Women in Journalism: Numbers on the rise yet hurdles remain

Though the number of female journalists is increasing, there are still challenges which need to be addressed and overcome.

According to an October 2016 report by senior journalist Shahnaz Munni, women journalists in Bangladesh media houses account for only 5 percent in print media and 25 percent in broadcast media.

Also, the total members of the Jatiya Press Club are now 1,252 and of those women account for only 74, said General Secretary of Jatiya Press Club Farida Yasmin.

Nusrat Jahan Audety, a sub-editor at Dainik Amar Din, a national daily, said women are interested to join this profession as they think it is a better medium to get connected with people and serve society.

But they do not get proper recognition of their good works from the colleagues and offices unlike their counterparts.

Farzana Rupa, a special Correspondent at Ekattor TV, a private news television channel, said the presence of women journalists are visibly increasing but the number is still much less than their male counterparts.

“Though the number of women journalists is low, their successes are noteworthy, which is inspiring the new generation of women to join the profession," she said.

Regarding policymaking, Farzana said there is no visible representation of women journalists yet at that level, and this is a great lacking.

“Female journalists are not given the opportunity to hold the policymaking positions though they are capable or sometimes better skilled than their male counterparts,” Rupa observed.

She said the owners and policymakers of the media houses need to ensure safe and secure work environment for women journalists and provide training to make them aware about their safety in emergency situation.

Angur Nahar Monty, a joint news editor at News24 TV, said media houses need to take adequate measures for providing skill development training to female journalists.

Monty, also the coordinator of Women Journalists' Network, Bangladesh, said female journalists have to manage both home and office. “So, the office has to understand that they are not helping their female colleagues rather it is their right.”

Monty said many times they see lots of girls leave the profession in the middle of their journey for various reasons. "Instead of giving up, female journalists should take the challenge to survive. They'll have to fight back by being skilled and competent using their merit," she said.

Ekushey TV CEO Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul said the number of female journalists is increasing notably in recent days. “There was a time when female journalists worked in some particular beats or in the news desk but now the situation has improved a lot. We've overcome many problems of female journalists like night-shift work and transportation problems,” he said.

Bulbul, also the president of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), said still there are problems over gender issue in the media houses though they have achieved a lot.

Regarding maternity leave, General Secretary of Jatiya Press Club Farida Yasmin said, “Maternity leave should be given for the sake of society and civilisation, and there shouldn't be any confusion over the leave.”

Asked why the number of female members of the press club is so low, Farida said, “The number is less because their number in the profession as a whole is much less than that of men.”