CRY LIKE A BOY- Winner of WAN-IFRA European Digital Media Awards 2021

Cry Like A Boy, Euronews’ first bilingual podcast & series project, has won the WAN-IFRA European Digital Media Awards 2021 in the category of the Best Digital Audio Project.

Founded in 1948, The World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) defines itself as the global organisation of the world’s press, representing a global network of 3,000 news publishing companies and technology entrepreneurs, and has 60 member publisher associations representing 18,000 publications in 120 countries.

Africannews would like to congratulate Marta Rodriguez Martinez, Naira Davlashyan and Lillo Montalto-Monella, as well as all the editorial and production teams, of which are part Ivan Sougy and Laetitia Rodari for this great success.

-The winning episode-

Faced with social and economic pressure, many men are ready to give up their lives and devote themselves to their family’s well-being.

Cry Like A Boy went to meet the zama-zama, the Lesotho miners who leave to find work in South Africa’s gold and diamond mines so they can feed their families back home.

The biggest pressure facing men around the world is to provide so they can put food on the table for their families. Being breadwinners, enduring hardships together and usually coming from the same community, they end up building strong social bonds. They become brothers.

The zama-zama have to walk away from their families to find their way in South Africa’s mining industry. Meanwhile, the women are left alone with a family to feed and are aware that they have to step up and find ways to also be providers.

Some women will put their lives at risk and follow the men into the mines. According to Rosalind Morris, a Canadian anthropologist: “They are crushing rock. They're doing the most labour-intensive and frankly, some of the most dangerous work because they are crushing rock that is full of quartz and crystal and they are basically breathing ground glass all the time.”

To discuss this, Rosalind Morris is joined by Mpiwa Mangwiro, a South African gender activist in the latest episode of Cry Like A Boy.