
Two complaints have been lodged with the Independent Broadcasting Authority’s Broadcasting Monitoring and Complaints Committee (BMCCA), and are currently being investigated.
An IBA representative says the complaints centre around women being refused airtime on the radio station with no female guests allowed in the studio and no women participating in the running of the station.
The station’s management argues that female involvement would be in contravention of the tenets of Islam set out in the Qu’ran but says it has a female committee, comprising 16 women, that makes regular contributions to the selection of the radio station’s programmes, and that interacts with the community.
Radio Islam has a broadcast radius of about 15km around Zakariyya Park (situated next to the Golden Highway) and is close to Lenasia. It has 1 548kW and broadcasts on the medium wave frequency.
The chief complainant, who is also a believer in Islam, argues that Radio Islam is violating the country’s Constitution, which emphasises “equality of genders” and has requested that the IBA “enforce the conditions of licence to allow for equal participation and representation of females on the radio station”.
Youth for Islamic Enlightment and Development (Yield), which has challenged Radio Islam, claims to represent the community to which the station broadcasts. It has charged that there is no real community participation, since no phone-in programmes are allowed and women are being discriminated against by the station’s refusal to give women a voice, which it believes is in contradiction of what is written in the Qu’ran.
However, counter-allegations have been levelled at the complainants by Radio Islam. The station argues that different schools of thought on the interpetations of the Qu’ran are being displayed, and says Yield does not enjoy support from the mainstream Muslim community within Radio Islam’s broadcasting area; nor is it learned enough regarding the teachings of the Qu’ran.
In a detailed response by Radio Islam’s attorneys, David Dison, Norval and Wheeldon, it states that the licence issued by the IBA has been granted so the radio station can not only serve the interests of the Muslim community living within its broadcasting area, but that the programme content should reflect the interests and needs of these listeners. The radio station is therefore a religious radio station, adhering strictly to the tenets of Islam, it says.
The attorney representing Radio Islam, Goolam Ameer, says the broadcasting by the radio station is not based on the view or interpretation of any one group’s perception of Islam, but is “consistent with Islamic law”.
However, Yield has challenged this, arguing that the implication is that other Muslim community radio stations – Radio 786 and Voice of the Cape – are not following the principles of Islam by allowing women on air.
However Radio Islam, in its legal response, continues that broadcasting cannot be offensive to the religious followers of Islam and the complaint illustrates confusion between gender equality and “tasks of the two sexes”, as prescribed in the Qu’ran: “Islam has its own doctrine of the role of man and the role of woman, which subject is beyond the scope of this paper … Islam accepts the demand for equality between men and women … [but] to adhere to your proposal, as outlined, namely presenting female hosts on Radio Islam; Radio Islam would of necessity be required to act in contravention of the Code of Conduct for Broadcasting Services … [and] broadcast material in a manner which is offensive to the religious convictions and feelings of the overwhelming majority of Muslims.”
Radio Islam illustrates this belief by drawing on two other communities: The Hindu community and Jehovah’s Witnesses. It argues that if the Hindu community is averse to the idea of eating beef, or any related beef products, on the basis that the majority of the Hindu community reveres the cow, it would be “insensitive, unconstitutional, against the fundamental tenets of Hinduism and against the provisions of the Act to insist on compelling a Hindu community radio station to entertain and host a programme to be presented by the South African Meat Board, who wished to promote beef biltong on the Hindu radio station”.
Furthermore, it argues that a radio station dedicated to Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot be forced to host a show campaigning blood transfusions when it goes against their beliefs and does not serve the interests of that particular community.
Similarly, Radio Islam is serving the needs of its listeners by refusing females on air, it says, and one Muslim female and ardent listener agrees: “A woman should remain away from the evils outside her home and should only speak when it is necessary. It is unnecessary for a woman to be heard on the radio when there are men to do that work,” says Safiyyah Akhalwaya.
However, Gadija Peterson of Cape Town disagrees. She listens to Radio 786, also a Muslim radio station, which allows females on air: “I cannot imagine not hearing a female voice on the radio when issues are being debated. The voice of woman is often the voice of sanity and Muslim women, like all women, have opinions on all issues, ranging from politics to religion.”
Radio Islam says it has a “very effective means of community participation programme” as each community appoints its mosque committee to manage the affairs that relate to its area or locality. The mosque committees appoint their own sub-committees or imams and the imams of these mosques (which represent at least 99% of the mosques within the broadcasting area) are all members of the Jamiatul Uluma (the owners of Radio Islam) who meet regularly to interact on all issues, including the selection of broadcast material for the station.