Speakers stress positive actions to eliminate gender discrimination

South Asia Center for Media in Development (SAKMID) and Press Institute Bangladesh (PIB) jointly organized a round table titled ‘Gender Based News Presentation in Mass Media: Observations, Experiences and Exchange’ at PIB seminar room in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Speakers said it is possible to eliminate gender discrimination through social responsibility and positive actions of the media.

They said that if social equality between men and women is established, gender discrimination will end. For this, media should take positive steps with social responsibility. They also think it is important to work in a coordinated manner under public-private sponsorship to be gender sensitive.

The round table was in collaboration of ‘Free Press Unlimited’ and ‘Protecting Independent Media for Effective Development (Primed)’.

PIB Director General Zafar Wazed chaired the round table while SAKMID Deputy Director Syed Kamrul Hasan and PIB Studies Department Lecturer Shubo Karmakar moderated it.

Among others, Dhaka University teacher Shamim Reza, Jahangirnagar University teacher Amina Islam, Women Journalist Center President Nasimun Ara Haque Minu and Banglavision Television News Editor Mustafa Kamal were present.

Professor Shamim Reza said, “Media monitoring is not only in South Asian countries. But media monitoring is very important. Gender-based news presentation would have been effective if there was a media monitoring system.”

He emphasized on the direction of the media, the type of news, training and experience, and said that gender-based news is often not presented due to the lack of these issues.

Zafar Wazed said that it is possible to eliminate gender discrimination only by taking positive steps of social responsibility and mass media.

He emphasized on gender based news presentation as well as control of social media. Apart from this, Zafar Wazed emphasized on preparing content keeping in mind the issues of readers, viewers and listeners.

HI/GY