Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Journalism Under Gender Apartheid: An Interview with Malala Yousafzai and Zahra Joya

09/05/2025

At the Frontline Club in London, a venue long associated with media freedom and international reporting, Thomson met with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai and Rukhshana Media founder Zahra Joya.

The conversation took place ahead of a panel discussion on the role of Afghan independent media under Taliban rule.

Malala, youve been involved very heavily with Rukhshana Media, and supporting it. What is the importance of the work that is being done by them? Malala: Rukhshana Media is playing a really critical role at this time because we all know that Afghan women are silenced, the journalists are threatened, and especially female journalists are putting their lives at risk by telling the stories of Afghan women and what they are going through in this country. And Rukhshana Media is one of the few platforms that is actually the voice of the Afghan women. Despite the dangers and the threats that they face. So in this moment, its really important for us to amplify their voices because they are bringing attention to the truth, to what is happening on the ground, how womens rights are violated, how women activists are getting imprisoned and getting tortured. And its really putting everything on record and at the same time, bringing attention to exactly what is happening right now.

Zahra, the challenges your journalists face are immense. How are they managing to operate? Zahra: Well, first of all, I would like to say a huge thanks to Malala and the Malala Fund, because they are supporting us and supporting, basically, the female journalists in Afghanistan. So I am working alongside almost 10 journalists on the ground, mostly female. And its really hard to gather information from inside the country, because every single information coming out should be under Taliban control, and it should be first reviewed by the Taliban. But my colleagues, they are working independently, and they are bringing first-hand information from inside. Its really hard. Its a risky job. And basically, my colleagues are taking their lives in their hands to gather information. I think, as Malala mentioned, its important for us to break the silence. Women of Afghanistan are forced to be silent. Its hard, but I think they are very brave, they are courageous, and they are working. I think their work is essential for us at the moment.

The voices of the women of Afghanistan and the voices of women in many other places are not necessarily being heard. Why do you think that is Malala? Malala: Its really frustrating, to be honest, because we have been talking about womens rights for so long. And it happens to be a month in a year and or a day comes in a year where everybodys talking about womans rights and everybody believes in equality. And then when, in reality, womens rights are violated and under a threat, then we witness a silence. So, I believe that in moments like these, we really need to test our true commitment to gender equality and people who are ahead in using the word should also be ahead in taking actions as well. Afghanistan right now is a country where the worst violations of womens rights are happening. Its the only country where girls are banned from secondary education for more than three and a half years. Its the only country where women are denied any public appearance, any political participation, any role in work, they are literally banned. And if they dare to step outside these rules, theyre punished, theyre beaten up, they are threatened. So theyre paying a price for simply daring to have these rights. When I think about what Afghan women and girls are going through right now, it really makes me want to do something for them because I really admire their resilience and how they are doing their activism. So to all our friends, our colleagues who believe in gender equality who are feminists should also join this call and share their solidarity with Afghan women in this most difficult time.

That is such an extreme form of gender oppression that we have to call it a gender apartheid

Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate

You both share the phrase gender apartheid'. Its a strong phrase. Why is it gender apartheid? Malala: As the phrase of gender apartheid sounds strong, such is the violation of human rights in Afghanistan. I think words like gender discrimination and gender persecution fall short in explaining the scale of oppression that the Taliban are imposing on women and girls. They have issued more than 100 decrees and edicts, the majority of which are targeting women, limiting them in their work, education, and any appearance in public life. And that is such an extreme form of gender oppression that we have to call it a gender apartheid . The incredible women, the activists, the researchers who actually stepped forward and using this terminology thought about it really carefully. And they have been working together with these human rights experts and activists from South Africa who are also talking about the similarities between the situation that women in South Africa were facing where even they feel like gender was not properly addressed as part of their struggles, as part of their activism, and in this moment there is this sense of sisterhood, where women are feeling that the way that they are oppressed is not recognised in the same way, and we cannot just look away and see it more as a domestic problem, see it more as an internal issue. This should be seen as a global issue. This should be addressed both on moral and on legal international law basis.

The international community has said that the Taliban should look at the way they treat women and should change it. Is that enough? Zahra: No. The way that the Taliban are treating women is so harsh and so brutal. And as Malala mentioned, theres more than 100 decrees on edicts the Taliban issued, and most of them targeted
LINK: http://www.thomsonfoundation.org/latest/journalism-under-gender-aparth...
See more stories from thompsonfoundation

Most recent headlines

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

16/05/2025

Warner Bros. Discovery Unveils New Ad Platforms

NEW YORK Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Ad Sales has unveiled NEO and DemoDirect, two advertising solutions it said will provide clients with more effective and ef...

16/05/2025

Netflix Breaks Ground on Major N.J. Production Facility

As Hollywood tries to digest the potential impact of President Donald Trump's proposal to impose tariffs on foreign-produced films, Netflix has broken groun...

16/05/2025

Berklee Announces Jonathan Mahoney as the New Dean for Pre-College, Online, and Professional Programs

Berklee Announces Jonathan Mahoney as the New Dean for Pre-College, Online, and ...

16/05/2025

May 15, 2025

Two HIV vaccine trials show proof of concept for pathway to broadly neutralizing antibodies North American and African clinical trials led by Scripps Research, ...

15/05/2025

Detroit Is Gorgeous and Grief Is Gritty in To Live and Die and Live

PARK CITY, UTAH JANUARY 20: Skye P. Marshall, Omari Hardwick, Cory Hardrict, Qasim Basir, Dana Gourrier, and Amin Joseph attend the 2023 Sundance Film Festiva...

15/05/2025

Directors Lab at 45: Writer-Director Marielle Heller Remembers Finding Her Voice in the 2012 Lab

Director of photography Benjamin Kasulke, actors Katie Henney and Hannah Marks, ...

15/05/2025

Australia's boldest network SBS launches new brand campaign: We Go There'

Australia's boldest network SBS launches new brand campaign: We Go There...

15/05/2025

We Go There SBS On Demand's new Hub is entirely bold and unmistakably SBS

We Go There SBS On Demand's new Hub is entirely bold and unmistakably SBS 15 May, 2025 Media releases The We Go There Hub brings together over 300 ti...

15/05/2025

L3Harris and Airbus US Partner on Systems Integration for Unmanned Aerial Logistics Connector

Airbus U.S. Space & Defense and L3Harris Technologies announced a teaming agreem...

15/05/2025

Nielsen IBOPE Streaming Measurement Continues to Strengthen

Mexico City - May 15, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics, announced the expansion of its streaming measurement panel...

15/05/2025

Warner Bros Discovery Unveils New Ad Platforms

NEW YORK Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Ad Sales today unveiled NEO and DemoDirect, two new solutions that the company said will provide advertisers with more effe...

15/05/2025

NEP Deploys TFC Orchestration Platform at Eurovision 2025

NEP Europe is utilizing technology and teams from across Europe for this year's Eurovision Song Contest....

15/05/2025

Scripps Inks Deal for Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Games

TAMPA BAY, Fla. & CINCINNATI, Ohio The Tampa Bay Lightning have inked a multi-year media rights agreement with Scripps Sports that gives it rights to produce an...

15/05/2025

Max to Once Again Become HBO Max

NEW YORK Warner Bros. Discovery announced during its upfront presentation that Max, the company's streaming platform, will be rebranded as HBO Max this summ...

15/05/2025

BBC Studios Taps 7fivefive for Cloud Workflows

LONDON 7fivefive said it will expand its work for BBC Studios' Global Media & Streaming team and that it is helping the U.K. public broadcaster's studio...

15/05/2025

Charter Names Jake Perlman EVP, Chief Technology & Information Officer

STAMFORD, Conn. Charter Communications, Inc. has named Jake Perlman executive vice president, chief technology and information officer (CTIO)....

15/05/2025

Mike Schmid of ACT Entertainment Receives Prestigious 202...

ACT Entertainment is proud to announce that Vice President of Talent Mike Schmid has been honored with a Gold Stevie Award as Human Resources Executive of the ...

15/05/2025

Arabsat Launches New Playout Services Powered by Grass Va...

Arabsat, a leading global satellite operator and the primary provider of satellite services across the Arab world, has partnered with Grass Valley, the technolo...

15/05/2025

Tyrell Unveils New Brand Identity

Leading media technology and services provider Tyrell, who has supported the broadcast, post-production, production, VFX, and corporate markets in the UK and Ir...

15/05/2025

LiveU To Showcase its Expanded IP Video EcoSystem Designe...

At Broadcast Asia 2025, LiveU will demonstrate its latest mission-critical IP-video solutions within its expanded EcoSystem, designed to add efficiency and shor...

15/05/2025

Lightware and NETGEAR Partner to Simplify AV-over-IP Depl...

Delivering High-Performance Network Switches Designed for Lightware AV Workflows Lightware, a leading manufacturer of connectivity solutions for the profession...

15/05/2025

Cerberus Tech Named a 2025 StreamTV Awards Finalist

Cerberus Tech, a leader in cloud-native IP video contribution and distribution, today announced that the company has been named a finalist in the 2025 StreamTV ...

15/05/2025

Viaccess-Orca at BroadcastAsia 2025 Cost-Efficient Tools...

BroadcastAsia 2025 Exhibitor Preview May 27-29 Singapore Expo Stand 5F3-5 For today's broadcasters, telcos, content owners, and streaming platforms, eff...

15/05/2025

Marshall Showcases Elite Series of PTZ Cameras at InfoCom...

Marshall Electronics will spotlight its Elite Series of PTZ Cameras at InfoComm 2025 (Booth 3843). Marshall's Elite Series of PTZ cameras includes the CV630...

15/05/2025

Avid Appoints ACT Entertainment as US Distributor for its...

ACT Entertainment, the industry-leading manufacturer and distributor of live performance equipment, announces that it has been selected as a U.S. distributor fo...

15/05/2025

TAG Video Systems to Showcase End-to-End Monitoring and Q...

TAG Video Systems will be presenting its latest advancements in real time video monitoring, probing, and visualization at Broadcast Asia 2025 in Booth 5D1-1 (Ma...

15/05/2025

Clear-Com to Highlight Powerful Intercom Capabilities at...

Clear-Com is set to showcase its latest products at InfoComm 2025, taking place from June 7-13 in Orlando Florida. Clear-Com will present attendees with a hand...

15/05/2025

Amagi appoints industry veteran Emma Whitmore to head EME...

Amagi, a cloud-based SaaS technology solutions provider for broadcast and streaming TV, has appointed Emma Whitmore as its new Senior Vice President of Sales, E...

15/05/2025

Maxon Introduces New Real-Time Rendering and Cinematic Pr...

Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects, gaming and more, is further...

15/05/2025

NAKIVO Grows Revenue by 14 percent and Expands MSP Partne...

NAKIVO Inc., a leading vendor of data protection solutions for physical, virtual, cloud, and SaaS environments, announced strong operational results for Q1 2025...

15/05/2025

Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Tania Len and Kelli O'Hara at Commencement Ceremony

Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Tania Le n and Kelli O'Hara at Commenc...

15/05/2025

John Yao Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship for Interactive Jazz Project

John Yao Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship for Interactive Jazz Project The Berklee professor and trombonist will debut Let's Make Some Noise, an immersive bi...

15/05/2025

Space42 Advances Strategy Execution with Solid Q1 2025 Results

Continued delivery across four strategic pillars provides foundation for multi-year scalable growth Strong balance sheet, USD 895 million in cash and nearly US...

15/05/2025

X-Rite Launches CiF3200 Imaging Benchtop Spectrophotometer for Precision Small-Spot Color Measurement

X-Rite Launches CiF3200 Imaging Benchtop Spectrophotometer for Precision Small-S...

15/05/2025

VEON 1Q25 Earnings Release: Strong Start to 2025, Digital Revenues Surge 50%, Driving Growth

15 May 2025 VEON 1Q25 Earnings Release: Strong Start to 2025, Digital Revenues ...

15/05/2025

Tribeca Festival And CHANEL Present A Through Her Lens Conversation On June 6

May 15th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here Tribeca Festival And CHANEL Present A Through Her Lens Conversation On June 6 Riley Keough and production partn...

15/05/2025

Synthogy Spring Sale - Save 20% or More on Ivory 3!

Save 20% or More on Ivory 3 American Concert D or Ivory 3 German D from now until the end of May!Elevate your musical experience with these revolutionary Ivory ...

15/05/2025

PGA Championship: CBS Sports Rolls Out 5G-Powered AR, FlyCams, RailCam, 4K BunkerCams, Live Drones, and More at Quail Hollow

PGA Championship: CBS Sports Rolls Out 5G-Powered AR, FlyCams, RailCam, 4K Bunke...

15/05/2025

PGA Championship: ESPN To Produce 225+ Hours of Live Play on Multiple Platforms

PGA Championship: ESPN To Produce 225+ Hours of Live Play on Multiple Platforms Expanded ESPN BET' telecast, live SportsCenter' segments add to a full...

15/05/2025

This City Is Ours: The Continuing Evolution of Manchester City's City Studios

This City Is Ours: The Continuing Evolution of Manchester City's City Studio...

15/05/2025

Official teaser trailer released of Sky exclusive drama Task coming to Sky and streaming service NOW this September

Thursday 15 May 2025 To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. To...

15/05/2025

Trailer for Lost in Starlight' Offers a Vibrant and Heartfelt Glimpse into a Futuristic Love Story

Back to All News Trailer for Lost in Starlight' Offers a Vibrant and Heart...

15/05/2025

Reflecting on a Year of Progress in Accessibility and What's Ahead

Back to All News Reflecting on a Year of Progress in Accessibility and Whats Ahead Heather Dowdy Director of Product Accessibility Product 15 May 2025 Glo...

15/05/2025

Why COTS, Cloud, and Micro Services Are Revolutionizing Media Workflows

A Reflection on 20 years of NAB booth builds and the Evolution of Grass Valley AMPPAt NAB, I had a moment to reflect on just how dramatically our approach to pr...

15/05/2025

FAI and RT announce biggest ever broadcast agreement for Sports Direct Men's FAI Cup delivering 13 games over two years

The Football Association of Ireland and RT have today announced a new two-year ...

15/05/2025

Into the Omniverse: Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation Finds Smoothest Flow With AI-Driven Digital Twins

Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...

15/05/2025

Exploring the Revenue-Generating Potential of AI Factories

AI is creating value for everyone - from researchers in drug discovery to quantitative analysts navigating financial market changes. The faster an AI system ca...

15/05/2025

Thales powers one million digital payment experiences with Vipps mobile wallet in Norway

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales fully supports the success of Vipps, Norw...