Sabin Agha is a Pakistan-based documentary filmmaker, multimedia journalist and a blogger. She has been teaching women journalists at Tribal News Network (TNN) in Peshawar about how to blog and challenge societal norms. Thomson Media has been working with TNN to help empower women and give them a voice in local media.
Browsing through my Facebook page, I stumbled across a think piece about intelligent women which had been written by a man. Well, to be precise, it was more of a cautionary tale than a think piece. For him, intelligent women are shrewd and undesirable, hence they should not be loved.
As I read it, I thanked my lucky stars for my intelligence, which would help keep misogynists like him at bay. Sadly, though, that luck has not been replicated in my working life. I can't say I've felt lucky as a female' journalist. I write female' in inverted comas because have you ever heard people talk of a male' journalist? What about a female' girlfriend, female' mother or a female' sister? The battle cries of the female journalist are unique and countless. I even have my own exclusive battle cry as a part of my social media bio, which is: dodged bullets - dodging misogyny is a work in progress.
My male colleagues enjoy intimate meetings with their sources over a cup of coffee, irrespective of the time of day or night. However, when I want to meet sources many wrongly believe I am asking them on a date. In South Asia almost all sources are male, and as a female journalist I generally meet three types. I'm not saying that all sources are like this, but I'd like to share my own particular experiences.
Type one: the harmless type (somewhat), who is happy to share information whilst keeping his fingers crossed that it will lead to a potential coffee date with me.
Type two: the stalker type, who after sharing information will stalk me both physically and virtually via social media. I'll also receive drunken texts at the weekend asking me to meet up for a cup of coffee.
Type three: the detective type who has a distinct strategy. They want to find out before the meeting if I am coming alone or with a small army of people. Based on my response, they then devise a plan which involves, yes you've guessed it, a cup of coffee.
I don't like coffee anymore!
In this context, coffee' represents to me a mindset that objectifies women, irrespective of their professional standing. Sadly, in my experience, it's a mindset that's prevalent from the top down.
Let's take one recent, widely-reported example about comments made by the former premier Imran Khan when he was asked during a press conference about a prominent female journalist being harassed during rallies by his PTI party workers. According to a number of news outlets, including The Friday Times, Khan said she was bound to be harassed' if she invaded male-dominated places'. He went on to say he would issue strict directions against harassing journalists to his party workers in this regard and we will wait to see what that produces.
Female journalists don't just face physical threats. Social media is a new battleground, where your enemies are trolls armed with multiple fake accounts. The aim of the virtual attacks is ultimately the same: to stifle the message and remove these women from online spaces. According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Women journalists in Pakistan are facing increasing levels of online harassment, including trolling, cyber-bullying, intimidation and doxing'. Asma Shirazi a well-known journalist, and at the time of writing the only female journalists covering parliamentary affairs in Pakistan, told the IFJ she faces a constant barrage of online attacks. ...they bring you to a point where it seems like a personal war. The space to do good and free journalism shrinks; journalists find it hard to work as they face more and more obstacles that limit their work.
When Tribal News Network (TNN) asked me to mentor a fellowship on blogging for women journalists, I felt really excited. As a battle-hardened journalist, I was keen to encourage, inspire and train these young women who come from a traditionally conservative setup, with unique techniques to challenge the status quo. I wanted them to attack misogyny head-on through the power of their blogs.
For me, learning is a lifelong and two-way process. Our journey to learn from each other began with a heart-to-heart discussion which translated into eight inspiring personal stories. This happened on our first day together. I then set them a series of challenges to change how they view themselves and their role as journalists. The challenges were as follows:
Society compels you to stop thinking: I want you to think critically.
Society stifles your questions: I listen to your questions and offer answers.
Society says it has a monopoly over your rights: You have a monopoly over your own rights which you are born with. Rights are usurped or accepted.
Society fills you with hate and scorn for women: I urge you to think differently.
Society tells you to shut up: I urge you to raise your voice as loud as you can.
Raising up voices can shake the very foundations of injustice. That's precisely what Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yusufzai did with her blogs for her BBC Diary from the Swat Valley, about life under the Pakistani Taliban's tenure. As she said in her acceptance speech: The terrorists tried to stop us and attacked me and my friends...but neither their ideas nor their bullets could win. We survived. And since that day, our voices have grown louder and louder. I tell my story, not because it is unique, but because it is not. It is the story of many girls.
Related content
Valley Voices - Enhancing womens political participation
Learn about a
Europe Stories
21/12/2025
John Shortt named Young Sportsperson of the Year Kerry are the Team of the Year
...
19/12/2025
With Playout Release 2025.4, ToolsOnAir continues to push professional playout w...
19/12/2025
19 Dec 2025
VEON's Mobilink Microfinance Bank Launches Islamic Banking Oper...
19/12/2025
The six-part drama, set in a close-knit Welsh town fractured by an unspeakable c...
19/12/2025
Rohde & Schwarz drives the future of mobility at CES 2026 At the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Rohde & Schwarz will present a powerful lineup o...
19/12/2025
RT is proud to return to the RDS to support the 2026 Stripe Young Scientist & T...
18/12/2025
Canada's largest indoor arena has transformed its live production capabilities with a full ST 2110 infrastructure and Calrec's compact Argo S console. S...
18/12/2025
Long-term agreement includes the SES SCORE platform and hybrid distribution worldwide to deliver more than 5,000 hours of golf tournaments annually featuring th...
18/12/2025
18 Dec 2025
VEON Upgraded to Nasdaq Global Select Market, Enhancing Investor Visibility Dubai, December 18, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital o...
18/12/2025
Thursday 18 December 2025
Sky Sports remains the exclusive home of the Masters ...
18/12/2025
Using the additive process of 3D printing, layer after layer gets printed until an object is as close to the final shape needed as possible. Historically, machi...
18/12/2025
In 2025, RT proudly supported 185 arts and cultural events across the island of Ireland, reflecting significant growth since the scheme was re-launched in 2014...
18/12/2025
RT Sports Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
18/12/2025
RT lyric fm presents a very special Winter Solstice edition of Ambient Orbit, l...
18/12/2025
At 7.45pm on 1st January 1926, the precursor to RT , then 2RN, delivered the fledgling new Irish state's first public radio transmission. From those first c...
18/12/2025
December 18 2025, 05:30 (PST) The Movie Experience SLO Becomes First U.S. Exhib...
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Wuppertal December 17, 2025
Riedel Builds Global Communication and Commentary ...
17/12/2025
December 17 2025, 17:00 (PST) Dolby and LG Unveil a New Era of Home Audio With ...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Cape Town, November 13, 2025 - SES and International artist and humanitarian, Fo...
15/12/2025
Luxembourg, December 15, 2025 - SES, a leading space solutions company, and Abra Group launched fast and reliable multi-orbit inflight connectivity service on t...
15/12/2025
15 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan Delivers First Starlink Direct to Cel...
15/12/2025
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor finds himself the topic of year's cracker jokes
Oasis, David Harbour, Celebrity Traitors and Angela Rayner all feature in this y...
15/12/2025
Comscore Expands Cross-Platform Campaign Measurement to Include Audio and Social New capabilities strengthen cross-platform campaign reporting suite; CCR rebran...
15/12/2025
RT .ie has reached one billion page views this year and is on track to finish 2025 2% ahead of last year. Average time spent on the site is up 3% on 2024, with ...
12/12/2025
Last month, Spotify announced a new collaboration with the ATP Tour, the global governing body of men's professional tennis, aimed at bringing the next gene...
12/12/2025
Friday 12 December 2025
Ted is back! Seth MacFarlane's live-action comedic ...
12/12/2025
Uachtar n na h ireann, Catherine Connolly visited RT Raidi na Gaeltachta's...
12/12/2025
Ireland AM host Eric Roberts has been revealed as the sixth contestant taking to...
11/12/2025
Thomson and the Center for News, Technology and Innovation (CNTI) convened a two-day workshop in Sarajevo bringing together more than 35 journalists, editors, p...
11/12/2025
Having the right song soundtrack your moves can make all the difference when gam...
11/12/2025
It's been a big year for Taylor Swift. Her highly anticipated album The Life...
11/12/2025
11 Dec 2025
VEON's Banglalink Receives Regulatory Approval to Launch Digita...
11/12/2025
Thursday 11 December 2025
Sky Arts paints a picture of Britain's beauty as ...
11/12/2025
It's not every day we're asked to create a website for a classical musician!
So, we were delighted to help pianist Georgina Duncan as she embarks on he...
11/12/2025
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Irish golfing hero Shane Lowry...
Sabin Agha is a Pakistan-based documentary filmmaker, multimedia journalist and a blogger. She has been teaching women journalists at Tribal News Network (TNN) in Peshawar about how to blog and challenge societal norms. Thomson Media has been working with TNN to help empower women and give them a voice in local media. 
