Gender Evaluation of Media in Bangladesh: Media’s Political Stand Bars Good Governance
by Munima Sultana, Bangladesh
A preliminary impression, gathered from informal talks with people, gives the hint that the Bangladesh media faces image problems in the case of credibility. Different published media reports often come under attack for biasness and exaggeration of incidents, which is directly related to institutional policy. Media institutions come from two categories of people -- businessmen and political leaders, who, in many cases, also capture the post of editor for availing personal and social benefits. Now, all media related associations or forums are polarized into two main political thoughts and the practice of judging any objective report from a political perspective is normal to affiliate the concerned reporter with a political party. Due to a lack of corporate media, problems like job insecurity, low salary, lack of monetary facilities and manpower and gender imbalance also exist in the media. Women are under-represented in the media for their low participation in politics. Therefore, their interests remain unattained by the highly politicized, male-dominated media. Amidst the situation, good governance is still a far cry and it is necessary to study political influence in media to get an overview of the situation.
The main objective of my report is to uncover how national politics influences the newspaper industry and ways to improve media’s credibility for good governance. For this purpose, information will be collected by: Analyzing biographies of media owners, reviewing newspaper treatments of incidents that hold the interest of both the ruling and main opposition political parties, analyzing media’s working environment and gender evaluation of the media situation.
To collect this information, interviews of different groups of people such as media owners and editors and general readers will be carried out. Content analysis of ten highly acceptable Bengali and English newspapers regarding specific incidents (for example, the August-21 grenade attack on the main opposition rally) for a month and editorial analysis of the same incident will be helpful. In addition, related documents and a study of concerned organizations and the Internet will be used.
The study is likely to establish the hypothesis that political influence bars good governance and leads to a lack of credibility. In addition, a non-participatory society, the non-existence of a rule of law, non-corporate working environments and gender disparity at all levels of media institutions exist in Bangladeshi media. It will give recommendations for further study on the theme and ways to reduce political influence where media is concerned.
Pakistan: Women in Media
by Beena Sarwar, Pakistan
Objectives:
To discuss the situation of women working in the media in Pakistan -- print, television and radio (also advertising and feature films), to determine whether, and how their involvement in these fields makes a difference to the status and representation of Pakistani women.
Major expected findings:
There are more women in media than ever before, particularly in the English print media as well as in the relatively new TV channels, including top positions. At one point, all three editors of The News, in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore, were women. Women also hold senior editorial positions in the news departments of private television channels, as well as at Pakistan Television. There are women directors of feature films as well as advertising agencies.
The presence of women in these fields is as essential as the presence of gender-sensitive male colleagues. It must, however, be noted that simply being female does not ensure such a perspective; what is more relevant than the gender of the media person is whether or not they subscribe to the dominant patriarchal discourse and framework.
Nonetheless, the greater visibility of women in the field, particularly radio and television not only provides role models for other women, but also creates and expands space for women in the public sphere, thereby increasing their acceptability in this sphere and militating against traditional biases that curb women’s autonomy.
The increase in gender-sensitive reporting has also contributed to an increase in reports that are more gender sensitive. In Pakistan, women journalists have specifically contributed to an increase in the reporting of issues relating to violence, particularly Karo-Kari (so-called ‘honor killings’), besides education, health, sports, entertainment and economics.
But women journalists are up against more odds than their male colleagues, in terms of having to prove themselves more, as in other fields. They face a major problem when covering conflict areas – lack of access to information, lack of access to the physical area under conflict, lack of access to those affected by the conflict. In addition, women have to overcome gender biases and prove themselves more than male colleagues need to in the same situation. One advantage that women may have is access to female victims of conflict, particularly in traditional areas where women might not feel comfortable talking to a male reporter.
A common problem for both is often being under-trained, under-paid, and having little or no job security or health cover. According to a recent study by the Karachi Union of Journalists, “Women doing daily reporting are few and exceptional, which while disproving that women do not do daily reporting, also show that there are structural barriers such as working late nights.” The KUJ study finds that “even those women who are ready to work as reporters are not encouraged by their editors or managers. Similarly, there are very few women news photographers in Pakistan.”
Male colleagues still resist the integration of female colleagues, and women’s own preference tends to be working in magazine sections or on ‘soft’ features. Interestingly, the KUJ report observed, “there have been very few complaints against women journalists regarding corruption or black mailing. But the findings suggest they still avoid reporting on general crime and politics.”
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