{"id":1993,"date":"2015-03-23T09:49:45","date_gmt":"2015-03-23T13:49:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=1993"},"modified":"2019-10-12T13:21:54","modified_gmt":"2019-10-12T17:21:54","slug":"the-15-journalists-putting-womens-rights-on-the-front-page","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=1993","title":{"rendered":"The 15 Journalists Putting Women\u2019s Rights on the Front Page"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY . <\/p>\n

an article by Lyndal Rowlands, Inter Press News Service<\/a> (reprinted by permission)<\/p>\n

Media coverage of maternal, sexual and reproductive health rights is crucial to achieving international development goals, yet journalists covering these issues often face significant challenges.<\/p>\n

\"journalists\"<\/a>Click on the photo to enlarge.<\/center><\/p>\n

Recognising the contributions these journalists make to advancing women and girls\u2019 rights, international advocacy organisation Women Deliver have named 15 journalists for their dedication to gender issues ahead of International Women\u2019s Day 2015.<\/p>\n

Among the journalists Women Deliver recognised for their work is IPS correspondent Stella Paul from India. Paul was honoured for her reporting on women\u2019s rights abuses through articles on such issues as India\u2019s \u2018temple slaves\u2019 and bonded labourers. <\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s dedication to women\u2019s rights is not only shown through her journalism. When she interviews communities, she also teaches them how to report abuses to the authorities and hold them accountable for breaking the cycle of violence.<\/p>\n

Paul is herself a survivor of infanticide. She told Women Deliver, \u201cWhen I was a baby, I got sick and some of my family members decided that I should die because I was not a boy.<\/p>\n

\u201cDecades later, I\u2019m inspired by the courage of my mother \u2013 and countless other women \u2013 to expose and end gender- based violence and inequality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among others, Paul\u2019s story on bonded labour in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad has had a tangible impact on the lives of those she interviewed. In July she blogged about how one woman featured in the article \u2018No Choice but to Work Without Pay\u2018, Sri Lakshmi, was released from bonded labour by her employer after a local citizen read the article on IPS and took action.<\/p>\n

Lakshmi\u2019s daughter Amlu, who once performed domestic labour while her parents went off to work, is now enrolled in a local elementary school.<\/p>\n

Another journalist honoured was Mae Azango from Liberia.<\/p>\n

Women Deliver CEO Katja Iversen told IPS, \u201cMae Azango deserves a Pulitzer. She went undercover to investigate female genital mutilation in Liberia. \u201cAfter her story was published she received death threats and [she] and her daughter were forced into hiding. Mae\u2019s bravery paid off though, as her story garnered international attention and encouraged the Liberian government to ban the licensing of institutions where this horrific practice is performed,\u201d Iversen added. <\/p>\n

Azango told Women Deliver, \u201cSpeaking the truth about female genital cutting in my country has long been a dangerous thing to do. But I thought it was worth risking my life because cutting has claimed the lives of so many women and girls, some as young as two.\u201d <\/p>\n

Iversen said that many of the honourees had shown incredible dedication, through their work. \u201cFor some of our journalists, simply covering topics deemed culturally taboo \u2013 like reproductive rights, domestic violence or sexual assault \u2013 can be enough to put them in danger,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

(This article is continued in the discussion board on the right side of this page)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Continuation of article<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

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However despite their dedication, journalists still also face obstacles in the newsroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the questions we asked the journalists was: what will it take to move girls\u2019 and women\u2019s health issues to the front pages?\u201d Iversen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost all of them said: we need more female journalists in leadership and decision-making positions in our newsrooms. Journalism, like many other industries, remains a male dominated field, which can be a major obstacle to publishing stories on women\u2019s health and rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the issue also runs deeper. There is also a lack of recognition that women and girls\u2019 health rights abuses and neglect are also abuses of human rights, and combatting these issues is essential to achieving development for everyone, not just women and girls.
\nThis means that women\u2019s health is often seen as \u2018soft news\u2019 not political or economic news worthy of a front-page headline.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately women\u2019s health and wellbeing is still, for the most part, treated as \u2018soft\u2019 news, despite the fact that when women struggle to survive, so do their families, communities and nations,\u201d Iversen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day, an estimated 800 women die in pregnancy or childbirth, 31 million girls are not enrolled in primary school and early marriage remains a pervasive problem in many countries. These are not just women\u2019s issues, these are everyone\u2019s issues \u2013 and our honorees are helping readers understand this link.\u201d<\/p>\n

As journalist Catherine Mwesigwa from Uganda told Women Deliver, \u201cWomen\u2019s health issues will make it to the front pages when political leaders and the media make the connection between girls\u2019 and women\u2019s health and socio-economic development and productivity, children\u2019s education outcomes and nations\u2019 political stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Male journalists also have a role to play and two of the fifteen journalists honoured for their contribution to raising awareness on these crucial rights were men.<\/p>\n

Besides India and Liberia, other honorees hailed from Argentina, Cameroon, Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, the Philippines, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and the United States.<\/p>\n

Readers have the opportunity to vote for their favourite journalists from the fifteen journalists selected by Women Deliver. [Editor’s note: Voting closed March 20.]<\/p>\n

The three winners will receive scholarships to attend Women Deliver\u2019s 2016 conference, which will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark.<\/p>\n

[Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.]\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY . an article by Lyndal Rowlands, Inter Press News Service (reprinted by permission) Media coverage of maternal, sexual and reproductive health rights is crucial to achieving international development goals, yet journalists covering these issues often face significant challenges. Click on the photo to enlarge. Recognising the contributions these journalists make to advancing … Continue reading The 15 Journalists Putting Women\u2019s Rights on the Front Page<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,76],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-1993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-information","category-global","tag-global"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1993\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}