Behind every Teesta
Setalvad, Homai Vyarawalla and
Chitra Subramaniam…The list grows. Annu
Vishnu finds out the inspiration tales behind the women being journalists
despite safety concerns
Success is necessary but it is the challenges
that drives one to achieve, isn’t it? There were very few women journalists in
India 35 years ago but gone are those days when media organizations staffed by
men and women received scant motivation to join the ranks. Today, from heading
the biggest television corporations to reporting the toughest events taking
place in the city, one can see women everywhere dominating in par with men. It
wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say newspapers and magazines in this country
find it tough to operate these days without women journalists. “Be it the
spirit, dedication or fearless approach to courage, women top it all. Women
journalists have proven their skills from time to time. The
only way to become a powerful nation is to start empowering your women” says
Nandini Sahai who has been working as a journalist with focus on human
development since 1978. Graduated from the Press Institute of India, she says
journalism is a mission and not profession.
Women have helped shape
the changing face of journalism, from stylized magazines to blogs and what not?
Few journalists have reflected on others careers with an unpardonable sense of
fulfillment. For instance, let’s take Barkha Dutt. Apart from controversies,
her inspiration is her mother Prabha Dutt. She says as a broadcast journalist
reporting from the war zones hasn’t been a cake walk. “Women journalists are
being given important beats to cover as front page-worthy. We are no longer
writing on health, food and beauty,” says Pranjali Jayant Naik, who works for a
local tabloid.
“Any
journalist plays a pivotal role in disseminating information about human
rights. Women media persons are often attacked; threatened and killed in
attempt to silent their voice and we are no exception in this regard,” says
Ramya Narayan, freelance journalist. Also she says anyone who works to defend
women’s human rights is specifically vulnerable and at risk because of their
identity and nature of work they do. Citing a woman journalist as an example,
she says how particular threats of sexual violence have affected her life as we
are objects for manipulation.
Nithya Sivashankar, budding photojournalist recalls
what drew her towards this profession – “My
ambition is to become a journalist. The reason why I want to be a journalist is
because my country has a lot of inequalities. There were and still are, a lot
of women being abused. I think we should protect them from abuse and I want to
start a campaign to prevent this from happening. Journalists have an important
role to inform the people. Although some people know about these issues, there
are still some people who don’t.” She says women journalists are emotionally
intelligent, who have been effectively able to come up with stories with humane
touch. As a
photojournalism major, I understand that journalists take extraordinary risks while
working. They are more likely to earn the trust of subjects of a story,
especially in cultures that might have heavy taboos regarding women and
children. Gender might be one factor, but it is just one in a bundle of issues,
Nithya puts in.
Supporting her views, Anuja Santhanam, a
journalist-turned-lawyer says sexual violence, threats and attacks against
female journalists are rarely talked about. Anuja says why she chooses not to
talk about it -- “Personally, I feel it is better not to talk about those
embarrassing moments on public forums. Apart from sympathy, I am going to get
nothing.” She says how declaration of human rights had provided a framework to
protect the monitoring and advocacy functions of journalists. “We are
considered human right defenders when our work promotes the protection of human
rights,” she says. Contrasting her opinion, Niveditha Manikandan, an aspiring
journalist says, “You
feel like an idiot saying anything, especially when you are reporting on much,
much greater horrors”. My ultimate respect, however, is
reserved for those female journalists who choose to undertake the risk
alongside their male counterparts — women I look to for inspiration, she adds.
Men
and women alike face dangerous situations and may be injured or killed. Where
gender comes here, she questions. Arguments that women journalists covering
sensitive stories pale in comparison to their male counterparts bear no weight. However when
women have a long history of uncovering injustices through investigative
journalism, reporting and bringing sometimes painful truths to light, they
themselves are getting trapped in worst circumstances. But again, how relevant
one’s gender to be considered in his/her professional life? Thanks to the
recent rape incident of a photo-journalist in Mumbai. Can we term this a male
turf?
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