The media landscape is changing. Not only are nations rapidly breaking barriers to pave way to a borderless world, nations are emerging from a conservative political and economic environment through the media, specifically, social media.
The 34th Biennial Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the theme New Paradigms; Media Women Responding to Change, opened the discussion on media's pressing role in obliterating clichéd portrayals of women in various sectors through the social media which is now seen as a powerful venue to bring issues across terrains not covered by the traditional media.
Olya Booyar delivers her opening speechIn her opening speech, Olya Booyar, former IAWRT president said that despite the breaking of glass ceilings by women in various fields, “ men still constitute an enormous 75% of people portrayed in the media around the world... while representation in some advanced societies may be getting on for 50/50, in others, women are barely visible on the pages of newspapers or in the broadcasting media.”
This was given context by Tunisian film producer Khedija Lemkecher who talked about the notable absence of women in the reports of the international media during the February revolution. She said that though women bloggers were very active documenting the events that were unfolding in Tunisia, they were basically invisible in the international media.
Marina MahathirMarina Mahathir (Malaysia), columnist and advocate of ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, said that although many women are already online, they shy away from talking about gut issues since people online can be very vicious if they find ideas that do not conform to the mainstream point of view. She said it is like a default setting where women bloggers are vulnerable to attack and personal slurs if they do not toe the line.
There are new challenges for women in media with the advent of the world wide web. Grace Githaiga said that “claiming of space in new media entails inserting women’s content into different media platforms.” This content should be consistent with women’s agenda/women’s movement. She urged that blogging, presence and activism on social media (link fests, audioboos, videos) should be heightened. Beyond that, what is passed on social media should be amplified on broadcast media to get to more people.
Kim and RoseOn the topic “Using Media to Engage Women in Governance,” Rose Haji Mwalimbu (Tanzania) said that participation of women in the 2010 elections in Tanzania helped in ensuring that elections were transparent, democratic, free and fair.
The role of the community media was emphasized in promoting good governance. It is an indispensable tool for informing women of their rights, the gender-based violence present and the support programs available for them.
The space provided by social media enables women who for many years, were unable to talk about their own stories can now tell their stories in their own voices.
Documentary Master Class PanelOn the session “Documentary Master Class” four women shared films that portray their struggles which find resonance in other countries, as well. Iffat Fatima (India) on Enforced Disappearances; Madeleine Memb (Cameroon) on FGM or Female Genital Mutilation, and; Ananya Chakraborti and Kajal Singh (India) on Anti-Trafficking, showed that beyond these horrible situations, women are making doing something about their conditions.
Last year, a grant was awarded to women film makers on the subject of Violence Against Women. The 5-minute advocacy documentaries from Moldova, Canada and the Philippines were shown and Liz Miller (Canada) shared the impact of these documentaries to the specific countries. These short films were shown last year in Cameroon and in other countries. Liz said that the film makers underwent a training on short documentary production organized by IAWRT last year in the Philippines.
One of the highlights of the conference, Broadcasting for All – Focus on Gender, was discussed which incorporated amendments to the gender guidelines for media organizations with the pilot organizations including five IAWRT members, namely, Philippines Broadcasting Service, Radio TV Malaysia, Thai Public Broadcasting Service, Voice of Vietnam and Young Asia TV in Sri Lanka.
The screening of awardees in film and radio clips were presented by the jury who had to wade through more than 60 entries for this year's award. The technical aspects and the content of the film and radio documentaries were discussed as these were new forms which other countries may adopt to further their own advocacies.
Margo SmitA refresher on investigative journalism by Margo Smit, Director of VVOJ Netherlands, perked up the discussion on its importance on shaping the decision making process of ordinary people. “Investigative journalism is not something you just ‘do’, there is nothing random about it (systematic), it is you who has to do it for it will not blow your way (active), if done well it will change the way things are going (impact) and does not deal with frills and incidents (looks for the system),” she said.
This was given additional insight by Alina Radu (Moldova) who followed the story on 16 young women who were trafficked and who pursued the case until the conviction of the mastermind. She did this notwithstanding the threats she and her paper received.
In the session Using Advocacy Tools to Create Social Movements. Cai Yiping (China) expressed how difficult it is to tread the fine line between advocacy and journalism. For Kallianey Kim (Cambodia) having very few models on successful women in leadership roles in their country is a challenge. Also, most of the media content are male dominated and if there are women segments, these programs are for entertainment, cooking class, beauty and fashion shows, rather than inspire women in leadership and governance.
Visit to RTMThe last session of the conference was an extensive tour to the IPPTAR training center and the Radio TV Malaysia offices. The RTM Studios, with its long history of broadcasting in Malaysia has world-class facilities and more importantly, plays an important role in the history and progress of Malaysia.
Women in media have come a long way. But for women to make a difference, they have to be equipped with the proper tools available in the present time. Olya Booyar phrased it so well in her opening speech: “I still believe gender mainstreaming is possible with three main ingredients for an effective remedy. The first is people entirely committed to ending gender bias in the media, both in the employment of women in all media fields and in their portrayal on our newspaper pages, radio bulletins and television screens... The second ingredient is a root-and-branch revision of the principles upon which our profession is based...The third ingredient for our remedy is the tools to help people break down entrenched systems of discrimination and break through the glass ceilings keeping women and girls in subjugation both in the workplace and in the public mind.”
