We recently highlighted on some of the long-serving Kikuyu news presenters who have become household names but as you may have realized, at out of the five we enumerated, only one female made it to the list. But was not by accident or design.
It is simply because there are simply very few female news anchors on Kikuyu radio with a majority of these anchoring positions dominated by males.
But why, one may wonder? Here are some few observations;
1. Kikuyu is a patriarchal society
In Kikuyu traditional culture, when it came to serious matters like breaking important news, women were not to feature anywhere as they were likely not to be believed. In fact, they had been designated for spreading rumours (muhuhu) and gossips (mucene). This element seems to still work strongly on Kikuyu radio.
2. Authority
News everywhere requires an element of authority blended with command in the presenter's voice. Though there are some female presenters on Kikuyu radio who meet these vocal requisite features, they are not to be easily found leaving the whole thing look like a preserve of men.
3. News feature weighty, serious issues
Many Kikuyu radio stations present themselves as purveyors of Kikuyu culture. As such, they seek to protect, preserve, and prevent the Kikuyu culture from being adulterated and eroded any further.
That said, you do not expect them to fill their newsrooms with women as news were/are considered serious issues. Serious matters and issues in Kikuyu culture were handled by men.