Twenty-three-year-old Urooj Malik (not her real name) lives on the outskirts of Mianwali. She was in her final year of her MA Political Science when she started working as a freelance journalist. She was more enthusiastic about journalism after completing her degree but she had to quit the profession of her choice within a short span of time.

She says that due to social behaviour and domestic restrictions, it is almost impossible for women to report on daily happenings or news in Mianwali, hence, she chose feature writing. However, later she realised that this too was also not plain sailing for women.

She says that access to information is important for journalists but it is considered a taboo for women to go to offices in her district. The other option is to try to get data from the authorities concerned by making phone calls.

“I was doing a story on forests. When I called the officer concerned, he asked me for my WhatsApp number and said, ‘Come with me to Naran, there are many forests there and you will find many stories’. I blocked the officer’s number and also told my family about it, which resulted in the doors of journalism being closed on me.”

Saba Javed (name changed to protect privacy), a resident of a village in Tehsil Isakhel, has a Master’s degree in Mass Communication but she had to quit journalism within a few months.

“My family had given me permission on my insistence reluctantly, but for any interview or to get any information, I had to take my father or brother along with me, which was not always possible. Disappointed, I gave up journalism. Now I am teaching at a school.”
 

Govt officials become non-serious on seeing burqa 

I myself am a resident of Mianwali and have been writing features and investigative stories for Lok Sujag for the last two years. My own experiences and observations are also similar to the precedents mentioned above.

In this area (Mianwali), veil is mandatory for women and it does not just mean wearing a scarf or a shawl but a shuttlecock burqa that obscures the view.

I also go out for reporting in a shuttlecock burqa. The government officials get non-serious as soon as they see the burqa while the uneducated or suspicious men wonder why this burqa-clad woman is taking official information.

I had serious concerns while working on some investigative stories, especially when I received threats of serious consequences while reporting on the Dr Sidra murder case and was asked to stay away from the case.

I faced a similar situation while reporting on the killing of three innocent people by the police in Isakhel tehsil. It was difficult to reach the tribal villages located in the mountains, and it was not easy to get information from the Jirga members. This is extremely difficult for a female journalist.

As for harassment, women often have to face it and in such cases, even their own family members do not support them. The latest example was the harassment-like behaviour of a former president of the District Press Club (not Mianwali), whom I called for information related to a story.

In my opinion, the veil culture, harassment, attitude of government officials, security issues and the very-low income in this profession are the reasons that keep women out of journalism in Mianwali.

Female voices missing in Vani cases 

Women journalists around the world are playing a key role in reporting on important events and advocating for gender equality and social justice.
According to research by Karen Ross, Professor of Gender and Media at Newcastle University, the UK, women journalists tend to cover social issues related to health, education and welfare, while men tend to focus on politics, crime and business.

“Women bring a different perspective to journalism, which is more likely to cover the problems of women and children.”

Dr Faisal Shahzad, a resident of Mianwali and a professor at a public college in Lahore, often writes on various social issues. He says that honour killings, domestic violence and gender crimes happen every day in Mianwali but often the media does not report on them, which is mainly due to the lack of women in the field of journalism.

“Many cases of Vani have been reported in Mianwali, but none of their media reports include the version of the affected girl. It is not possible for a male journalist in the area to interview the affected woman.”

Mianwali tops the entire Punjab in gender disparity

According to the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) Survey 2019-20, Mianwali district has the highest gender gap in Punjab in terms of literacy rate. Here, the literacy rate among adult males was 75pc, while among adult females, it was 39pc.

Women are very few in every sector except farm labour in the district. According to the Pakistan Labour Force Survey 2020-21, 77.1pc of Mianwali’s women are associated with agriculture, while only 15.2pc are part of the services sector.

Departmental statistics show that the highest number of women in Mianwali is in the education department where 2,405 women are currently teaching in schools. The health department has only 110 female doctors, 216 nurses and a total of 250 women in other health staff. However, there is not a single woman among the news reporters working for national or international media in Mianwali.

District Education Officer Mianwali Humaira Yasmin says that tribal cultural influences are dominant in Mianwali and women here are mostly confined to the four walls due to negative social attitudes.

She says that until two decades ago, there were almost no women in government and private offices in Mianwali. However, now the trend is changing towards education and women are getting jobs, but their number is very low in all departments except education and health.

“Due to the veil culture in our country, women generally prefer office work or jobs within the four walls. Families do not allow field work, especially being associated with the media is an uphill task for women.”

Expenses incurred on work can lead to loss of jobs

The situation with regard to women’s education has improved considerably with the establishment of the University of Mianwali. The sub-campus of University of Sargodha in Mianwali was started in 2012, which was upgraded to the University of Mianwali in 2019.

At present, 19 departments are functional at the university, but the Department of Mass Communication has not been established yet. Dean of Social Sciences Dr Shafiq Asif hopes that whenever new departments are started, they will also include mass communication.

However, former journalist Saba Javed says that despite obtaining journalism degrees from good educational institutions, it is not possible for women to do journalism in Mianwali.

“Everything is discouraging for women journalists. Yes, thanks to some digital platforms, some women are doing freelance journalism and their articles are also being published online but freelancing does not generate enough income for a woman to cover her own expenses. Especially if you have to take a male member of the family along for reporting, the expenses and difficulties increase.”

Saba believes that if her income had been better, her family would have probably tolerated her commitment to journalism. “They often used to say that if you don’t earn as much as you spend, what’s the point of taking all this trouble?”

No press club membership for freelancers 

The local press club does not give membership to the few freelance journalists. Saba thinks that journalistic organizations do not support women. “The departments do not take journalists who seek information seriously without a press card.”

Mianwali Press Club President Akhtar Majaz confirms that the total number of press club members in the district is 123 but not a single woman. “This is not because of any gender discrimination, but in the last five years, no female journalist has approached the press club for membership.”

The International Journalists Network confirms that women make up only five percent of Pakistani journalism.

Journalist and member of the press club, Naveed Ahsan, says that very few women are doing freelance journalism in Mianwali but the press club does not give membership to freelancers. He says that transportation is also a major problem for female journalists here, which is why they do not report on events in Mianwali.

Women Protection Officer in Mianwali, Samira Alvi, says that it is the government’s duty to ensure the safety of women journalists and also train them to deal with issues like harassment. She suggests that a law to protect journalists should be passed in Punjab on the lines of Sindh and the federal government. If the Punjab Journalist Protection and Coordination Committee is activated at the district level, it will also help women journalists here.