* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Encouraging women’s empowerment through good journalism
For most journalists in Pakistan, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are known only as a base for Taliban militants and the target of American drone strikes. But at a Thomson Reuters Foundation course in Islamabad on August 24-28, meant to encourage women’s empowerment through good journalism, they had an opportunity to hear first hand about a different subject - conditions for women in the tribal areas. One of the participants, Ishrat Afridi, was from Khyber Agency in FATA and had struggled all her life against the conservatism in the tribal areas that tends to confine women to their homes. The other participants – men and women from the cities of Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi – were able to interview Afridi, with her permission, and to write up a short practice story. For most participants, it was the first time they were writing about women in FATA, who face attacks by Taliban militants, criminals and vengeful relatives angered by their determination to work outside the home. Even women distributing polio drops come under attack. The exercise summed up the essence of the course. While honing practical skills in interviewing and writing stories, the participants were also learning to put women at the heart of their journalism.
In FATA, as in other conflict zones, conditions faced by woman are not only a human rights issue but also a security issue. If women can’t go out safely and administer polio drops, more children will be crippled by the disease, or spread it around Pakistan and the world as a result of migration. If women are not allowed to be educated, they find it harder to take care of the education and health of their children, condemning the region to poverty and violence. Afridi had managed to escape the restrictions on women in FATA, becoming first a polio worker, then a teacher and finally moving to the city of Peshawar to become an anchor at a local television station. "I am working and my voice is heard. Isn't it a blessing?” she told the other participants. “I now want every woman's voice to be heard. I will make it happen.”
Afridi’s interview was just one part of a week-long course designed to give Pakistani journalists an opportunity to hone their journalism skills and think about new and better ways of covering issues involving women. Taught by former BBC journalist Naglaa El Emary and former Reuters journalist Myra MacDonald – with some six decades of experience between them – the course looked at how to find better stories by considering underreported issues, and how to incorporate multimedia and social media into their work. One of the highlights was a discussion on producing stories for people under 25, who have a very different way of consuming news. With practical exercises and teamwork, the 11 participants refined their ability to pitch multimedia stories while also reviewing the old-fashioned basic principles of journalism, including sourcing, and the ethical dilemmas confronted by journalists in the field. Their enthusiasm, both for good journalism and for improving conditions for women in Pakistan, was clear throughout the course. “The training was much more than a full semester of a foreign university for me,” commented one participant at the end of the course. “Sure I’ll share all this experience with Pakistani journalists,” said another
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