FM for role of women in decision-making

Foreign Minister Dipu Moni yesterday said that women should play roles in decision-making in media to bring a significant change in society.
“The women have to come forward in making decisions in media, otherwise, the ongoing problems of the media could not be solved,” she said at a seminar at the National Press Club in the city.
The South Asia Women and Media, Bangladesh Chapter, organised the seminar titled "Gender Mainstreaming in Media" with South Asia Women and Media President Rasheda Amin in the chair.
Former adviser to the caretaker government Mahbub Alam, President of South Asia Free Media Association Reazuddin Ahmed and Dr Mizanur Rahman Shelly among others spoke at the seminar.
Dr Kaberi Gayen of Dhaka University presented the keynote paper at the seminar.
Dipu Moni said although women's participation in the media has increased nowadays, the portrayal of women remains unchanged, depicting them with less importance.
Terming language a strong tool in neglecting women in media, she said there are so many words in Bangla language to neglect women, but these words are fewer against male.
The foreign minister said many significant changes have come in society over the years and more changes will come in the future. “Some 13 thousand women were elected to local government bodies in 1997 and this is a mentionable change in our country.”
Dipu Moni said women will have to come in journalism to change the mindset of the people as well as society.
“If the point of view of both men and women are not similar, no decision will be fulfilled,” she said.
Kaberi Gayen in her paper said “Bangladesh places women and men unequally at different levels of social organisations. The issues of women are not different, and media in Bangladesh have contributed significantly to the promotion of stereotypes of women as a sex object or a passive homemaker,” she said.