Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Valley Voices: Accessing women s voices

08/03/2023

It's August in Pakistan and much of the country is underwater. Catastrophic flooding has killed hundreds, left millions homeless and destroyed infrastructure. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province in Pakistan's northwest is one of the areas worst affected.

Amid the destruction in KP is a group of women journalists together with a group of women bloggers who are telling stories that no-one else is telling. It's the culmination of a three-year Thomson Media programme to enhance the voices of women in public discourse in what remains a male-dominated society.

The project called Valley Voices, has been so successful in terms of audience engagement in particular, that it was extended in 2022. Working alongside Tribal News Network (TNN), a radio and online news platform, we trained a team of women journalists on advanced mobile journalism skills including filming, editing, storytelling and safety.

The result has been stories from the field during and after the flood including the impact primarily on women and children, the lack of clean drinking water and the urgent need for facilities for pregnant women.

Now we have large numbers of women [journalists] and it's made it easier for us to interview other women and get information, says Said Nazir, executive director, TNN.

I think we are becoming role models for the rest of the media here in Pakistan and the audience is also getting unique content .

Said Nazir- Executive Director of TNN Empowering women bloggers Eight women bloggers also provided content for TNN about the flooding which is remarkable considering some are unable to leave home to work because of the strict rules preventing them from working alongside male journalists.

This unique concept saw the women being mentored and trained to provide 48 blogs over six months on topics ranging from the lack of say for a woman in marriage, domestic violence and dealing with periods.

Normally you don't see articles like this in society .

Said Nazir- Executive Director of TNN Telling womens stories For the bloggers themselves, it has given them a chance to participate in public discourse, and judging from their response, it's been a liberating experience.

One blogger, Hudaibia Iftikhar, wrote an article on why Pakistan needs more women leaders in which she argued: If [women] are responsible caretakers of their families, then why not for their nation? Hudaibia says her involvement in the programme has enabled her to defend myself better'.

Another, economics graduate Nazia Salarzai, says the project has given her a platform'. I am representing a population of 1.2 million in the Bajaur tribal district bordering Afghanistan where there is no single woman blogger and journalist except me, she says.

Writing in a blog about the flooding she makes an impassioned plea for urgent work to stop the spread of disease including the provision of lady doctors, their access to women and their safety.'

Other bloggers told us the training had increased their confidence with the result they have been offered work from national and international organisations.

Said Nazir called the training for bloggers a fascinating idea'. We are pushing the boundaries and bringing new realities to the media , he says.

I am representing a population of 1.2 million in the Bajaur tribal district bordering Afghanistan where there is no single woman blogger and journalist except me .

Nazia Salarzai- one of the trainees

About Valley Voices Since 2020, Thomson Media has been working with the Tribal News Network (TNN) on ways to give women a voice in northwest of Pakistan, the scheme for women journalist and bloggers is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office through ifa (Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations) as part of the zivik funding programme.

Related content

Valley Voices: Empowering women in Pakistan.

She leads media: Bettina fellowship scales up.

Why Pakistan needs more women leaders.

Explore our projects across the globe
LINK: http://www.thomsonfoundation.org/latest/valley-voices-accessing-womens...
See more stories from thompsonfoundation

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

30/04/2026

Ocean Blue Software Launches ATSC 3.0 Inspector for Smart TVs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

Digital Azul positions Lisbon as a remote production hub...

Scalable broadcast-grade production over public internet, replacing traditional OB workflows...

30/04/2026

V Nova Brings DTV Deployment LCEVC Ecosystem Progress and...

Live demonstrations highlight LCEVC ecosystem momentum, AI-powered video pipelines, and expansion across broadcast, streaming, and social media. DTV (TV 3.0) ...

30/04/2026

Student Spotlight: Matthew Leon

Student Spotlight: Matthew Leon The dual major shares his path from community college to Berklee, and how his heritage influences his work. April 29, 2026 B...

30/04/2026

Berklee Artists to Perform at Major Global Music Festivals

Berklee Artists to Perform at Major Global Music Festivals As part of the Berklee Popular Music Institute, students will perform at Lollapalooza, Governors Ba...

30/04/2026

Study: Rokus Low-Cost, Ad-Free Howdy Streamer Hits 1 Million Subs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

MLS Innovation Lab Selects AI Partners

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

NRB Files FCC Complaint Over Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Monologue

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

D.C. Court Denies Emergency Stay of Nexstar/Tegna Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

NAB Criticizes FCC for Ordering Early Renewal of ABC-Owned Stations

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

FCC Approves Station Swaps Between Scripps and Gray Media

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

Telestream Introduces Pulse - a Software-Defined Test an...

A flexible monitoring platform designed to simplify ST 2110 operations, consolidate vendor tools, and support modern live production environments. See it at NAB...

30/04/2026

Langlev Takes Run Amok to Sundance with Zeiss Supreme Pri...

Sundance-premiering Run Amok is an expressive, unconventional take on today's teen experience, replete with musical numbers. When cinematographer Shachar ...

30/04/2026

Studio Technologies Elevates Jacksonville State Universit...

JACKSONVILLE, AL, APRIL 29, 2026 Jacksonville State University, known as Jax State and a proud NCAA Division I member of Conference USA, has transformed its a...

30/04/2026

Knowledge Network selects ThinkAnalytics to launch AI-pow...

Transforming viewer and content data into real-time intelligence to deliver relevant streaming experiences at scale ThinkAnalytics, the global leader in AI-pow...

30/04/2026

Sports Production, Delivery is Big Biz at NAB

Sports Production, Delivery is Big Biz at NAB Andy Marken April 29, 2026 0 Comments Hero image source: NAB One of the neat things about trade shows i...

30/04/2026

Former Kerry footballer and broadcaster Dara Cinnide investigates the century-old murder of a Kerry man in new RT documentary

Rian na Fola airs on RT One and RT Player on Monday May 4 Rian na Fola is a o...

30/04/2026

It's Gonna Be May: 16 Games Hit the Cloud This Month, With More NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Power

It's gonna be May - and the cloud's in full festival mode. 16 games ar...

30/04/2026

April 29, 2026

Scripps Research ranks third in 2026 Cure Innovation Index April 29, 2026 LA JOLLA, CA Scripps Research ranked third in the inaugural 2026 Cure Innovation In...

29/04/2026

Churchill Downs Racetrack Lifts Curtain on New Big Board Ahead of Kentucky Derby Week

It was a delicate job in a 150-year-old venue laden with traditions. Begun at th...

29/04/2026

How the MLS Innovation Lab Enhances Everything From Athlete Performance to Production to Ticket Sales

In annual event, the league gives startup companies the opportunity to prove the...

29/04/2026

Save the Date: SVG Venues & Teams Summit Travels South to Miamis Kaseya Center on Aug. 12

Panel discussions, networking, and a facility tour will take place in the renova...

29/04/2026

The Cast and Crew of Conbody VS Everybody Have Each Other's Backs for Life

(L-R) Derek Drescher, Coss Marte, and Syretta Wright have each other's backs. (Micheal Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival) By Veronika Lee Cla...

29/04/2026

Free Tilt EQ plug-in from Techivation

Combines EQ and harmonic distortion Techivation's latest release is a simple EQ designed to offer quick control over a source's overall tonal balanc...

29/04/2026

Expressive E launch the Osmose CE

Two new MPE controllers announced Expressive E caused quite a stir when they released the Osmose, making the sort of expression that was once reserved for p...

29/04/2026

iZotope RX 12 is here

New modules & enhanced machine-learning The latest version of iZotope's flagship restoration suite is now available, and now offers over 50 tools design...

29/04/2026

Surgeon Dr Jasmina Kevric wins 2026 Les Murray Award

Surgeon Dr Jasmina Kevric wins 2026 Les Murray Award 29 April, 2026 Media releases Australia for UNHCR and SBS are proud to announce that Dr Jasmina Kevric...

29/04/2026

YEP Spotlight: Julissa Padilla

Some people stumble into their passion. Julissa Padilla walked straight into a film vault. For her, entertainment was never just about the movies themselves. It...

29/04/2026

Clear-Com Promotes Brian Grahn, Ben Turnwell to Expanded Roles

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

The CW Unveils Major Streaming Deals with ESPN and Roku

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

Clear-Com Announces New Roles for Brian Grahn and Ben Tur...

Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live, expanding their ...

29/04/2026

Reduce Workflow Complexity with nxtedition at MPTS 2026

nxtedition is bringing its range of consolidated production tools to MPTS 2026, with new developments spanning transcription, editing, graphics and AI-assisted ...

29/04/2026

Telxius taps Synamedia to unlock seamless global multi-CD...

Quortex Switch to boost the streaming experience for Telxius customers, reaching millions of viewers worldwide Synamedia and Telxius, the leading global connec...

29/04/2026

freispace and Projective Announce Joint Showcase of Integ...

freispace, the leading ERP-as-a-Service platform for media and entertainment production, and Projective, a leading provider of post-production collaboration tec...

29/04/2026

DHD Celebrates 30th Anniversary at 2026 NAB Show

DHD reports strong interest in its broadcast audio product range, exhibited at the April 19th-22nd NAB Show in Las Vegas. The event attracted a claimed 58,000 a...

29/04/2026

Student Spotlight: Alan Catz

Student Spotlight: Alan Catz The Argentine film and game composer talks about working on League of Legends, receiving Berklee's BMI Award, and the lifelon...

29/04/2026

Jay Jennings Builds the Worlds You Hear on Screen

Jay Jennings Builds the Worlds You Hear on Screen The supervising sound designer behind A Minecraft Movie, The Meg, Letters from Iwo Jima, and dozens of other...

29/04/2026

Paramount Will be 49.5% Foreign Owned After WBD Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

NAB Show 2026: AI, Vertical and BPS Dominate Broadcasters' Discussions

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

IAB Tech Lab Announces New OpenRTB Attributes

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

Meet the eight finalists for RT Today's TV Home Cook competition

Voting opens at 4pm today RT 's Today show have announced the eight finalists for their TV Home Cook competition. Amateur cooks from Cork, Dublin, Galway ...

29/04/2026

VEON and Kyivstar Fulfill Commitment to Invest USD 1 Billion in Ukraine over 2023-2027 Ahead of Schedule

29 Apr 2026 VEON and Kyivstar Fulfill Commitment to Invest USD 1 Billion in Ukr...

29/04/2026

U challenges stars and their dogs to compete for Wagging Rights

Rhod Gilbert, Harriet Kemsley, Kae Kurd, Sara Pascoe and Vicki Pattison to take part in brand new series on free streaming service U London, 29th April 2026: F...

29/04/2026

Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, a Sky Original documentary series from BAFTA-winning Mindhouse, coming this summer

Wednesday 29 April 2026 Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, a Sky Original documentar...