Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Valley Voices: Empowering women in rural Pakistan

03/02/2023

The finale of the third Valley Voices project saw women journalists and writers gain confidence in writing about some of the more controversial topics facing women in Pakistan at a workshop with our partner - the Tribal News Network (TNN).

Tackling writing blogs was the first task for the group under the mentorship of documentary filmmaker, multimedia journalist and blogger Sabin Agha. Prior to Sabin's session, most of the participants were unfamiliar with blogging and would be unlikely to write about some of the more contentious issues.

The all-women group of journalists and writers involved in this project live and work in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in North West Pakistan - a very traditional, conservative part of Pakistan, where most women have a little or no access to formal education, and are hugely underrepresented in the media.

With Sabin's coaching the women grew in confidence and skills, and gained the ability to write from a personal, female perspective on important - yet often neglected - topics affecting women and their rights.

In a place where women's voices are rarely heard or represented, breaking with the prevalent social conventions and hierarchical structures is a big first step towards empowering women to pursue careers in the media.

I was surprised to see that the bloggers picked up very bold and taboo topics like gender discrimination, domestic violence, and harassment against women.

Sabin Agha, trainer I appreciate TNN for publishing all these blogs, as they were written without fear or reluctance, says Sabin Agha.

Earlier in the project, nine focus group discussions had been held with local women in the region, thus giving the reporters first-hand information on what local female audiences actually want to consume. The topics raised included harassment, jobs and economic opportunities for women, gender inequality, education, health and cooking.

Trainer and gender analyst Qudsia Mehtab Mehmood sees this part of the project as a step forward in creating gender-balanced stories which are mostly lacking in local media coverage.

Sabin opened our minds regarding blogging and removed the fear which was inside us.

Valley Voices mentee

-- Play

-- --

The process of pitching was the focus of another workshop session. Multimedia journalist Sana Gulzar and Executive Producer at TNN Khalida Niaz shared their newsroom knowledge on how to communicate with editors, pitch stories, and how to react to feedback and criticism.

TNN News Editor Hina Gul shared the rebranding process of TNN. She says the organisation has evolved over time and the new identity better represents the organisation as independent, progressive, gender-inclusive, and a voice of marginalised groups.

The workshop concluded by sharing participants' feedback on the impact they would love their stories to have. For some, like Nausheen, the change has been bigger than they ever imagined.

Professionally, it changed me so that I can read and write more than before, and also I learned how to write many things I learned to lock the ocean in a jar' (how to say the big story in a few words), she says.

I learned how to write controversial and difficult topics easily and have started earning through writing. Now I am an independent woman.

Nausheen, a Valley Voices mentee

About the Valley Voices project For women in Pakistan, the fight for empowerment and equality comes with a specific set of challenges and struggles. Women are rarely part of the public sphere, with little to no participation in decision-making, often being misrepresented or subjects of discrimination in media. With their voices constantly silenced, the Valley Voices project aims to make them active participants in content creation and local media engagement.

For the first time, women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in North West Pakistan were asked about their media consumption habits and interests in a programme designed to make local media more relevant to them and enhance their political participation. Starting with the premise that the only way women can truly be represented in the media is by including as many women journalists as possible, Thomson Foundation teamed up with a local partner, the Tribal News Network (TNN), to provide them with the necessary tools.

Since 2020, Thomson Foundation has been working with the Tribal News Network (TNN) on ways to give women a voice, both as producers and consumers. An audience study revealed interesting insights into womens media consumption habits and expectations. These informed several training and mentoring sessions on mobile journalism productions, aimed at a women audience, including illiterate women from remote districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. TNNs local reporter network was strengthened by providing relevant skills and confidence to young women reporters and bloggers.

Related content

Why female journalists in Pakistan dont like coffee

Read Sabin Aghas blog on the treatment of journalists in Pakistan

Valley Voices - Enhancing womens political participation

Learn about a programme focused on media production for women in Pakistan

Empowering women in Pakistans rural communities

Topics that matter the most to Pakistani women

Explore our projects across the globe
LINK: http://www.thomsonfoundation.org/latest/valley-voices-empowering-women...
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 ...

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 ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

23/03/2026

Professional Fighters League & U-Next Renew Multi-year Partnership to Broadcast PFL Events Live in Japan

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has renewed its multi-year partnership wi...

23/03/2026

The Snow League Announces Google Cloud as Official Cloud and AI Partner to Power Personalized Fan Experiences Worldwide

The Snow League has named Google Cloud as its Official Cloud and AI Partner. The...

23/03/2026

Chyron Appoints Eric Wolff as Director of Venues Sales, North America

Chyron has appointed Eric Wolff as Director of Venues Sales, North America. Wolff previously served as Director of Broadcast Operations & Media Production for T...

23/03/2026

Chicago Sports Network, WCIU To Simulcast 10 White Sox Games

Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) and Weigel Broadcasting's WCIU (The U, ch. 26.1) will simulcast 10 Chicago White Sox games during the 2026 season, the compani...

23/03/2026

Cosm Appoints Jon Werbeck as VP, Head of Sponsorships

Cosm has appointed Jon Werbeck as Vice President, Head of Sponsorships. He will report to Corey Breton, Head of Venues, and will focus on corporate sponsorship ...

23/03/2026

CP Communications Partners with Mark Roberts Motion Control to Bring Robotic Camera Systems to Florida

CP Communications has announced a partnership with Mark Roberts Motion Control (...

23/03/2026

NAB 2026: Creators, Media Leaders, Storytelling Legends and AI Step Into the Spotlight as Lineup is Unveiled

NAB Show 2026, taking place April 18-22 (exhibits April 19-22) at the Las Vegas ...

23/03/2026

Bay FC Announces Multi-Year Partnership with Victory+ as the Official Streaming Partner

Bay FC and free streaming platform Victory have announced a partnership through...

23/03/2026

MLB, Google Cloud Debut AI-Powered, Real-Time Game Analysis With Scout Insights' in MLB Gameday

Gemini AI models will surface hidden context around pitches, matchups, rare stat...

23/03/2026

Behind the Mic: NBC Sports Announces MLB Opening Day On Air Lineup, Featuring Orel Hershiser, Al Leiter and More.

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

23/03/2026

SVG All-Stars: Alex McKeen, Senior Manager, Strategic Production Planning, TNT Sports

Growing from broadcast engineer to strategic planner, this Ithaca College grad h...

23/03/2026

Announcing the 2026 Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund Grantees

16 Science-Focused Nonfiction Projects Selected for Funding LOS ANGELES, CA, March 23, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute and Sandbox Films announced toda...

23/03/2026

Celebrate 20 Years of Hannah Montana With Megan Moroney's New The Best of Both Worlds' Cover and More

It's been 20 years since Miley Cyrus introduced the world to Hannah Montana,...

23/03/2026

BOOM Library release Seasons of Earth: European Autumn

Made entirely from real natural recordings Aimed at sound designers and editors working in film, TV and game audio, the latest release from BOOM Library com...

23/03/2026

Klang.io launch Transcription Studio

Transcribe sheets, tabs or MIDI from audio files Klang.io have announced the launch of a new AI-powered software tool that's capable of detecting multip...

23/03/2026

RL10 and Orion Main Engine are Key to NASA's Historic Artemis II Journey to the Moon

An auxiliary target has been affixed to the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage f...

23/03/2026

Scripps To Launch Scripps Sports Network Streaming Channel

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/03/2026

IBEW Calls for Scrutiny of Skydance-CBS Layoffs and Proposed CNN Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/03/2026

Bruno Mars Risk It All Music Video Captures Timeless Text...

Pro8mm, the Super 8 experts, provided cameras, Super 8 movie film, and scanning services for Bruno Mars' Risk It All music video. The debut single from Br...

23/03/2026

Matthews Intros Lightweight Aluminum Grid Clamps

Matthews, introduces their first aluminum grid clamp collection, engineered for the rigging needs of film, television and live production. Combining light weigh...

23/03/2026

Hacks, the multi-Emmy -winning Sky Exclusive comedy, returns to the UK for its final season this April

Monday 23 March 2026 Hacks, the multi-Emmy -winning Sky Exclusive comedy, retur...

23/03/2026

'Too Hot to Handle: Italy' Reignites for a Second Season With the Special Participation of Selvaggia Lucarelli

Back to All News Too Hot to Handle: Italy Reignites for a Second Season With th...

23/03/2026

How Autonomous AI Agents Become Secure by Design With NVIDIA OpenShell

Autonomous agents mark a new inflection point in AI. Systems are no longer limited to generating responses or reasoning through tasks. They can take action: Age...

23/03/2026

RT Statement on the Death of Sports Broadcaster Michael Lyster

RT is sad today to learn of the death of legendary RT Sport broadcaster Michael Lyster, who died this morning aged 71 years. Kevin Bakhurst, Director-General...

23/03/2026

RT Documentary On One wins its first ever dedicated music award

RT Documentary On One has scooped its first ever dedicated music award. At the 2026 Icelandic Music Awards, composer lfur Eldj rn won Release of the Year in t...

23/03/2026

Czechia v Republic of Ireland live on RT2, RT Player and RT Radio 1

Inside Sport, Liveline, Morning Ireland and 2FM DRIVE will all be in Prague to bring fans to the heart of the action Every Moment, Every GenerationRT | FIFA W...

22/03/2026

VSL update Synchron Woodwinds & Strings

Free updates now available VSL have just released some free updates that add some existing features to a selection of libraries in their expansive Synchron ...

22/03/2026

Live-Action Sins of Kujo' Premieres April 2: Main Trailer and Key Art Debut

Back to All News Live-Action Sins of Kujo' Premieres April 2: Main Trailer and Key Art Debut Entertainment 22 March 2026 GlobalJapan Link copied to cl...

21/03/2026

MPG announce new Impact Award

Presented to War Child UK's HELP(2) project The MPG (Music Producers Guild) have announced the launch of the MPG Impact Award, a brand-new honour that w...

21/03/2026

Eduardo Tarilonte's Ancient ERA Persia from Best Service

Microtuning support for Arabic, Persian & Turkish scales The latest release from Best Service brings together a selection of string, wind and percussion ins...

21/03/2026

New campaign from NAATI and SBS CulturalConnect highlights how we all deserve to be understood'

New campaign from NAATI and SBS CulturalConnect highlights how we all deserve t...

21/03/2026

Statement regarding Rhoda Roberts AO

Statement regarding Rhoda Roberts AO 21 March, 2026 Media releases SBS is deeply saddened by the passing of Widjabul Wia-bal woman from the Bundjalung Na...

21/03/2026

Survey: Fans Prefer Sports on Broadcast Over Streaming

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Graham Promotes Stephanie Slagle to VP, CRO & GM of WDIV Local 4

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Study: Repurposed Traditional TV Ads for CTV Is a Missed Opportunity

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Carr Backs Trump Army/Navy Game Executive Order

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Opponents File Emergency FCC Petition to Block Nexstar/Tegna Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Eight States Ask for Court to Stop Nexstar/Tegna Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Cine Gear Connect NY Ramps Up for March 28 - 2026

Cine Gear Connect NY, presented by Universal Production Services, is filling in the slate for a full day of panels, peers, learning the latest, and mixing it up...

21/03/2026

Studio Technologies Debuts New StudioComm System at NAB 2026

Studio Technologies Debuts New StudioComm System at NAB 2026 Brie Clayton March 20, 2026 0 Comments StudioComm Model 794 Central Controller and Model ...

21/03/2026

Restoration Christian Fellowship Captures Worship Music Videos with PYXIS 12K

Restoration Christian Fellowship Captures Worship Music Videos with PYXIS 12K Brie Clayton March 20, 2026 0 Comments PYXIS' open gate provides cre...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: Net Insight unveils Market-Leading JPEG XS at Scale for Live IP Media Production

Net Insight will introduce a JPEG XS solution for full IP environments at NAB Sh...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: LTN and Harmonic Expand Partnership to Support FAST Growth and C-Band Migration

LTN has expanded its technology partnership with Harmonic ahead of the FCC's...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: Solid State Logic to Preview SSL Live V6.2 with New SolidPitch Effect and Major Workflow Enhancements

Solid State Logic will preview SSL Live V6.2 at NAB Show, booth C6907. The softw...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: Fujifilm Announces Availability of FUJINON UA22x4.8BERD 4K Broadcast Zoom Lens

FUJIFILM North America Corporation's Optical Devices Division has announced ...