Advocacy & Lobbying
The Media Advocacy Group, in collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), organised a panel discussion titled ‘Visibility of Women Leadership in Media’ on Tuesday, at Yak Palace, Pulchowk. The event followed up on research conducted by a group concerning the representation of women politicians in the media.
Though 33 percent of women are represented in Nepali politics, research conducted by the Media Advocacy Group (MAG) reveals that media coverage of women politicians in Nepal remains minimal. Despite their active roles in political and social transformation, women are underrepresented in the media, the study showed.
The visibility of women politicians in the media is crucial, as it underscores the importance of women in politics, they said. The panel discussion aimed to delve deeper into this issue, considering various perspectives to highlight and address the disparity.
The panellists included federal lawmakers Ishwari Neupane of the Nepali Congress and Bidya Bhattarai of the CPN-UML, former chair of the Federation of Nepali Journalists Mahendra Bista, and Editor of The Kathmandu Post Biswas Baral. Various individuals with media and political backgrounds participated in the discussion, which was moderated by senior journalist Babita Basnet.
Read here the full article published by The Kathmandu Post on 13 June on 2024.
Image by The Kathmandu Post
The reality for women in the Blue Economy is undeniable: their crucial contributions are frequently overshadowed at best; unnoticed at their worst.
This reality brings forth a number of pertinent questions, most notable: How can development agencies, governments, private sector, and civil society organization mainstream gender into the Blue Economy seascape? And secondly, what does success look like?
For women across the Pacific and beyond, the ocean acts as a life-support system – providing food, resources, and jobs. Women are crucial contributors to the fisheries sector through harvesting and processing procedures, aquaculture, and seaweed farming. In many coastal communities, women comprise up to 50 percent of the workforce in small-scale fisheries and are often involved in post-harvest activities, which constitute up to 90 percent of the workforce in some regions.
As explained by Ms. Yasmin Rasheed, Assistant Resident Representative, UNDP Maldives, women are also essential to the care economy that enables other Blue Economy-related activities like marine transportation or fishing. Women also often bring traditional knowledge and unique perspectives and skills to marine resource management and community resilience.
So where is the deserved recognition, one may ask?
Read here the full article published by UNDP on 31 May 2024.
Men in politics as agents of gender equitable change examines why men in politics decide to support gender equality, how they explain and frame their allyship, and how their actions are perceived by women politicians, activists and students. Drawing on evidence from three countries: Colombia, Liberia and Malaysia, this research contributes in-depth, qualitative and cross-country analysis of how gender norms are influencing decisions of men politicians to support gender equality in the Global South.
As key stakeholders in changing norms around political masculinities and representation in politics, the project responded to feminist calls for a better understanding of how more men can be motivated to take an active role in addressing gender inequalities. Despite their diverse histories, social, political and economic contexts, all three countries had senior government officials expressing support for feminist foreign policy and a greater public discourse on gender equality or feminist politics among men politicians.
Based on key informant interviews and focus group discussions with politicians, activists and university students, the study explores how personal motivations, political institutions, social norms, and global gender equality regimes help to shape men’s engagement – or lack of it – with gender equality, while being mindful of the risk of the appropriation of feminist principles to maintain patriarchal inequalities and intersecting systems of oppression.
This cross-country analysis, together with the three country reports, tease out the implications for politicians, international donors, civil society and researchers on how best to engage with men in positions of power to promote the sustainable transformation of unequal gender norms.
Read here the full report published by the ALIGN Gender Norms Platform on 28 May 2024.
Despite overall progress in terms of more women participating in political decision-making worldwide, gender equality in political participation remains elusive. Deeply entrenched discrimination continues to hinder women’s full participation in political and electoral processes. In its efforts to advance women’s rights and gender equality, UN Women recognizes women’s political participation as a key area of focus.
UN Women’s initiatives to advance women’s political participation include:
¨promoting supportive legislative and institutional reforms;
¨building the capacity of women political aspirants and leaders;
¨monitoring, preventing and mitigating violence against women in politics; and
¨encouraging social norms change to recognize women’s political leadership.
UN Women is also actively engaged in promoting women’s political participation through coordination and advocacy efforts across the UN system.
In 2023, UN Women’s Independent Evaluation Service conducted an evaluation of UN Women’s support to women’s political participation. The primary focus of the evaluation was the impact of UN Women’s efforts to support women’s political participation at the national (and subnational) level. The evaluation also identified lessons learned; examined the contribution of regional and global-level support/guidance; and tracked both positive and negative unintended consequences, including cases of backlash against women’s political participation.
The evaluation included a retrospective view of results achieved during the UN Women Strategic Plan 2018–2021 period, as well as a forward-looking view to support implementation of the UN Women Strategic Plan 2022–2025. The geographic scope covered UN Women’s programming across all six regions through a representative sample of 12 country offices.
Read here the full report published by UN Women on 18 May 2024.
KARACHI: The Uks Research Centre (URC) has urged the media outlets in the country to recognise the transformative potential of women in politics and foster a more inclusive media environment for democratic, inclusive, and representative discourse.
The Pakistani media has been urged to increase the coverage of women's issue to address gender imbalance prevailing in the country -- a phenomenon witnessed during the news coverage of pre-and post-election period.
The URC organised a dialogue, titled 'Gender Representation in Media During Pakistan's 2024 Elections'. The event, hosted by URC Executive Director Tasneem Ahmar, was attended by politicians, representatives of journalists, and researchers.
In her brief remarks, Ahmar said that her organisation monitored gender representation in the Pakistani media, and conducted research on emerging trends and created awareness about inclusion and negative stereotyping through training and advocacy.
On the occasion, Shahrezad Samiuddin presented a data-based analysis of the media coverage of the pre- and post-election scenarios. She highlighted that during the election coverage, more than 90% of journalists, who reported to both print and electronic media, were males.
A better representation of was seen on TV screens where 33% announcers were women. Similarly, Samiuddin pointed out that the coverage of women-specific news did not exceed 10-13% in both forms of media. The share of women-related news increased in the current affairs shows to 38%.
Read here the full article published by The Express Tribune on 18 May 2024.
Image by The Express Tribune
“If you want to know how civilized a culture is, look at how they treat its women.” - Bacha Khan
In the heart of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), a region brimming with resilience and potential, there exists a stark reality that impedes its progress: the underrepresentation of women in the political sphere. This disparity not only stifles the voices of half the population but also hampers the region's socio-economic development.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with its rich cultural heritage and diverse populace, has long grappled with socio-political challenges. Yet, amidst the rugged landscapes and bustling bazaars lies an untapped resource – the potential of its women. However, entrenched patriarchal norms, compounded by societal taboos and systemic barriers, conspire to marginalize women from participating meaningfully in the political process.
At the core of this issue lies the lack of representation in decision-making bodies. Women, comprising approximately half of the population, are grossly underrepresented in legislative assemblies and local councils. This dearth of female voices perpetuates a cycle of neglect, as policies and initiatives fail to address the unique challenges faced by women and girls in the region.
Read here the full article published by The Friday Times on 20 May 2024.
Image by The Friday Times