The International Association of Women in Radio and Television has lost a pillar of strength with the passing of Mal Johnson and it will be hard, if not impossible, ever to replace her.
Mal became a member in 1979. With her strong personality, her commitment and experience, she put her mark on the organisation from the outset. She urged us strongly to link up with other international organisations and she soon became IAWRT’s official representative with the UN. Throughout the years, the authority and respect she enjoyed opened doors for IAWRT. In the early days, she established contact with the American Association for Women in Radio and TV. In 1994 she brought Helvi Sipilä, one of the founders of UNIFEM, to speak to the conference in the Philippines, and more recently, in 2003, Mal’s name gave immediate access to Noeleen Heyzer’s office in the UN and brought the then head of UNIFEM as guest of honour to the conference in Ghana.
“I am a do-gooder,” said Mal, “and as such I want people to be organised into effective disciplines.” She truly believed in the value of organisations and the need to build international networks of sisterhood.
And she certainly did deliver. She helped revise the statutes of IAWRT and she set up a Policies and Procedures document. She formulated the rules and framework for the establishment of national and regional chapters, which strengthened the structure of the organisation and made it more decentralised and democratic. To the last, she never spared herself. Who else, at her age, would have stepped in at short notice and taken over total responsibility including the practical arrangements of a big international conference, when the original venue fell through - as she did in Williamsburg in 2005?
On a personal note, Mal was such a great friend! And so much fun. Generous, warm and appreciative when approached, but never self-effacing or overly humble. She knew her worth and expected to be respected for it. I remember when were having a board meeting in London and were booked into a central hotel that Mal arrived a day later and was told there was no room for her. She looked at the hotel clerk, informed him that a room had been booked and that she would have no nonsense about it. Her inborn authority, energy and will spoke volumes through her body language. The clerk didn’t stand a chance and a room was conjured up for her in no time. Why do I particularly remember this rather banal incident? In many ways it was so characteristic of Mal and her inherent strength and sense of plain right and wrong.
In her life and work she used all that strength, knowledge and talent to fight for the things she so passionately believed in. To use her own words again:
“I am in the ‘change the world’ business. I want everyone to enjoy the life of their choice, and freedom to be that which they choose. So therefore it is natural that I should join causes that promise freedom and equality. If you ask me what I have done, my answer is ‘not enough’. Each generation makes the path a little easier for those who follow.”
Mal has paved a way for us to follow. She has left us a legacy which we should be proud to honour.
In fond memory,
Gundel Krauss Dahl
Oslo, Norway
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