Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Women's Portrayal in Media
Women's Portrayal in Media
From our childhood we are exposed to media. When we grow older, we pay attention to media for cues on behavior.
Often, television is listed as the main source of information for
today's youth . This presents an alarming problem for
females. The ways in which they are represented in the media, especially
on television, can lead to the continuing oppression of women and the
continued belief that they are objects of male satisfaction (this image
is especially pervasive in advertising).
There are television shows that are more positive toward women, and
there has been progress made. The 1970s especially saw more feminist
oriented programming. However, the 1980s saw an immense drop in such
shows. Right now it seems that for all the progress made, some images
still persist. These images are most often seen in advertising. And
these images are some of the most detrimental of all. As people watch
media portrayals of women, they develop an idea of how women should be,
of what they are. It's not just men that see these images and learn from
them; women also interpret the messages as directions on how to behave.
Now media objectify the women in masses as physical objects that can be looked at and acted upon-- and fail to
portray women as subjective beings with thoughts, histories, and
emotions. Objectification becomes an issue when it is frequent, and when people are commonly presented only as objects and not as subjects as well. When we see an image of a woman who is presented passively, and who
demonstrates no other attributes aside from her physical or sexual
being, that's objectification. Here are some contemporary examples of women who are commonly (although not always) portrayed as passive objects to be enjoyed exclusively as physical beings:
- The female models in Deal or No Deal, whose function in the show is to look pretty and to remain passive until the moment the host allows them to "open the case"
- Sexualized images of women in music videos
- Pinup posters of sexualized models
- College girls in Girls Gone Wild videos
- Women in pornography
- Waitresses at Hooters.
Its not too late, we can handle the problem with sincere efforts and result oriented measures as I read about a workshop about women's portrayal in Media.
In this workshop which is held by Uks Research Centre, on 17the July 2012 in Islamabad, a group of nearly 25 journalists belonging to print and electronic media a consensus was made at the conclusion of the workshop that;
Media has played a positive role in highlighting the plight of women. However, in many cases, it has been irresponsible and fostered negativity, suggesting that there is a need to sensitise reporters, editors, program directors and media owners. for more click here.
The participants agreed that the media should respect the right to privacy and maintain professional standards while reporting on women issues.
Media is the best thing that has happened to our country, however it should be ethically responsible considering the social consequences,”
said Sachet Executive President Dr. Rakhshanda Perveen.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Posted by Fahmina Arshad
Pakistan is now trying to rebuild the education system in its northwest areas.
Ray of hope for female students
Pakistan rebuilds its education network in northwest areas
The Annual Status of Education report, published in February this year, said that nearly 60% of school-age children can't read. Girls fare the worst. Another report, by the Pakistan Education Task Force in 2011, showed that Pakistan is second in the global ranking of out-of-school children. One in three rural women have never attended school.
Education in Pakistan is chronically underfunded. And the Taliban
continues to strike in other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. There
are no official figures but estimates suggest more than 800 schools
have been destroyed in north-west Pakistan. Only in Swat, the Taliban destroyed more than 400 of the 1,576 schools and the Seventy percent of them were girls' schools. We must thankful to some really brave women who knock themself out to rebuild the education system in their area specially for women while the conditions are too hard for them.
Maryam Bibi is one of those brave women, founder of the NGO Khwendo Kor,( which has been working for girls' education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since 1993.) said ; "We talk about equality and women's rights and welfare at the policy level, but what is the strategy, especially for poor girls living in remote areas? We must educate these girls.
Gul-e-Khandana another courageous woman from Swat, she is a head teacher in Government Primary School Swat is not an ordinary teacher - she stood up to the Taliban and managed to save the school where she had taught for more than 20 years. She still shivers with fear when she recalls the invasion of taliban.
She said; "Above all, girls must be educated," she says. "When one girl is educated, she educates her entire household. The role of women is very important in our society – it is they who can change our way of life for the better."
There are so many like them who still working for the education and specially for girls because they believe that with education we can change the world, specially an educated girl is the best source to educate a whole family. In the light of these great efforts now we hope that things will be better because Pakistan Rebuilds Its Education Network.
Please feel free to send your suggestions and ideas about the rebuilding or rejuvenating our education system and specially women education.
Maryam Bibi is one of those brave women, founder of the NGO Khwendo Kor,( which has been working for girls' education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since 1993.) said ; "We talk about equality and women's rights and welfare at the policy level, but what is the strategy, especially for poor girls living in remote areas? We must educate these girls.
Gul-e-Khandana another courageous woman from Swat, she is a head teacher in Government Primary School Swat is not an ordinary teacher - she stood up to the Taliban and managed to save the school where she had taught for more than 20 years. She still shivers with fear when she recalls the invasion of taliban.
She said; "Above all, girls must be educated," she says. "When one girl is educated, she educates her entire household. The role of women is very important in our society – it is they who can change our way of life for the better."
There are so many like them who still working for the education and specially for girls because they believe that with education we can change the world, specially an educated girl is the best source to educate a whole family. In the light of these great efforts now we hope that things will be better because Pakistan Rebuilds Its Education Network.
Please feel free to send your suggestions and ideas about the rebuilding or rejuvenating our education system and specially women education.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Posted by Fahmina Arshad
Think about yourself
No one could help us.....except us. We should start thinking about us if we want to make our life better and make this world a better and a safe place for us.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Posted by Fahmina Arshad