Enato Isukul

Enato Isukul organised four trainings to sensitise the female journalists and interns on the importance of gender mainstreaming in newsrooms. There were a total of forty journalists and sixty-five interns in attendance at the meetings. The training focused on understanding gender issues, how to be relevant in the newsroom, and value driven leadership – with relevant materials and content necessary to help advance the careers of the participants. The trainings helped to erase most of the clichés wrongly applied to the female gender, and this has birthed a conscious gender balancing of reports by participating journalists. Enato noted that her greatest achievement with the FRLP project was helping interns chart a career course in journalism. She is determined to continue to sustain the project.

The use of drugs among young women especially in recent times is quite alarming. Enato in her story “Drug Abuse among Female in Bayelsa State” focused on the prevalence of drug abuse among girls aged between 15 and 25 years in Bayelsa State. She connects the rise in killings, cult groups and other crimes in that part of the country to the increase in drug use. Citing real life example, she pointed out the causes, implications and ways to mitigate the problem of drug abuse. She further identified stigmatisation as the reason many girls who are into drugs do not seek help. The story has enabled government interventions into helping the addicts through rehabilitation processes, trainings and campaigns to sensitise the public about the ills of drug abuse.