The media, in all forms, shapes our perception of what it means to be male or female. It is a reflection of the society and more than that, forms and moulds public opinion, reinforces certain traditional representations and helps pave the way for change. It has been noted that, for most parts, media in South Asia has contained itself to the role of information dissemination and entertainment. What, then, has been the role of the media in gender portrayal, particularly, the emergence of the woman as *almost* an equal in society?

Women and Media:
Women are taught that they are to be slaves to beauty, no matter how limiting, uncomfortable, fake, or dangerous it is. Women are objects to be admired or to be on constant display. Rarely in images do we see women looking straight at us, meeting our gaze, unless they are crouched, nearly naked, or otherwise restricted or vulnerable (Dittrich, 1999).

The Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) adopted by UN member states in 1995, looked at different issues concerned with women and media and (under Section J) laid down plans to address such issues. Although there has been a prominent advancement in communications technology, it is essential to note the continued negative and stereotyped imagery of women in the media. This portrayal has, of late, become increasingly violent towards women and at the same time, it has been noted that while there has been a notable increase in women’s presence in media institutions, particularly in television and radio, women continue to have limited participation and access to decision-making in the communications industry and in governing bodies that influence media policy. South Asia, as a region, is known for its rich cultural and traditional heritage. However, under the garb of tradition, lie stifling and strictly-conservative rules for women, leading to a defined role for women.

What is needed is a gendered perspective in media policies and programmes and the monitoring of media content. Content analysts and experts on gender sensitive expression are needed to be included in the decision making and programming parts of the media businesses. The negative portrayal and representation of women and the embedded stereotypes to be found in the media today in all South Asian countries and globally as well are a result of little or no national media codes. Further, women continue to have limited access and participation in decision-making in the media industries and governing authorities and bodies that oversee formulation and implementation of media policies. An example of an initiative taken by women to promote women in the media (and elsewhere) was ‘Kali for Women’ in India, one of the leading feminist publishing houses in Asia. (One of their first books in 1984 was Women and Media in Asia). This kind of an initiative, however, proves to be too inconsequential in the larger (more popular) scheme of things. As research by Uks, a resource centre solely working on Gender and Media issues, shows: most newspaper and electronic media practitioners are clueless about the very concept of sensitisation to gender issues.

Globalisation, which makes the media a tool in the hands of a few corporate bodies, sexual harassment of women media practitioners, and the inability of women to shape programmes in the media lead us to the reasons behind this phenomenon in the media in South Asia. These may be narrowed down to:

• The shape of the society in our countries is extremely patriarchal,
• The ownership of the media,
• Journalism curricula and teaching need to be gender sensitive as well and above all,
• Lack of women’s access to and growth in media institutions (These reasons are actually a result of traditional gender role playing actually reinforced by the media itself).

Media policies are lagging behind in targeting gender sensitive coverage. Harping on about and focusing on lewdness, immorality and illicit sexual relations will not do much to make this kind of gender discrimination and harassment finish. An interesting idea would be to have a South Asian Gender Equality and Media Advocacy group OR a regional body which could focus on the imagery and presentation and treatment of women by the media and within the media bodies themselves. While so much is spent by marketing research companies and advertisers on determining women’s consumer behavior, there is hardly any research on the stereotypical images of women being portrayed in our media. And the research which is to be found (by some very dedicated feminist researchers) is not large or influential enough to have any bearing on the state of the media. In Pakistan, as in the rest of South Asia, it is the media houses that need to undergo this process of sensitisation and awareness.

Women Representation and Stereotypes:
Representations of women across all media tend to highlight the following attributes and in South Asian countries these are what embody femininity: Beauty, size, physique (within narrow conventions), sexuality, emotional (as opposed to rational) associations and relationships NOT independence are the epitome of the South Asian woman as represented by the media. Moreover, women are often represented as being part of a context. A woman is either a mother, a daughter, a wife, a sister or the prostitute. Note: Is it not interesting that the prostitute never has any other context and if she does, she inevitably becomes part of that (the good daughter who will sacrifice and become a prostitute with a heart of gold or the ‘second woman’ who dies or runs away in favour of the good, first wife, girlfriend, mother, sister, cat!). Look at the effects of the portrayal of sexual assault of women in our media including video games. How is rape defined and shown in our movies, portrayed by the media, judged by the journalist? Is the woman an object for advertisers? The invitational look, the hunched up model, the good woman, the docile, pretty girl—are these just terms and ideas or have they become so entrenched in our systems so as to become icons and traditions—to be followed unquestioningly.

Gender and Media:
When confronted with the possibility of attending a workshop on ‘Gender and Media’, I remember indignantly questioning the inclusion of only women at such a forum. Doesn’t gender portray BOTH sexes—male and female? Gender and media, as a subject, is NOT to be confused with women and media. The drive to promote gender sensitisation and a gendered perspective to news, views and entertainment in the media includes both the sexes. Where women are slotted into a particular role, so are men and where women are expected to adhere to a certain code of conduct, so are men. Again, while some would argue that women are more prone to insensitive portrayal by the media, why not look at it in this way: A man being stereotyped in a certain way over and over again, reinforces that idea in the minds of the public. This, in turn, makes the male act in a certain way which behaviour tends to affect the female in society. . A look at some typical male images clarifies this position.

Male Representation and Stereotypes:
Men are often neglected when we talk of gender bias, gender discrimination and gender stereotyping, being stereotyped as much as women by today’s media. The concepts of the ‘lone ranger’, ‘the Marlboro man’, the isolated aggressive hero, ‘the rugged look’ are all played and emphasized to the extent that any man who does not subscribe to the defined code laid down by such images is termed ‘effeminate’, ‘unmanly’. Strength of mind and body, independence and sexual assertiveness are attributes associated with men and mostly very particular to South Asia is the idea of the protective, possessive man’. We see the tall, dark, handsome ‘hero’, the young, hip lover who turns into a lean, mean fighting machine as soon as his women’s ‘honour’ is at stake. These social values are carried by our men, leading to conflicting emotions and attitudes when they are confronted with changes in the society in which they live. Mostly, violence against women is actually reinforced by the image of the strong, virile, honorable man, the man who will not accept the woman as his equal (probably due to some ‘misconceived notion of masculinity). Does this image have any negative consequences? Yes! And the loser here is again the woman. What is to be asserted is that any kind of such stereotyping of the man will eventually result in the woman being affected as well.

What Women Want:
A workshop on (the relationship between) ‘Gender and Media’ held at Kathmandu under the aegis of South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) and Sancharika Samuha (a women’s initiative in Nepal) in June 2004 brought to light many aspects of women working in the media. An assembly of about 50 people from across South Asia, with major representation by women, looked at the basic reasons behind the lack of effective representation of women in the media, the stereotyping of women by the media and the possible ways and means. The meeting reviewed literature presented by the five countries on the state of women and gender portrayal in the media. Through exchange of news and data, the delegates came up with recommendations to improve the status of the female media practitioner and to inculcate a sense of gender neutrality in reporting and disseminating information.

The recommendations to governments, NGOs and media organisations are made under two specific strategic objectives:
1) increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision making in and through the media and new technologies of communication;
2) promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in the media.

What these recommendations brought to light was that media businesses need to recognise the need for

• Inclusion of at least one-third women professionals in all news and media offices;
• A conducive working atmosphere for women employees;
• Gender sensitive censor boards and preview committees, equally represented by women and men
• Gender and cultural representation within programming;

• Women’s inclusion in training programs, especially in areas where women are under-represented.

Similarly, those in the business of media and information need to:

• Resist stereotyping along gender, race, religion and sexual ethnic, class, age and language grounds;
• Ensure that portrayal, representation and reporting of women is non exploitative;
• Avoid language that unnecessarily excludes one sex, or gives unequal treatment to either sex;
• Achieve a balance in the use of women and men as experts and authorities and commentators on the full range of issues covered in the media;
• Give equal prominence to the achievement of women across the full range of issues covered by the media;
• Resist any material which condones, incites or misuses representation of violence against women;
• Not report incidences of violence against women which over emphasize and sensationalize irrelevant details
• Avoid presentations which imply that a person is inferior because of his or her gender;
• Highlight developmental news pertaining to women;
• Acquire and ensure the approval of a survivor before publishing news regarding rape/abuse, violence, HIV/AIDS.

The above guidelines, unanimously approved by the participants, clarify the current drawbacks in the policy of both the media practitioners and the media houses in South Asia. In the case of Pakistan, where news and entertainment channels seem to be mushrooming, there needs to be an awareness regarding the use of the female body image and the marginalisation of women by slotting them into easy, simple and safe categories (beauty products and house-hold items). There also need to be courses in colleges and universities teaching media studies or journalism which focus on such issues. Only then will there be an effective female representation in the media and instead of a ‘Khwateen’ only area where there are ONLY beauty and cooking tips (which are needed as well, no doubt), there may be other, previously un-tread, grounds covered.

Note: A follow up article with a practical look at women’s media coverage and sensitisation of media practitioners (editors, reporters, advertisers) is under research.