Gender and Media: Pakistan Perspective

In this piece, Tasneem Ahmar, Director of the Pakistani civil society organisation Uks, argues that gender inequality in the media is not "merely" a women's issue, but, rather, a question of discrimination and therefore a human rights issue. Her overall assessment of the South Asian - and particular, the Pakistani - media is this: "As things stand at present, the worst elements of the press have stereotyped and dehumanised women, turning them into commodities to be voyeuristically 'consumed'. Similarly, the excessive use of violence in the media is destroying the human/social sensibilities of Pakistanis. We would do well to consider the costs to everyone, when the weak and vulnerable are exploited this way."

What, precisely, is the nature of the gender bias to which Ahmar alludes? In what sense are women portrayed as targets, or objects, of the media "eye" rather than full participants? She points to several specific areas of concern, including:

• covering crime - "The women in the cases of rape are the worst victims. A lot of newspapers report with a bias against these women and reinforce the existing non-supportive attitude of the society towards women. No wonder then that the official reaction to rape continues to be that of accusation towards women."
• stereotypical images - "There is a marked increase in women's magazines...focusing heavily on the domestic side of women and trying to prove that every woman needs to be a perfect cook, a tailor, and housekeeper and also be beautiful. The intellectual qualities of women are mentioned nowhere. Their abilities as equal partners in developments are lost..."
• hypocrisy in media portrayal - "The media in Pakistan has no problems while exposing physical and sexual features of women but is reluctant to bring forward issues of HIV/AIDS, sexual harassment, sex and flesh trade, trafficking on the pretext of obscenity."
• role of advertising - "It is said that 'bare breasts are used to sell everything, be it drinks, jeans, kitchen faucets, cars, medicines, juice,' and Pakistan is no exception."
• reinforcing of the images of the virile men - "We must look at the question of male-sexuality and advertisements in the newspapers and analyse the linkages between these advertisements and acts of violence..."
• use of derogatory language - "[T]he language used is not only abusive and sexist, but also extremely judgmental, lacking any investigative or analytical value."
• absence of gender-sensitive media policies - "Pakistan's media policy [has]...always been determined by the party or agency in power....We have witnessed women getting a greater exposure in some regimes than others. Women have also been subjected to undue restrictions vis-à-vis their appearance in the media."

Part of the difficulty, Ahmar suggests, is that the media profession has, traditionally, been a male-dominated one in Pakistan (and, she says, around the world). Women are underrepresented in the media due to low hiring rates and sexual discrimination in the workplace. Further, they are excluded from the kind of power to make decisions about media portrayal that those at the top rungs of the media ladder often enjoy; for instance, no woman has ever been Editor of an Urdu newspaper. The late working hours required in this profession carry a social stigma for women, and the denial of their "right to cover hard news discourages them from pursuing careers in journalism." The inclusion of more women's voices in, and their empowerment to make key decisions about, Pakistan's media would, Ahmar urges, help foster "women's right to participate in public debates and to have their views heard, and the right to see themselves portrayed in the media in ways that accurately represent the complexities of their lives."

Ahmar calls for efforts to support not merely unbiased and objective coverage but, further, proactive and affirmative coverage that restores respect for the dignity and integrity of women. There are stirrings of monitoring and advcocacy initiatives that, to Ahmar, indicate hopeful new directions in terms of revolutionising the Pakistani media in this direction. For example, Uks is in the process of networking for the formulation and implementation of a gender-sensitive code of media ethics. Continued action will necessitate "change in the typical media representation of gender that reflects a certain mind-set and thought process of media persons." Ahmar concludes that this process is complex, and will require:

1. dialogue and debate with media critics and activists to build awareness of what are deeply rooted, traditional images and interpretations of women and their role
2. efforts on the part of advocates to understand the language and priorities of the media; they must come to the dialogue equipped not just with opinions, but with facts and figures
3. examination of the role of university departments of mass communication in gender sensitisation and, if appropriate, the proposal of gender-positive changes to the curricula of these departments.