Women journalists should effect change by setting their stories in context for policy-makers and readers to take action, opined women journalists at a forum organised by the Press Club of Hyderabad here on Saturday, on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
Smita Gupta, who retired as associate editor of The Hindu and who currently works as Senior Fellow of Politcs and Public Policy at The Hindu’s Think Tank said, “The space allocated for women in media includes stories which feature women as victims, individual achievers, women’s health respondents or as victims of personal loss.” She opined that women journalists who write on issues concerning women should invariably set it in the historical context. “Women’s opinion should be valued when it comes to any issue concerning the nation,” she said.
Ms. Gupta also said women usually do not give opinions as they are taught not to in their family or society.
Ms. Gupta had been a scribe for 38 years reporting on various subjects, including politics, policy and communal riots.
No safety
The panel also had J. Bhagyalaxmi, a senior journalist who was associated with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. She said mass communication as a discipline was developed in the 1960s in India. “At the time, it was important to give information regarding government policies and schemes to the public,” she said.
Ms. Bhagyalaxmi, who has authored several books and worked in both Telugu and English media, told women journalists that the society has not grown enough to ensure their safety.
The event also had the presence of Hyderabad Press Club’s president Raj Mouli and Secretary Vijay Kumar.
