NGO, journalists strategies on achieving inclusive, equal portrayal of women in media

NGO, journalists strategies on achieving inclusive, equal portrayal of women in media

By Justina Auta

Women
Abuja, March 11, 2020 (NAN) An NGO, PAGED Initiative and its partner, Free Press Unlimited, on Wednesday agreed with representatives of various media organisations to promote inclusiveness and equal representation of women in the media.

The Chief Executive Officer of PAGED Initiative, Ms Ummi Bukar, restated this need during a one-day interactive session with the media in Abuja.

The forum was themed: “Inclusive and equal portrayal of women by the media”.

Bukar noted that women were portrayed in a stereotypical way which denies them their rights to be viewed as equal individuals, hence the need for the media to change the narrative and give women equal representation in the media.

“Majority of the media are still portraying women in stereotypical roles such as homemakers, models or victims and this denies their rights to be viewed as equal individuals, even though media has the power and responsibility to challenge stereotype.

“In many countries there is still great inequality between men and women, in the position they hold and in the way they are represented. Women are often less visible in the news with many of their stories remaining untold.”

She also decried the attitude of some media organisations in seeking for men, who are perceived to be versatile, rather than women when seeking expert opinions on national issues.

“As soon as journalists are looking for an expert opinion, women literally drop out of the picture,” she said.

Ms Amina Maikori, a Multimedia Specialist, stressed the need for female media practitioners to be versatile and acquire more skills to enable them practice the profession in line with modern trends.

Maikori added that the platform would provide an avenue for media practitioners to discuss the challenges, barriers and solutions to issues affecting their performance and achieving equality in the newsroom.

The Assistant Editor of Daily Trust, Mr Chukwu Romeo, said though the terrain try to undermine the activities of female journalists but hard work will surely make one stand out irrespective of gender.

Romeo noted that “sometimes women themselves make this excuse, when working with a male counterpart they tend to seek approval from them before carrying out their function which is not the same when the table is turned.

“And this tend to show the ‘perceived’ weakness in them,” he said.

In the same vein, the Chairman, Editorial Board, Blueprint Newspapers Hajiya Zainab Suleiman Okino, said overtime women have tried to break the barrier to move from what it used to be, adding “though we are not there yet but we are not where we used to be”.

“Women through their work in media have won awards, gifts and different appreciation for the work they do but this does not translate to career progression as most times the men still take the lead in this regard as most times partriachy comes to play.

“And in cases where women rise to management level it is a huge problem as decision taken could be used to describe her as weak or harsh irrespective of the advantage or result of decision taken,” she stressed.

Similarly, Tina Abeku of Vanguard newspaper, urged women journalists to be diligent, avoid excuses, develop capacity and exhibit leadership qualities. (NAN)

JAD/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola