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, 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
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
10/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF advance laser-based drone defense with THORIS LCS Rohde & Schwarz is showcasing THORIS at ILA 2026: A sovereign, end to end counter...
10/06/2026
MAHLE and Rohde & Schwarz develop application for sensor testing of modern drive...
10/06/2026
Production and Development Funding supports the creation of compelling, commercially viable, artistic and culturally relevant South African screen content. Deve...
10/06/2026
Media buyers and sellers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile, an...
10/06/2026
Accedo, Humans not Robots, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) have announced the launch of Ecoflow X. Formerly an IBC Accelerator project, ...
10/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced that James Smith has joined the company as General Manager...
10/06/2026
At the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for live medical procedures s...
10/06/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media, and entertainment managed services, today announced the launch of its Content Exchange platform powered by Or...
10/06/2026
Klvr will showcase how venues, integrators and production teams are rethinking disposable battery usage at InfoComm 2026 (Las Vegas, June 17-19, booth #N6311). ...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has further enhanced the Reliable Internet Streaming Transport (RIST) protocol by incorporating a new feature, RIST Satellite-Hyb...
10/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/06/2026
Wuppertal June 10, 2026
Riedel Artist at the Heart of the 14th World Live Neurovascular ConferenceAt the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Li...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Showcases New Mobile Experience, Collections and Games Vision in APAC
Product
10 June 2026
GlobalSouth KoreaJapan
Link copied to c...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Ready to Join? The Netflix Fan Club Arrives at Cannes Lions
Business
10 June 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Download all assets
N...
10/06/2026
Chemists snap together complex 3D molecules from highly reactive radicals-without losing their shape Scripps Research team develops stereoretentive radical-radi...
09/06/2026
Kiswe announces an expanded long-term partnership with ONE Championship (ONE), t...
09/06/2026
SiriusXM will broadcast FOX Sports' English-language commentary for all 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches from June 11 through July 19, available to subscribe...
09/06/2026
EVS has announced it is changing its corporate name from EVS Broadcast Equipment to EVS, reflecting the company's expanded portfolio beyond broadcast equipm...
09/06/2026
Fox Corporation and the NFL have announced a multi-year agreement to bring NFL c...
09/06/2026
FOX Sports and ReachTV, an airport media network, have announced an agreement to...
09/06/2026
Cosm Atlanta, a 70,000-square-foot, three-level immersive entertainment venue located within Centennial Yards adjacent to State Farm Arena and Mercedes-Benz Sta...
09/06/2026
NESN captured five awards at the 2026 Boston/New England Emmy Awards, including four program honors and one individual award.
These awards reflect the passion...
09/06/2026
Ateme has announced that its support for Apple Immersive Video workflows was referenced by Apple during its 2026 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC26).
Atem...
09/06/2026
Bitmovin has announced that Axel Springer SE has deployed Player Web X, Bitmovin's web video player, to power audio readouts of news articles and an audio-o...
09/06/2026
Grass Valley and Lawo have announced a technology collaboration to validate orch...
09/06/2026
LiveU has announced a deployment with the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) t...
09/06/2026
Globecast has announced the launch of its Content Exchange platform, powered by ...
09/06/2026
NBC Sports will present live coverage of Overtime's OT7 football league Championship Weekend from Sullivan Field at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angel...
09/06/2026
We're in three different locations, three different production teams. Coveri...
09/06/2026
The intro video for Men's Basketball won Outstanding In-Venue Video in the C...
09/06/2026
Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...
09/06/2026
Since their debut, the clock-and-score graphic has drawn the affinity and ire of...
09/06/2026
Last month, Spotify hosted PURE FLOWERS LIVE, a special event celebrating the re...
09/06/2026
Last month, RADAR U.K. artist Skye Newman took the stage in East London for a sp...
09/06/2026
Company to cease operating on 30 June 2026
Australian loudspeaker and amplifier manufacturer Wayne Jones Audio have announced that after much consideration,...
09/06/2026
Increases low-end weight and character
The latest plug-in release from Sheffield-based fedDSP aims to offer an all-in-one solution for users in search of mo...
09/06/2026
Introduces AI Studio Assistant, Moises Studio integration & more
Fender Studio have just announced the launch a significant update that brings an array of n...
09/06/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is a statutory body mandated to spearhead the equitable growth and development of the South African film and video...
09/06/2026
The BBC has found its Hercule Poirot.
After Deadline revealed last month that t...
09/06/2026
Media buyers and sellers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile, an...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
A project aimed at modernizing scheduling operations across Mediaset's channel portfolio
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitab...
09/06/2026
tvONE, an ACT Entertainment brand, debuts its most powerful video processor ever built: the 4RU CALICO PRO (C7-PRO-4200), at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N6813). Engine...
09/06/2026
Composer and Conductor Eric Whitacre to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Berklee Va...
To increase women's participation; these four words, written down in four seconds, in a proposal can take months, if not years to achieve. 
