Since the advent of dynamic and colorful electronic media, numerous Pakistani women journalists have been instrumental in reshaping the media landscape. Though their efforts have been recognized in a number of forums, the progression of women’s roles in Pakistani media has not been seamless or fulfilling.
The dramatic rise in the number of female journalists following the introduction of electronic media is gradually diminishing as a result of the current media crisis, the unpredictability of job prospects, the dearth of basic amenities in media outlets, harassment, and the media industry’s disregard for labor rules.
Less than 5% of Pakistan’s estimated 20,000 journalists are women, according to a research by Freedom Network titled “Life as a woman in Pakistani journalism: THREATS, HARASSMENT and REJECTION”. The report also revealed that since the year 2000, there has been a rise in the number of female journalists.
Nonetheless, there remains a widespread belief in Pakistan’s media sector that women journalists are incapable of covering difficult subjects and pressing problems. Because of this, the storylines and news coverage of women in journalism are restricted to soft news and other beats that are relatively less demanding.
Journalist Iffat Hasan Rizvi said, “Women reporters in the newsroom are typically assigned assignments in the fields of weather, health, and education.” She claims that the management believes that the best person to have a beat covering health, human rights, NGOs, and education is a female weather reporter.
She went on, “Internationally, especially in the subcontinent, news coverage related to politics, court, and economy dominates the prime time,” highlighting the fact that soft news is frequently viewed as pointless filler for news bulletins and that the female journalists who cover it are even less significant than the news itself. But things are starting to change in this regard today.
Another significant problem facing the world today is the dearth of professional female journalists in management and leadership roles. In a recent brief, the Reuters Institute examined the gender distribution of senior editors in a selective sample of 200 well-known news organizations from ten distinct markets on four continents. Despite the fact that women make up 40% of journalists on average in the ten markets, the results show that just 23% of the top editors at the 200 major publications are female. “Every single market covered has many men among the top editors where women outnumber men among working journalists,” it stated.
Male journalists have a number of high-level management roles in Pakistan, such as chief reporter, bureau chief, and director of news. Editor of the Press Network of Pakistan (PNP), Sabahuddin Qazi, commented on it and stated that prejudiced mindsets are the primary cause. Some people find it awkward to socialize and have conversations about problems when they are around women. Accepting a superior woman as a boss, in his opinion, is another psychological problem in our culture. Furthermore, female journalists are typically reticent to show that they are qualified for significant leadership roles. He stressed, “Tireless work is required to sustain the leading role in the news industry,” and urged women journalists to increase their confidence in this area in order to handle the demands of high-level positions in addition to their family obligations. “Male journalists on top positions normally do not have such a problem,” he stated.
Prominent female journalists have also been known to endure offensive, hurtful, and discriminatory comments while excelling in their careers. According to Women Journalists Association chairperson Fauzia Kulsoom Rana, “it is common to express unnecessary comments on the dress, make-up, lifestyle, and personal life of female reporters.” She claims that many people discount the outstanding work that female journalists undertake in the field because of their gender, even though they refuse to acknowledge it. “If a woman journalist’s spouse, brother, or a close relative is also a journalist, then the credit for her success goes to the gentleman,” she stated.
The challenges and predicament of well-known female journalists in Pakistan were also brought to light by Oscar-winning Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chennai in her documentary about the mistreatment of female journalists in the media. Farzana Ali, a 22-year journalist, is the first female bureau chief in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is featured in the documentary. She talked about all the gender-based abuse and criticism she experienced in her professional life.
Tanzeela Mazhar, a former well-known journalist for PTV News who is also included in the program, described how her boss at the state channel openly harassed her.
The narrative of Farhat Javed, a well-known female journalist for a foreign media outlet, is also told in the award-winning movie. In reference to the assault, she said that because of her employment as a journalist, her father was also subjected to insulting and highly inappropriate remarks directed at her family.
Under the condition of anonymity, a female reporter stated, “The current situation of women journalists in our country cannot be considered favorable and encouraging for emerging young journalists.” She claims that despite their best efforts, women journalists have yet to rise to the position of chief executive officer in any media organization, while making great strides in the local media sector. She lamented that male office-bearers controlled the majority of press clubs, journalist groups, and unions in Pakistan and emphasized the need for gender audits in all media outlets to advance the status of female journalists in the country.
