Ghana Women Journalists Learn Safety Skills to Break Barriers

When male guests cancel interviews after learning a woman will ask the questions, you know there's a problem that needs solving.

Ewurama Attoh has spent over a decade in Ghanaian media, from television reporting to hosting a morning talk show. But her passion for amplifying underrepresented voices keeps hitting the same wall: gender discrimination that gets worse the higher she climbs.

She's not alone. Women journalists across Ghana face hesitant sources, limited resources, and outright refusal to cooperate simply because of their gender. In northern Ghana, where traditional patriarchal attitudes run stronger, these challenges multiply.

That's why DW Akademie launched its "Safety for Female Journalists" workshop this year, bringing together 12 women reporters in the country's north. The focus wasn't just on naming problems but building real solutions.

The training covered practical safety skills for covering violence, assessing risks in the field, and protecting personal security. Participants learned specific tactics like photographing insect bites for remote diagnosis, disclosing allergies to colleagues, choosing hotel rooms on lower floors with two exits, and switching accommodations if reputations seemed risky.

Shawana Yussif, northern bureau chief for Channel One TV and Citi FM, put those lessons to work immediately. On a recent drought story, farmers offered to drive her to remote crops. When she noticed several men carrying cutlasses, her training kicked in.

"I remained calm and discreetly recorded a short video of the group," Yussif said. She shared it with family and a close friend, along with her live location. The precautions let her complete the assignment safely while staying focused on the story.

For Hamdia Abdul Hameed, a news anchor with Zaa, the workshop validated approaches she'd developed through trial and error. When sources turn defensive or refuse information because she's a woman, she stays calm and avoids confrontation.

The Ripple Effect

The impact goes beyond individual safety. When women journalists can report confidently on sensitive topics, entire communities benefit from stories that might otherwise go untold. Ghana ranks 52nd out of 180 countries in press freedom, and its media workers face real threats and financial constraints.

By equipping women with safety skills and confidence-building strategies, the training helps ensure diverse voices shape public discourse. These journalists are covering drought impacts, violence, and institutional accountability in regions that desperately need strong reporting.

The workshops also address modern challenges like AI-generated content, fact-checking, cyberbullying and hate speech. Ama Kodjo, DW Akademie's Ghana program director, notes that media employers rarely offer this type of training, making it especially valuable.

Women like Attoh, Yussif and Hameed are proving that the right skills and support can crack open doors that gender bias tries to keep closed.