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
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
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...
22/07/2026
Among other tweaks to coverage, the broadcaster added announce positions in the ...
22/07/2026
The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has reported a sharp acceleration in Australia's sportstech sector, with revenue growth rising from 10% in...
22/07/2026
From a retrofitted broadcast bus to packed Match Day Live! events, Bennett detai...
22/07/2026
TMRW Sports has named Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football, where he will lead the company's professional flag football business in partnership with ...
22/07/2026
Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) designed and produced soundtracks for nine projection...
22/07/2026
Harmonic has announced a $25,000 donation to Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) fo...
22/07/2026
Telemundo has announced it has acquired from UC3 exclusive U.S. Spanish-language...
22/07/2026
The Rest Is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, ...
22/07/2026
Sports Studio has announced a partnership with TheSoul Group to distribute Free ...
22/07/2026
Daktronics has concluded its 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day hybrid event combining virtual sessions with hands-on host school visits across the countr...
22/07/2026
FOR-A America will exhibit at the MMCA Show in Pensacola, Florida (July 21-24), marking the company's first appearance at the house of worship AV event. FOR...
22/07/2026
The New York Yankees have selected Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) to connect Ya...
22/07/2026
Calrec will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.C47) with demonstrations of its IP-native audio ecosystem built around the Argo console range, and will announce two ne...
22/07/2026
Solid State Logic has announced the appointment of Algam EKO as its distributor for SSL large format consoles in Italy, covering the Live, Broadcast, and Studio...
22/07/2026
FloSports has announced the launch of the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported streaming channel premiering on Prime Video in the U.S. on July 21. The channel...
22/07/2026
Banana Ball TV (BTV), the broadcast operation of the Savannah Bananas, has insta...
22/07/2026
SiriusXM and Audacy have announced an agreement bringing 42 Audacy sports, news, and talk stations from 29 U.S. markets to SiriusXM. Twenty-three Audacy sports ...
22/07/2026
The collaboration produced more than 500 short-form videos across four cities th...
22/07/2026
At 2,600 sq. ft., the new home of digital content houses a main studio, podcast space, and an auxiliary control room
NFL franchises are accelerating their prod...
22/07/2026
Library now available in Engine Player
Another of Eduardo Tarilonte's popular sample libraries has just been moved over to Engine Audio's Engine Pla...
22/07/2026
All-in-one mic & DSP interface overhauled
Cloudvocal have just refreshed the design of their all-in-one mic, audio interface and DSP processor, introducing ...
22/07/2026
The final boss of the lost dual-op-amp circuit
Electro-Harmonix have just introduced the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2, which they say offers their latest take on t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
22/07/2026
An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app
Marc Levoy July 22, 2026
0 Comments
At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...
22/07/2026
Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...
22/07/2026
Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...
22/07/2026
AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back
Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026
0 Comments
A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...
22/07/2026
From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...
22/07/2026
A poisoned spy, a secret war, and a small English city contaminated by a deadly chemical weapon. Available on Sky Documentaries from 4 AugustWednesday 22 July 2...
22/07/2026
Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...
22/07/2026
Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services
Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...
22/07/2026
RT REPORTS NET SURPLUS OF 22.5 MILLION IN 2025...
22/07/2026
In the Opinion of the Censor airs Monday 27 July at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player
In the Opinion of the Censor looks at how films for theatrical release wer...
22/07/2026
Before a healthcare robot can be useful in the real world, it has to learn how the physical world pushes back. Anatomy varies. Instruments bend, press, slip and...
21/07/2026
New research involving a cross-section of Mongolias independent media landscape finds enthusiasm for AI as a tool to improve efficiency, sustainability and resi...
21/07/2026
With winners Spain having already paraded the World Cup trophy through Madrid in front of millions of fans and the dust now settling on an epic tournament of th...
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). 
