New York- The Coalition For Women In Journalism on Friday, announced the launch of its Pakistan Chapter on the 27th of February, at the Islamabad Press Club.
An hour-long event will begin at 3:00 PM PST, kicking off with a panel discussion that will discuss the landscape of the journalism industry for women in the field. The panel will discuss findings from the survey conducted by the organization with newsrooms and freelancer journalists in the country.
“We are delighted to lay the foundations of an incredible team in Pakistan. There is some tremendous work that women in journalism are doing in this country. We hope to elevate that talent,” said Kiran Nazish, Co-Founder, and Director of the Coalition For Women In Journalism. “During our research to gauge the landscape in Pakistan for women journalists, we found that 69% of female colleagues said they faced harassment on the job, while 24.1% said they did not. That is an alarming number and we hope with a stronger support network in this country, we can  improve the condition through advocacy and awareness.”
“Women have been working in every aspect of the journalism industry in Pakistan, yet there is no support system to address the kinds of issues they face,” said Nosheen Abbas, country manager for the Coalition For Women In Journalism. “This is what the coalition is here to do. I am honored and thrilled to be a part of a something that has been so long overdue.”
“Media organizations in Pakistan don’t have gender codes. They lack both resources and understanding that gender-specific environment is a critical need for an industry that has an incredible number of women working both in newsrooms and as freelancers. We want to build a thorough environment that encourages, instead of discourages them to work journalism,” said Tanzeela Mazhar, who looks at safe environments project with the Coalition For Women In Journalism. “In the current state of media in Pakistan, a support network is an urgent need, and we hope to help guide women journalists not only to navigate an environment filled with discrimination and harassment but to also claim their space in the industry.”
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is keen on observing and understanding the cultural nuances specific to the industry in Pakistan. Marvi Sirmed, who looks over advocacy for the Coalition pointed out the need for specialized mentorship, “women journalists face is everyday sexism coupled with lack of gender-neutral mentorship in their field. Whatever little guidance is available usually comes with either the strings attached or with a heavy dose of patriarchal protectionism and patronization. This is one reason why they don’t dabble in the male domain subjects. We hope that through this initiative, young women can be offered mentorship support essential to understand the professionalism in the beats they choose for themselves within journalism.”
