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| Journalists ‘not equipped to judge story with gender lens’ |
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Sunday, November 22, 2009
Myra Imran
Islamabad
Pointing out the prevalence of largely unnoticed gender discrimination in electronic and print media, speakers at a national seminar said the every incident has a feminine side that always remain unmentioned as media persons are mostly not equipped to judge a story with gender lens.
They were speaking at a national seminar for journalists on gender sensitive reporting. Organised by Rozan, the seminar is aimed at developing an understanding of what constitutes masculinities and femininities and how the mainstream media are reinforcing such notions in a hegemonic manner.
They urged journalists to incorporate all social angles in a story.
They stressed for the use of more gender sensitive language and regretted that in stories about women committing a social crime, the role played by men around her is never given any importance. The pointed out that caution against identification should be employed while reporting cases of violence against women.
“Publication of names and photographs of the victim can have devastating impact on their lives,” they warned.
Print and electronic journalists from Hyderabad, Multan, Peshawar and Abbottabad are participating in the event that comprises lively and interactive discussion sessions and movie shows.
A number of Islamabad-based journalists and civil society members also attended the seminar. The experts chosen to speak on different topics at this seminar are Ghazi Salahuddin, Zahida Hina, Talat Hussain, Abdul Rauf, Neelum Hussain, Aisha Gazdar, Haris Khalique, Narjis Zaidi, Saba Gul Khattak, Shabana Arif and Saliha Ramey.
Major thematic areas chosen for the seminar include portrayal of masculinities and femininities in the media and its impact on society,
special considerations of investigative reporting on Violence Against Women (VAW), reporting in conflict zone with special focus on VAW and children, women in media and media activism.
Speakers said that society and media are interrelated with each other and media can play important part in changing discriminatory and traditional norms imbedded in social mindset.
“Pakistanis are seeing their country through the eyes of electronic media,” they
added. They said that everyone has the right to express
his or her opinion but that opinion should be based upon facts.
Talking about the misunderstandings between media and NGOs, they pointed out that both aims of both journalists and civil society workers are the same as they work for the betterment of the society.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
