‘Media should be more gender-sensitive’

Journalists and rights activists emphasised the role of media houses in promoting gender equality and sensitivity by organising more training programmes on gender issues and having women in policy-making positions.

At a discussion held at The Daily Star Centre, Management and Resources Development Initiative (MRDI) unveiled a report titled "Gender Equality and Media Regulation Study", which analysed 4,530 news stories from 15 mainstream media outlets.

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Qurratul-Ain-Tahmina, principal investigator and chief researcher, presented the report with support from Fojo Media Institute.

She revealed that men appeared in news stories 1.5 percent more often than women, while transgender people were barely represented. The report also found that about 10 percent of media used gender-insensitive words or phrases when reporting. Additionally, newspapers published the names or identities of victimised children in many cases.

The participants recommended formulating anti-discrimination laws and an overarching gender equality law that covers both public and personal spheres.

Alexandra Berg von Linde, ambassador of Sweden to Bangladesh, stated that there is a misrepresentation and under-representation of women in media houses, and emphasised the need for an individual and collective role to establish gender equality in media.

Prof Gitiara Nasreen of Dhaka University's mass communication and journalism department pointed out that significant structural issues within the media industry hinder women's ability to work and thrive in the field.

She stressed the need for media outlets to establish a code of conduct and arrange more training sessions for their employees to address these issues. Journalism should be objective and portray the reality of society and its people, rather than being based on a powerful male perspective, she added.

Nobonita Chowdhury, director of the Gender, Justice, and Diversity and Preventing Violence Against Women Initiative at Brac, highlighted the importance of including women in policy-making positions in the media industry and increasing the coverage of women from various perspectives to challenge societal norms.

Maria Stridsman, head of development cooperation of Sweden embassy, stressed the need for gender-specific stories that include women of all aspects.

During an open discussion, Dip Azad, secretary-general of Bangladesh Federal Union of journalists, demanded the amendment of sections 25, 31, and 35 of the Digital Security Act.

Other participants, including Sheepa Hafiza, an equality and rights activist, and Shima Moslem, joint general secretary of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, called for self-regulatory policies and gender-sensitivity training by organisations, such as NGOs and media houses, to promote gender equality.