MEDIA HOLDS GENDER WORKSHOP TO EMPOWER FEMALE YOUTH TO PLAY A STRONGER ROLE IN MEDIA AND REPORT ON GENDER RELEVANT ISSUES

Karachi 29 May – A one day workshop was held by SAMAA TV, one of Pakistan’s leading Urdu news channels to promote career options in media for female graduating students from all universities and develop a media workforce to report on gender sensitive issues.

The workshop was held at the Royal Rodale and facilitated by Ms. Farah Nasim, SAMAA TV’s HR Consultant. The workshop included various sessions emphasizing on the importance of economic independence for women in Pakistan and the issues prevailing in the job market for women with a way forward. The discussions also brought up quality debate on the need to understand the untapped talent in the female gender and the strong role it can and should play in the job market, addressing the more sensitive issues for women and representing their concerns. The participants strongly highlighted the importance of women in the socio-economic growth of Pakistan, stressing that the media not only needs to report on women issues but also build the image of women as being true professionals and partners in national development.

Mr. Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of SAMAA TV shared that according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2008 (GGGR), published each year by the World Economic Forum, the social and economic empowerment of women in Pakistan was still very low and they were still struggling for their livelihood and survival. According to the GGGR 2008, Pakistan ranked 127th out of 130 countries.

Mr. Jahangir shared that “one of the most alarming indicators in this report is Pakistan’s ranking in both women’s literacy rate and workforce population, which is 117th. This shows that our women are not given access to the job market opportunities, which is not only denying them of an economic independency but also depriving our economy and society of potential, competitive and economic resources. We need to realize that the economic and social empowerment of women is an essential element for achieving economic growth in Pakistan”.

Ms. Farah Nasim shared that the workshop was primarily held to create awareness among women about their opportunities in the job market, their own importance in the work force development and how to challenge their own thoughts and break the myths in society about women. Ms. Farah said that “During the workshop, we have also focused on the opportunities within media for women, as the media today has opened up a large arena for women not only as announcers, newsreaders, etc., but also as content developer, producing shows, which are women oriented. There is a huge HR requirement within the media industry to have a strong representation of women, so that there is a specific focus on gender issues and a platform is provided in promoting the cause of women”.

SAMAA TV is one of Pakistan’s leading private satellite television channels, which takes pride in its fair, factual and independent news coverage through its on-the-hour bulletins, breaking stories, incisive political analysis and current affairs programs. The channel has also made a niche for itself through its programs on women and youth issues besides infotainment and sports. SAMAA TV, launched in December 2007 has network of district correspondents and 5 bureaus across Pakistan along with international stringers in the Middle East, Europe and North America.