CAN SOCIAL MEDIA ENHANCE HUMAN RIGHTS IN MALAWI

CAN SOCIAL MEDIA ENHANCE HUMAN RIGHTS IN MALAWI?  BY WONGANI WOM MUGABA

Times change as they say and we must move with it.  The role Social Media plays has for the past five years been eagerly observed. Its role in social change can not be downplayed with the boom it has experienced.  While it has been able to transcend global boundaries and been accessed  by many, it has also been  applauded for being participatory  due to its user generated content or contributions.  Nevertheless,  can it be used for enhancing human rights in Malawi? In absence of scholarly research, this article   analyses the role  social media has in enhancing  human rights. It begins by defining what Social Media are, the context, and   how it can be used. The article will then tackle major shortfalls of  using Social Media for enhancing human rights and finally  be concluded.   

Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue.  The article focuses on the most popular platforms of Social Media; Facebook which has  800 million users, Twitter with 362 million subscribers, and the blogosphere which has 184 million bloggers.   

Malawi is in Southern Africa, with an estimated population of 14 Million.  About 45 people live in absolute poverty, consuming less than one dollar per day.  Literacy levels  are at 64 %.  There are 716,400 internet users of whom a 79,040 are on Facebook.   There are no statistics on users  of  twitter and blogs.  Most of the people access the internet through mobile phones,  internet  cafes,  and institutional work places.

Wongani Mugaba (Left)and Carol Zgambo (Right) from Actionaid Malawi analyse the context of Social Media in Malawi

Most of the use is for  social communication where people give updates on their activities, share jokes, and engage in debates. Social Media played a critical role in mass demonstration that occurred in Malawi on July 20 when the traditional media were banned from covering events. Traditional media  were seen relying on updates by subscribers with most photos that were used in two  major print newspapers on the demonstrations being  sourced from facebook.    

Social Media  in Malawi can be used in three ways to enhancing human rights.  Firstly, it can be used to raise awareness on what human rights are and their relevance, responsibilities and instruments. Many people need to understand human rights as presented in the instruments. The awareness raising can be done in different ways. Organizations can create   specific  pages to focus on   human rights awareness. In these, postings can be made at  both content and pictorial, and linkages to various activities made.  Subscribers can then comment and counter comment and the coordinating  organisation also  take part in the discussion.  Subscribers can also post or blog any human rights concepts on the pages to encourage peer learning and participation.  They  can also be used to report rights violations happening in various places. 

Secondly, Social media can  be used  to mobilize people  or build movements to action on human rights and demand from government. Through the platforms,    groups of like minded people can be formed and ideas shared on how to act on violations. Linkages can also be formed   with other global networks. There can further  be online generated petitions, demonstration and vigils with clear demands and targets.   These can also be posted online but supported by ground activities.  

 Thirdly, the platforms can be used as tools for advocacy on human rights by building up on online awareness raising   and mobilizations, to influence duty bearers to act on human rights  violations  and user demands.  Government and other duty bearers will be encouraged  to subscribe to enhance their accountability in how they source, devise and implement activities on human rights. 

Wongani Mugaba from Actionaid Malawi presents a Community Map for the actors in Social Media Change

There are however challenges on using Social Media platforms. Firstly, the users of  the platforms are very few mainly because of poverty only. Only 79,000 out of 716,000 internet users are on Facebook yet the country has 14 million people. Secondly,  the platform works  for  educated elites who have capacity to use them.  In addition, due to lack of electrification in rural areas, lack of or poor networks and internet cafes, they mostly work for urban areas. Thus they leave out a significant part of the populace that experience more rights violations.   However, it should be noted that there is no strategy that reaches everyone.                 

Another challenge is that the platforms are not a formal means of presenting issues to government and thus need to be supported by other strategies.  

In conclusion, Social Media  can be used to enhance human rights  in Malawi despite some challenges. This can be through  awareness raising, mobilisation and advocacy.  They should be seen as part of grand strategy rather than the only means.  Like others form, they should not be seen as magic wands as results may not be immediate but long-term and requiring strategic planning  and tactics.