MINGORA: The speakers during a workshop here on Thursday complained that print and electronic media generally didn’t follow ethical standards while reporting women-related issues and events.

The workshop titled ‘Gender Equality in Media: Beyond Advocacy and Awareness, End News Media Sexism Campaign’ was held at the Media and Communication Studies Centre in the University of Swat.

It was organised by Uks Research Centre, Islamabad.

Expert insists stories related to women sensationalised, exaggerated

The speakers said the media portrayal of women was based on discrimination and that women were victimised in news stories of most media houses.

“Women are always presented and reported as accused, while stories related to women are always sensationalised and exaggerated,” said Niaz Ahmad Khan, who conducted a session on women-related reporting in Swat.

He said the media houses didn’t bother to hire qualified journalists and ethical reporting rather preferred those people who could only provide them advertisements.

The speakers said that media houses, especially, local print media published sensational and unreliable news.

He said there was a high need of ethical reporting, particularly, women related reporting while media houses must legally be enforced to hire qualified journalists.

Students of the Swat University appreciated the initiative regarding reporting on gender discrimination and said that media houses must hire professionally qualified journalists, who must follow proper code of conduct and ethics while reporting on women issues.

“Providing trainings on gender equality in media reporting are the need of the time as today we learnt and realised that how ridiculously women are portrayed in news stories,” said Waheedullah, a student of journalism in the University of Swat.

Bakthawar, a student of psychology, who attended the workshop, said women were treated indifferently in all aspects of life.

“Even our parents ask us to lower gaze when outside but they never ask our brothers to behave the same way,” she complained, adding that men and women should be treated equally everywhere.

Jamaluddin, a teacher of journalism in the Swat University, said unfortunately, inappropriate words and terms were used about women in media.

“Though English newspapers follow ethical standards in women-related reporting, majority of Urdu and other regional language dailies don’t follow code of ethics and conduct on the same,” he said, adding that the use of inappropriate and sensational words showed women as guilty.

He said news reports should be objective and neutral.

Shaista Hakeem of Uks said the organisation’s research was meant to raise awareness and train students of journalism department and professional journalists on gender equality in news reporting.

She said training prorgammes were organised for media houses, press clubs and professional journalists from time to time.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2018