The 2020 BBC News Hausa Service short story writing competition for women opens on June 1, Daily Trust reports.
Participants are expected to send a piece between 1000 to 5000 words and a winner will be selected by an independent panel of judges who will also select two runners up and other works worthy of commendation.
Details of guidelines for the competition will be made available on the BBC Hausa website when the competition opens.
READ: Safiyya Ahmed wins BBC Hausa’s women’s writing competition for 2019
BBC News Hausa editor, Aliyu Tanko said: “This is yet another fantastic opportunity to bring out a talented Hausa writer to share her mastery with the rest of the world.
“Women have always been the custodians of storytelling in the Hausa society and this competition has created an innovative way of getting them to continue with the tradition.
“Our female audience and women engagement have grown massively since the inception of the competition five years ago.”
Oluwatoyosi Ogunseye, Head of BBC West Africa Languages, added that “BBC Hausa is consistently engaging with its female audiences through this competition and we are delighted to see more women participate yearly.
“Female audiences are at the core of what the BBC offers and we will continue to support this essay writing competition to make it bigger and better yearly.
“Hausa audiences have remained loyal to the BBC and we are determined to continue to serve this market in the best way we can.”
Last year’s competition was won by Safiyya Ahmad, a 23-year-old born in Zaria, Kaduna State for ‘Maraici,’ the story of Karima, a girl who, abandoned as an infant, grows up in an orphanage and is adopted by Hajiya Babba, a benefactor that puts her through primary and secondary education and then marries her off.
But the marriage ends in dissolution and she is rejected by her benefactor.
The short story writing competition was introduced in 2016 by BBC News Hausa as a way of encouraging women to tell and share their stories.
BBC Hausa is part of the BBC World Service and reaches 24 million people on a weekly basis.
It broadcasts to Hausa-speaking audiences, providing radio, online and TV content in West Africa as well as to diaspora audiences.
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