Where We Work, Asia, Pakistan

Internews started working in Pakistan in 2003, a time of transformative changes in Pakistani media policies that allowed for private ownership of radio and television. Internews responded to these changes with programs that built an open, diverse, and socially responsible broadcast media sector in Pakistan,

Working with Universities
Internews has partnered with universities to improve and expand radio journalism and broadcast education in Pakistan. Internews has been conducting radio broadcast training programs out of Peshawar University and has developed a curriculum for teaching broadcast journalism at universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (formerly North West Frontier Province).
Promoting Women in Media
Internews has also expanded gender diversity in radio journalism and programming by establishing Pakistan’s first university-based women’s broadcast media center and radio station, the Women’s Broadcast Media Center at Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) in 2004. The center was the production hub for the popular weekly radio program Meri Awaz Suno (Hear My Voice) produced by Pakistani women and continues to provide training for women pursuing careers in media.
Improving Media Laws
Internews has also worked to develop the broadcast media law and regulatory environment in Pakistan. In 2004, Internews supported the managers and editors in Pakistan’s new radio industry by providing training on management skills and strategies. It has targeted Pakistan’s media law and regulatory environment by developing advocacy expertise and working with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and other government offices.
Responding to Humanitarian Crises
Following the devastation of the October 2005 earthquake, Internews provided training and equipment to enable the local media to reach victims with vital information about humanitarian response, and inform citizens and policymakers about the nature and scale of the earthquake and the progress of the relief effort. Internews continues to contribute to the information management and coordination aspects of humanitarian response to disasters and crises in Pakistan through the Humanitarian Information Project (see the project’s website at http://hip.org.pk). The project is providing trainings and information platforms for the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance to returnees and IDPs affected by the military offensives against Taliban militants in the tribal and frontier regions of Pakistan.
Internews is expanding its programs in practical trainings in journalism by partnering with other universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as with unions of journalists and press clubs in the region. These programs aim to provide infrastructure support and journalism trainings to increase the quantity and quality of information in the region.

source: Working with Universities

Pakistan Media Project Aims to Change Attitudes about Women

An innovative initiative has worked for the past five years help the media in Pakistan examine the way women are portrayed and develop more balanced and positive approaches reports the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The project has trained 400 media professionals, helping them develop ways to present women in Pakistan in a new light in programmes aired by the Pakistan Television Corporation and ensure that all the corporation's productions are sensitive to the issue of gender and avoid reinforcing biases against women. The media in Pakistan often portray both women and men in ways that reinforce prejudices, researchers have found. Women are frequently presented as weak, dependent and uninformed, while men are usually portrayed as aggressive, manipulative and insensitive. The project has established a system to monitor how women are portrayed on television. It commissions TV productions on gender issues, has helped integrated gender issues into television training curricula and has brought together media professionals to examine and address issues concerning gender and media. The initiative is also helping organize regional and international film festivals dealing with gender themes. "Ingrained attitudes towards women can only be changed by a persistent nationwide effort," said Onder Yucer, UNDP Resident Representative. "The mass media, especially television, is the ideal arena for this because of its obvious influence on people's prejudices and social behavior." A workshop in Lahore earlier this month on gender and creativity for drama production brought together 25 television producers and writers from all over the country. With support from the British Council and the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development, UNDP invited acclaimed screenwriter Haseena Moin to work with participants to prepare a script for a television drama dealing with gender-based violence and victimization of women. Pakistan Television will produce the drama for broadcast. The project has already led to number of gender-sensitive productions telecast by Pakistan Television. Among them are a daily one-hour special broadcast, Khawateen (Ladies) Time; a long play, Dasht-e-Tanhai Mein (In the deserts of loneliness) telecast on International Women's Day in March; and drama serials entitled Dopatta and Ana.

Source: portal.unesco.org

Women in Fata find a voice

PESHAWAR: In a small recording studio in Peshawar, Asma rushes around with a minidisc recorder. She has to finish editing a news bulletin and make it back to her home in Nowshera before it gets dark. ‘If I don’t get the bulletin done in time for this evening’s show, the station won’t let me continue as a radio journalist,’ she says. ‘But if I don’t get home on time, then my parents won’t let me continue working either.’Asma is one of 15 reporters for Radio Khyber, a Jamrud-based FM radio station, and one of the few legal media outlets in Pakistan’s tribal belt. The station, which is supported by the Fata Secretariat, aims to counter the extremist, pro-jihad and anti-West programming that is typical of dozens of illegal radio stations run by hard-line clerics throughout the tribal agencies. The station’s programming is notable – listeners enjoy a mix of infotainment shows, call-in talk shows, development-oriented programmes that touch on social taboos and health care, and music, particularly hits in Pashto by Fata-based artists. Broadcasting for a total of six hours a day – three hours in the morning, and then again in the evening – the station also airs religious programming, but sermons or religious discussions are kept short and are sandwiched between music shows and humorous chat shows. What is particularly remarkable about Radio Khyber, though, is that it employs three women as radio journalists. Given that women in the tribal belt do not have as many job opportunities as their counterparts in settled areas or major cities, the option to work for Radio Khyber is invaluable. But the symbolic value of these women’s participation in the station is even more important. According to Aurangzaib Khan, the manager of Media Development at Internews Pakistan – a non-profit organisation that trains radio journalists – it is highly unusual to have women’s voices on the airwaves in Fata. ‘People in the tribal areas don’t like it if their women call in to radio shows. They think it is shameful if their voices are broadcast on air because the radio goes to the public,’ adds Tayyab, Radio Khyber’s news editor. In fact, when women call the station to request songs or ask questions during a talk show, their queries are broadcast on air under men’s names. In this context, Asma and her female colleagues’ determination to be radio journalists is admirable. But it also means that they have had to defy their families to pursue the career of their choice. For example, Kulsoom, a radio journalist from Quetta who is temporarily based in Peshawar to work with Radio Khyber, says that her parents and brother strongly disapprove of strange men hearing her voice on air. ‘But I wanted to do something unique,’ she says. ‘I’m the first Pathan girl from Balochistan who has come into the media.’

In addition to their families, the women had to overcome their own reservations about entering the public sphere. Andaleeb, a young reporter from Landi Kotal, admits that she wanted to work behind the scenes. ‘I was scared of reporting and had heard that women face problems when they come into the field,’ she says. ‘But once I started I realised we get more respect than the men and everyone is more cooperative.’

Now, Radio Khyber’s female reporters know that their struggle to be on air is worth it. For example, Andaleeb is proud of her involvement with Radio Khyber. ‘It’s good that we’re the voice of the people,’ she says, ‘but it’s even better that we’re the voice of the women. If you only run men’s voices on the station then how can anything change? If women get on air then maybe other women will be encouraged to call and maybe even come into this field one day.’ That said, none of the female reporters are willing to be confined to covering women’s issues alone. ‘Sometimes my inner woman says that I should focus on women’s issues,’ says Kulsoom, ‘but then I think that if men can do something, then why not me too?’ Asma also complains that female journalists ‘get dumped with women’s issues, but we should be able to do anything – we should be able to touch all issues.’

Between them, Asma, Andaleeb and Kulsoom have submitted news bulletins on traffic, health issues, imprisoned children, taxation, strikes, the plight of internally displaced persons, military operations against militants in Khyber Agency and more. As such, they comprise an integral part of Radio Khyber’s reporting team, the most vital wing of the station. Under the Fata Secretariat’s direction, Radio Khyber was meant to restrict its programming to music and entertainment shows. ‘Once the military operations and Talibanisation began, we felt that in our position as journalists, we had to do something more,’ explains the news editor Tayyab. ‘The mood in the tribal belt was not for fun programmes, so we opted to do news bulletins. In a crisis, people want to hear what’s happening down the road, they want the facts so they can make up their mind.’For that reason, Radio Khyber now offers regular news bulletins on happenings in Fata by local journalists, including the female reporters. The station’s news offerings have secured its popularity among listeners in the tribal areas, who are slowly gravitating away from the illegal FM broadcasts of clerics to hear locally relevant news and information. And hearing a woman’s voice deliver the latest news or conduct an interview with a government official is the beginning of an important paradigm shift. ‘When a woman does reporting, it reminds the listeners that she exists, that she is also participating in society, that she also has information and skills to offer,’ says Asma. Luckily, now that Radio Khyber’s female reporters have been bitten by the reporting bug, residents of Fata can expect to hear from them regularly. ‘I want to do on-the-spot reporting,’ says Asma. ‘Women aren’t usually allowed to do this, but I want to cover the military operations underway in the agencies.’ Having entered the public sphere, these women are here to stay.

source:www.dawn.com

RAISING PROFILE OF WOMEN IN MEDIA

Internews is working to raise the profile of women in Pakistani media by supporting production of Meri Awaz Suno (Hear My Voice) in Urdu language and Hawa Aur Doonya [Women and the World] in Pashto language - women’s syndicated radio programs designed to promote dialogue on women’s issues in the media.

Meri Awaz Suno [Hear My Voice]
The Internews-supported independent radio program, Meri Awaz Suno, has been, since it was launched in August 2003, immensely popular with a diverse national audience unaccustomed to hearing such high-quality radio programs. Meri Awaz Suno is unique because it is produced exclusively by women, on women’s issues.


Based in Islamabad, the Meri Awaz Suno team produces two 15-minute programs each week. The show includes field-based feature reports, interviews, panel discussions, documentaries, and views from the street. These programs are offered free of charge to FM stations around the country reaching a potential audience of tens of millions.
Internews is actively seeking new broadcasters in other cities to expand the reach of this remarkable program.
The journalists of Meri Awaz Suno travel to both rural and urban areas of Pakistan collecting interviews and stories for their program. Topics previously unheard of on Pakistani radio are vigorously debated on Meri Awaz Suno, such as sexual harassment in the workplace, child labor, HIV/AIDS, family planning, prostitution, and women in politics.
Most reporters working on Meri Awaz Suno had little experience working in radio journalism prior to joining the team. Now they are leaders – the first women in Pakistan to work as independent radio journalists. They are multi-skilled, able to work as researchers, reporters, presenters and editors. To date, they have produced over 100 radio programs.
Under the current project, the Meri Awaz Suno team will produce at least 100 fifteen-minute programs for distribution to the nation’s FM stations. This program will continue to address health, economic, political, cultural, and social issues, with a focus on women, yet will also be of interest to a general audience.




Hawa Aur Doonya [Women and the World]


Internews has been supporting, since August 2004, the production of this pioneering Pashto-language women’s radio program based at Peshawar University Broadcast Academy built by Internews. Hawa Aur Doonya is a weekly 15-minute program with a format similar to the Urdu-language Meri Awaz Suno women’s program being produced with Internews assistance since 2003 and played on FM stations across Pakistan. Designed to raise the profile of women in Pashto media, a total of 30 Hawa Aur Doonya programs were produced in 2004-05 and under the current project at least 72 will be produced by end March 2007.
As the title suggests, the program looks at gender issues in the traditional Pashtun province of North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan. The program has covered stories about women and sport, the controversial rape laws, problems faced by women using public transport, arranged marriages and child labor, etc.

source:www.internews.org.pk

Address of the Founder of Pakistan

Mr. President (Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah): Ladies and Gentlemen, I cordially thank you, with the utmost sincerity, for the honour you have conferred upon me — the greatest honour that it is possible for this Sovereign Assembly to confer — by electing me as your first President. I also thank those leaders who have spoken in appreciation of my services and their personal references to me. I sincerely hope that with your support and your co-operation we shall make this Constituent Assembly an example to the world. The Constituent Assembly has got two main functions to perform. The first is the very onerous and responsible task of framing our future constitution of Pakistan and the second of functioning as a full and complete Sovereign body as the Federal Legislature of Pakistan. We have to do the best we can in adopting a provisional constitution for the Federal Legislature of Pakistan. You know really that not only we ourselves are wondering but, I think, the whole world is wondering at this unprecedented cyclonic revolution which has brought about the plan of creating and establishing two independent Sovereign Dominions in this sub-continent. As it is, it has been unprecedented; there is no parallel in the history of the world. This mighty sub-continent with all kinds of inhabitants has been brought under a plan which is titanic, unknown, unparalleled. And what is very important with regards to it is that we have achieved it peacefully and by means of a revolution of the greatest possible character.

Dealing with our first function in this Assembly, I cannot make any well-considered pronouncement at this moment, but I shall say a few things as they occur to me. The first and the foremost thing that I would like to emphasise is this — remember that you are now a Sovereign legislative body and you have got all the powers. It, therefore, places on you the gravest responsibility as to how you should take your decisions. The first observation that I would like to make is this. You will no doubt agree with me that the first duty of a Government is to maintain law and order, so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the State.

The second thing that occurs to me is this. One of the biggest curses from which India is suffering — I do not say that other countries are free from it, but, I think, our condition is much worse — is bribery and corruption. (Hear, hear.) That really is a poison. We must put that down with an iron hand and I hope that you will take adequate measures as soon as it is possible for this Assembly to do so.

Black-marketing is another curse. Well, I know that black-marketers are frequently caught and punished. According to our judicial notions sentences are passed, and sometimes fines only are imposed. Now you have to tackle this monster which today is a colossal crime against society, in our distressed conditions, when we constantly face shortage of food and or the essential commodities of life. A citizen who does black-marketing commits, I think, a greater crime than the biggest and most grievous of crimes. These black-marketers are really knowing, intelligent and ordinarily responsible people, and when they indulge in black-marketing, I think they ought to be very severely punished, because they undermine the entire system of control and regulation of food-stuffs and essential commodities, and cause wholesale starvation and want and even death.

The next thing that strikes me is this. Here again is a legacy which has been passed on to us. Along with many other things good and bad, has arrived this great evil -the evil of nepotism and jobbery. This evil must be crushed relentlessly. I want to make it quite clear that I shall never tolerate any kind of jobbery, nepotism or any influence directly or indirectly brought to bear upon me. Wherever I find that such a practice is in vogue, or is continuing anywhere, low or high, I shall certainly not countenance it.

I know there are people who do not quite agree with the division of Indian and the partition of the Punjab and Bengal. Much has been said against it, but now that it has been accepted, it is the duty of every one of us to loyally abide by it and honourably act according to the agreement which is now final and binding on all. But you must remember, as I have said, that this mighty revolution that has taken place is unprecedented. One can quite understand the feeling that exists between the two communities wherever one community is in majority and the other is in minority. But the question is whether it was possible or practicable to act otherwise than has been done. A division had to take place. On both sides, in Hindustan and Pakistan, there are sections of people who may not agree with it, who may not like it, but in my judgment there was no other solution and I am sure future history will record its verdict in favour of it. And what is more it will be proved by actual experience as we go on that that was the only solution of India’s constitutional problem. Any idea of a United India could never have worked and in my judgment it would have led us to terrific disaster. May be that view is correct; may be it is not; that remains to be seen. All the same, in this division it was impossible to avoid the questions of minorities being in one Dominion or the other. Now that was unavoidable. There is no other solution. Now what shall we do? Now, if we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor. If you will work in co-operation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a spirit that every one of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges and obligations there will be no end to the progress you will make.

I cannot emphasise it too much. We should begin to work in that spirit and in course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority communities — the Hindu community and the Muslim community — because even as regards Muslims you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnis and so on and among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas, Khatris, also Bengalese, Madrasis and so on — will vanish. Indeed if you ask me this has been the biggest hindrance in the way of India to attain its freedom and independence and but for this we would have been free peoples long long ago. No power can hold another nation, and specially a nation of 400 millions souls in subjection; no body could have conquered you, and even if it had happened, no body could have continued its hold on you for any length of time but for this. (Applause.) Therefore we must learn a lesson from this. You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the State (Hear, hear). As you know, history shows that in England conditions some time ago were much worse than those prevailing in India to-day. The Roman Catholics and the Protestants persecuted each other. Even now there are some States in existence where there are discriminations made and bars imposed against a particular class. Thank God we are not starting in those days. We are starting in the days when there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State. (Loud applause.) The people of England in course of time had to face the realities of the situation and had to discharge the responsibilities and burdens placed upon them by the government of their country and they went through that fire step by step. Today you might say with justice that Roman Catholics and Protestants do not exist: what exists now is that every man is a citizen, an equal citizen, of Great Britain and they are all members of the nation.

Now, I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.

Well, gentlemen, I do not wish to take up any more of your time and thank you again for the honour you have done to me. I shall always be guided by the principles of justice and fair-play without any, as is put in the political language, prejudice or ill-will, in other words partiality or favouritism. My guiding principle will be justice and complete impartiality, and I am sure that with your support and co-operation, I can look forward to Pakistan becoming one of the greatest Nations of the world. (Loud applause)

source:www.na.gov.pk