Finding their voice - the women bringing parity to Pakistan's media
25/03/2023
Especially, when the context is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province in north western Pakistan, where women make up almost an equal share of society (49%) but are far away from equity. Newsrooms remain male-dominated, 10% are women on average, which results in male editorial agendas and male protagonists in stories or interviews sharing their perspectives of life.
At the start of our Valley Voices project, a similar picture could be drawn for our partner TNN, the Tribal News Network based in Peshawar where contributions by women writers stood at 10% and two out of 11 staff in the newsroom were women.
Through training and involving more women over the past three years, women's contributions have increased by 40% and the ratio to men in the newsroom is closer to parity, 38.5% at the time of publication.
Measuring Success Such was the phenomenal response to our Valley Voices project; it was extended twice. Funded by the German Federal Foreign Office through ifa (Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations) as part of the Zivik funding programme, the result, after three years, is that more women living in a traditional, male-dominated remote district of Pakistan have found their voices. Women have been able to access journalism training and management roles as well as news which relates to them.
We're not just talking about the women journalists we helped to train with our partner Tribal News Network (TNN), but the audience themselves. Women living in KP's Mardan district were asked directly what stories they wanted and needed to hear, the outcome included radio shows for women on issues like health and education and a wealth of everyday stories that included a woman's point of view.
Amna Istemrajs story
I decided to become a journalist in 2019 after finishing secondary education.
At the start it was quite tough because I come from an extremely conservative background. Whilst my parents were very supportive, my uncle, aunts and grandparents were all against my decision.
For the last four years I've worked as a multimedia journalist, covering major topics which are considered taboo in our society such as interfaith harmony, women, land inheritance and female heroes. I've also covered climate change, recently working on the issue of flooding and how it's affecting the lives of women.
Now, when my family see my stories on social media, they are proud and everyone in the family has started supporting me. I like being a journalist because the job has introduced me to people and communities I would never have met otherwise. I like telling their stories and feel honoured that they trust me to do so.
As a woman journalist working in a conservative area, I want to give credit to Tribal News Network who have supported me all along and provided me with opportunities and training that I never imagined. They have worked really hard to polish my skills and I owe my success to them.
"I like telling their stories and feel honoured that they trust me to do so."
Amna Istemraj, a trainee and TNN journalist
The Domino effect: TNN has successively grown its women contributor's network, initially with young, aspiring citizen reporters like Amna, who were keen to pick up practical skills in radio production and digital storytelling after their theory-laden journalism degrees. They were joined in 2022 by women bloggers, literate and educated, full of thoughts and opinions that they want to share but confined to their households.
Making women visible in the media, as reporters as well as effective and accomplished citizens has had a ripple effect on other women. In 2022 alone, 27 women approached TNN asking if and how they can get involved.
The Maverick effect: TNN started out as a radio station in 2013. It has become digital-first since then but knows of the power of radio in rural areas with low literacy rates. The team discovered quickly that the reflective blog format would lend itself well for audio storytelling.
The 40 blog posts produced by women over a six-month production phase in 2022 were professionally recorded with the help of female voice artists and first published on Facebook and YouTube before turned into podcasts on Soundcloud, a new platform for TNN.
The devastating floods coincided with this phase, reinforcing the importance of audio recordings and making these first-hand accounts a valuable resource on the supply situation and issues, especially for marginalised groups such as pregnant women and children.
The blogs have inspired TNN to work with a new format, podcasting, which is true to their mission of providing independent and reliable information that empowers local communities in KP Province and that takes its radio expertise into the digital world. It has also opened up access to one of its target groups - illiterate women - who may seek an education after learning that other women have done the same.
Women's visibility To increase women's participation, there is the need for women's visibility, which has proven to be the biggest motor of motivation in our project. And of course, the motivation from our partner TNN to tackle this inequality in the first place.
Read more about our valley Voices from our latest annual review: Access All Areas
Explore our projects across the globe
LINK: | http://www.thomsonfoundation.org/latest/finding-their-voice-the-women-... |
See more stories from thompsonfoundation |
More from Thomson
23/04/2024
Tackling lies online: the answer may be all in the mind
Psychology can play an important role in helping us understand what audiences respond to (Dr Jon Roozenbeek, Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab) For newsroom...
10/04/2024
AI and Regulation: Advocating for an Informed and Collaborative Approach
A regulator, a technologist and a politician walking into a conference room - the beginning of a very geeky joke - or more accurately, the start of the second T...
09/04/2024
AI and Disinformation in Taiwan s 2024 Election
This is a summary of the report commissioned by Thomson on AI Disinformation Attacks during Taiwans 2024 Presidential Elections, written by Professor Chen-ling ...
04/04/2024
Rethinking how we tackle disinformation in the age of AI
This fantastic course will help you understand and fight disinformation, an absolutely essential skill to acquire during this global election season. Sign up an...
02/04/2024
Transformative Technology in challenging media landscapes
Thomson's work in captive, closed and repressive media landscapes has long been about making sure we get the best possible idea of what people really need f...
28/03/2024
No votes for all
Out of an estimated 20,000 journalists in Pakistan, less than one thousand are women according to a recent Gender Disparity Report published by the Internationa...
15/03/2024
Connecting and training Sudanese journalists-in-exile
To help empower Sudanese journalists living in exile amidst the ongoing conflict in their homeland, Thomson trainers have been delivering workshops designed to ...
01/03/2024
Award winning young journalists get their mojo in London
MoJo is something I want to pursue further and include, not as a last thought, but as a one of the components of my daily work. Michelle Banda Vodacom Young Jou...
23/01/2024
Open Call: Executive Learning Programme For Media Professionals in the Western Balkans
A chance to apply for the new learning programme specifically designed for media...
16/01/2024
AI and Disinformation: why collaboration and culture change matter
This is a summary of the inaugural Thomson Talks with Madhav Chinnappa held on 30 November 2023 focused on the specific subject of AI/News & Disinformation. Th...
22/12/2023
Enhancing minority representation in run-up to Pakistan s elections
Pakistan is one of more than 65 countries where decisive elections will take place in 2024 in what will be the biggest election year in history. Thomson Media ...
19/12/2023
Rwanda: High-impact investigative journalism celebrates success
An innovative investigative training programme for Rwandan journalists has resulted in the publication of 15 impactful stories which have prompted widespread ch...
18/12/2023
Head of Development: New role for Thomson
As 2023 draws to a close, a new chapter begins for Thomson with the appointment of a new member of the team. Anton Artemyev joins us in January in a new role a...
24/11/2023
In the news - media insights for Young Journalist finalists
The three finalists for the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year 2023 enjoyed an action-packed trip to London which included meeting the Queen, visit...
21/11/2023
Yara El Murr wins Young Journalist Award 2023
Yara El Murr from Lebanon is Thomson Foundation's Young Journalist of the Year 2023. Yara received the honour at the Foreign Press Association Media Award...
17/11/2023
Yashraj Sharma: The 2022 YJA winner on a year of opportunity
Yashraj Sharma has seen big changes in his life since he won the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award in 2022. In the run up to the 2023 winner being anno...
10/11/2023
Paris Charter on AI and Journalism unveiled
Thomson Foundation has joined 16 partner organisations to launch the Paris Charter on AI and Journalism'. The first of its kind, the charter defines crucia...
01/11/2023
Zuha Siddiqui, Young Journalist Award finalist 2023
Zuha Siddiqui from Pakistan is a labour and tech reporting fellow for the global non-profit publication Rest of World. She's one of three finalists nominate...
01/11/2023
Jamaima Afridi, Young Journalist Award finalist 2023
Jamaima Afridi is a freelance journalist based in north-west Pakistan on the edge of the Khyber Pass. Her stories focus on injustices faced by women and vulne...
01/11/2023
Yara El Murr, Young Journalist Award finalist 2023
Yara El Murr is a 25-year-old journalist and documentary filmmaker from Lebanon. She is a finalist in Thomson Foundations Young Journalist Award 2023. The awar...
01/11/2023
Announcing the 2023 Young Journalist Award finalists
Young journalists from more than 60 countries entered this years prestigious Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award 2023. Countries from across Africa, Asia...
26/10/2023
Investigative journalism exposes new scandals
The 2023 EU Award for Investigative Journalism has proven to be an exceptional showcase of talent, diversity and shifting journalistic priorities. More than 20...
16/10/2023
Thomson Foundation announces new trustees
Thomson Foundation is delighted to announce the appointment of two new members to its Board of Trustees - investment expert, author and former financial journal...
12/10/2023
Unique training courses to help create the definitive account of the Ukraine War
Some of the world's leading foreign correspondents and war crimes investigators have contributed to a set of major new training courses for journalists cove...
05/10/2023
Thomson joins Partnership on AI
Thomson Foundation is delighted to be one of five new organisations to join Partnership on AI. Thomson is now one of 114 partner organisations from around the ...
28/09/2023
Shortlist for Young Journalist Award 2023 revealed
An astonishing array of talented journalists from around the world have made it through to the shortlist for the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award 2023....
18/09/2023
Thomson Talks: Former Google director to lead Thomson Foundation Thought Leadership events.
Madhav Chinnappa, the former Director of News Ecosystem Development at Google an...
14/09/2023
Strengthening the media s role in promoting democracy
Thomson works with journalists in some of the toughest places in the world. Their work and livelihoods are frequently under threat. Thomson Foundation believes ...
05/09/2023
Disarming disinformation: piloting new proof technology
A pioneering system aimed at preventing the spread of disinformation and creating verifiable content from capture to publication is being road tested in a serie...
15/08/2023
Connect 6: The magic of mentoring
To mark the Thomson Foundation's 60th year of nurturing and training journalists globally, we matched six talented young journalists with six of the best in...
07/08/2023
Backing brave journalism in challenging places long-term
In the autumn of 2022, I was introduced to a young Afghan journalist in London. Zahra Joya had fled Kabul a year before as the Taliban swept through the city. A...
27/07/2023
Award winning inspiration from young journalists
Pursuing independent journalism is more important than ever. Right now, we are not just facing one or two crises. The crises that journalists are facing are not...
05/07/2023
From trainee to trainer: The man who brought Mojo to Sri Lanka
KC Saranga has trained more than 1,000 journalists, students and people in marginalised communities in Sri Lanka on how to tell stories using their mobile phone...
04/07/2023
Top quality entries for EU Investigative Journalism Award
A total of 267 applications from 7 countries, representing 125 media outlets and featuring a diverse group of authors (both individuals and groups), have been s...
03/07/2023
Young Journalist Award 2023 is open for entries
Since 2013 our Young Journalist Award has celebrated the outstanding young talent in the media profession. The award is an opportunity for those brilliant young...
28/06/2023
Transforming cultural journalism in the Western Balkans
A new project is underway in the Western Balkans to transform digital storytelling and engage public audiences with creative and culture-related content. Aroun...
19/06/2023
Reaching the million+ Ukrainian refugees in Germany
Staying informed about everyday life and events in Ukraine is crucially important for the refugees who have fled the war. By April 2023, 1.06 million Ukrai...
14/06/2023
Rwandan journalists awarded funds to support investigations
Equipped with new investigative journalism skills and financial support after recently completing a training programme, 15 Rwandan journalists are empowered to ...
22/05/2023
Unveiling a seminal course on AI ethics in the newsroom
The Thomson Foundation is proud to unveil a pioneering free, online training course designed to help newsrooms address a defining issue of the modern age: the e...
12/05/2023
60 years: Our alumni s stories
Sixty years after it was founded Thomson Foundation - now joined by the Berlin based Thomson Media, continues to innovate. Its blended approach to life-long lea...
09/05/2023
Investigative journalism competition Western Balkans and Trkiye
Journalists from Western Balkans countries and T rkiye are invited to submit their investigative stories for the EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2023. On...
06/05/2023
Media under siege: how journalists are being silenced.
The onslaught of false news against real news is unprecedented. In the Middle East, an alarming trend of people doubting published news is overwhelming, Mohamm...
04/05/2023
Why Moldova is ahead of Romania in Media freedom
This article is written by Vitalie Cojocari, a journalist and broadcaster with Euronews in Romania. He is a mentor for the Thomson Media project EU support for ...
26/04/2023
Connect 6: The power of mentoring
Three months after Thomson Foundation offered six young journalists a once-in-a-lifetime chance', its world-class mentoring programme Connect 6' is re...
25/04/2023
Let's hear it for audio
Despite reports to the contrary, radio isn't dead. In fact, not only has it been revived but its combined with its close cousins, the podcast and the long r...
25/03/2023
Finding their voice - the women bringing parity to Pakistan's media
To increase women's participation; these four words, written down in four seconds, in a proposal can take months, if not years to achieve. Especially, wh...
24/03/2023
Rwanda: developing a course for investigative journalists in Rwanda.
When I started out as an investigative journalist, there were few practising journalists in Kenya to learn from or manuals that I could read to sharpen my skill...
23/03/2023
Journalift: Access all languages
Journalists in the Western Balkans have been given access to free resources and training in their own languages thanks to a unique platform launched by Thomson ...
22/03/2023
Ukraine: collaboration in time of war
One million refugees have been welcomed into Germany since the Russian invasion who aside from being far from home have lost contact with their community and in...
21/03/2023
Building the Resilience and Relevance of independent media
Millions of people in Tajikistan have read, watched and listened to an extraordinary social media campaign which has clearly shown the population's hunger f...