Gender and Media
Contents
-Introduction
-language and Gender
-How to speak with the survivors of violence
-Explaining some examples
Introduction:
At the time of news coverage the topic of gender equality it is not too much considered in the process of watching, listening, and reading Kurdish media. Introducing women as a person of second degree is becoming a heating topic in media. Reviewing them more for attract and diminishing their position in the society.
The level of showing them up in the topics of policy and economy is remarkably low, they likely would more be seen in social, ad, and miscellaneous topics, it means that the participation of women in decision making in the Kurdistan society is very few. The women are more given a chance to do housework and careers that specialized to them only for instance, presenting women in the advertisement that are specific in preparing the food and while performing the ads about child’s diaper, nevertheless the other jobs and careers that women may be more likely to be involved in are contains of teaching, model, and the beautiful actress.
In another aspect , at the time when women appears in the contents of news and rapports that are more likely for the purpose of showing its suffrages and sacrifices, women like the wounded and killed person, women is like a person who does not have the authority and right . At the same time when it comes to the men, they would be appeared for the purpose of showing off the power of issuing important decisions, owning a great deal of authority. The presences of men could more be seen in sections that related in the policy news and programs that considering the opinions about the important topics in society.
In most cases women become the topic of harmful news, and a woman talking about one of that stories and rapports that woman became the victim of GBV. And taking the picture in a way to just to show their suffrages. On the other hand media by saying some words asking some questions putting the crime on the women and this is happened as the result of not having enough knowledge about gender and media’s job.
Gender’s language
both language and gender have a complete relationship with one another, many times they use words or expressions in the way that would become a normal thing and part of the tradition. Without referring back to that gender’s stereotypes specialized for women. And this types of transgression towards women could be seen clearly in Kurdish media. It reached the level that the media without reading anything about gender would use it’s language. This language also affects the women’s position and level, they considering the women as a sensitive creature and gives the power and authority to men and as a family rescuer and there is a proverb about this in Kurdish like “men do not cry, a shy men do not cast anything while a shy women costs the value of a whole city” despite this there are some words that would be used in a wrong way and have misunderstanding in the aspect of reminding. And using them cause a harm for the owner of the story of whom in the news, the below words have become a common language in the society and media, the most suitable words should be used for the survivors being released in the ISIS captivity and they considered her as slave –woman and went to them by her desire, beside what had happened to them should be known and called by the word survivor and kidnaped. However the women who are facing the sexual violence by their husbands it is unsuitable to call this process sex but it should be said that this woman has been raped.
How to speak with the survivors of violence
Meeting and talking with those who got rescued from violence based on gender and those who survived ISIS is highly sensitive topic, the media needs to carefully deal with this situation, if not there a lot of cause that will have a bad impact on those whom survived ISIS , however the media him/herself be affected by this topic. Due to the luck of understanding Kurdish media they commits infraction acts towards the rights of the survivors. This case happens as a result of media’s lack of intelligence and not preparing themselves before for how to speak with the survived persons. Now this examples are common in Kurdish media as well as covering the cases of the women who faced violence based on gender, and the same with covering news about returning the Yazidi’s women back to its community after being captured by ISIS, and at the time when participating them in the programs and making them to remember all they have been through. The media professionals when interviewing the survivors they commit errors meet with by telling some words and expressions that impact the survivors and making them to look down on themselves.
It is worth mentioning that those who survived ISIS has been through stress. Though they regularly face psychological suffering due to making them remember about their past before surviving ISIS or that hours they lived in violence. It cause a deferent psychological stress on each individual, there are some who want to talk about the events, and there are also some who wants to remain salient to not remember anything. The journalist needs to be very careful in these case and know if the person does not want to talk and he/she should not force them to pull information from them. However the journalist have to follow the( media low) in case the survivor talks about something that is not related to the topic, and wanted to talk more, the journalist should not interrupt the conversation because if the journalist keep talking as one who is prorating him/herself the survivor will feels he/she has been exploited rather than helping to reach the voice to a concerned body.
For talking with the survivor the place and the time should be taken into consideration. At the beginning the survivor have to be well prepared and letting s/he know the purpose behind the footage and for what it will be used. In addition to explain for them the core of the interview, and giving freedom how many survivors want to answer, in case the survivor does not want to continue and has a desire to not complete the interview. The survivor him/herself choose the place of the interview, because they know which place is better and secure for them to talk. And so on asking permission from them personally about using their name and age. If only it needs to take picture or video, and recording the voice should first taking consent from that person and explain why and how they are using these picture, video recorded.
At the time of speaking with the survivor, the journalist have to be cautious about using the words. Should not name them as a victim and use the unable word, and asking a question that s/he is absolutely sure it will put the survivor in an embarrassing situation. However regarding videoing they do not have to footage in an harmful ways, not just videoing the blood and the wounded parts of the body. Furthermore, not asking questions like “why”, because the survivor will feel that s/he in the process of investigation, it is better to ask opening questions due to giving them the chance to express everything in their way. The professionals media here are not wise enough when they are conducting the interviews, they do damage to the survivor in many programs the survived women could not resist it and her impetuosity would come into her mind, and will go out due to her deep aches.
At the end the journalist and the program presenter must inform that person about the time and the place of transmitting the program . And after delivering the presenter of the program have to call the person and take his/her opinion about the transmission.
In conclusion
Every day there are too many reading reports and news about killing and sexual abuse being occurred towards women on media, but It is worth mentioning that there are a lot of shortage in that news and rapports while writing and submitting them, many times they badly write the news in which it hide the reality of the topic. For example, when a journalist says that a girl got pain from his brother but while transmitting the news s/he needs to talk about the violence based on gender/family for people to be well aware about it however talking about the case in a wider context for the reader to have full understanding about the importance of the topic because audience rarely know that it is a violence based on family and many times not warning about the importance and danger would share in degrading the topic.
On the other hand, the treatment that the media have with the women organizations and always referring them as criminal and naming them as spoiled institutions and would always say the big reason behind killing women and divorcee average are women organizations, because men’s desire orders it is better for them and the community for women just to behave according the men’s instruction. Many years ago a number of organizations in general and women organizations in particular have put all their efforts on who to raise the awareness among the community and women’s right as well as towards all that breaches they are facing.
Explaining a couple of examples
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2197712343657890&id=363835820378894
In this rapport it has been said that there is a woman being stay on street for a while, has no stable psychological statues, has no well ability to hear, and the reason behind remaining her on street is not known. The one who appears in this video before the arrival of police men is a reporter that have been existed there without having any basic information is covering the news about the event and gathered a crowd around this woman, as this woman has no good hearing able. but it could be seen how she fears and panic because of this noise. Moreover all those who gathering around her are men and police men without having any police women with them. It is clear that the woman could do more to have this women feel comfortable and secure than these present men at the same time the reporter also is a man but they supposed to send there a female reporter for covering the news as it would have been easier and safer for her to communicate.
In this rapport it has been talking about the event as the woman has been tortured by her husband, still her husband not being arrested yet. The breach that could be seen in this rapport is the reporter never saying this is the violence based on gender and this will go to the violence based on family’s stereotypes, the presenter is not shedding lite on any laws to defense this woman, however not bringing the content of the case in lit, not explaining what was the reason, not giving an introduction about the event the aim was just to show as it is only topic not look for the right of woman. In that time if s/he highlighted the event as it is a violence based on gender, the audience may have thought about the case more deeply but for this reason a few information has been provided, not bringing out the introduction and the reasons of the event, people will see it only as a normal and a social matter. On the other hand , they would show the suffrages of this woman over and over as to define her that she has no authority and cannot protect herself, and this is one types of survivor’s torture and this act itself is types of violence.
In this video it shows and talks about the happiness of one of the survivor’s family, as she recently could survive, what is the worry being appeared in this video as the speeches of the reporter are not in an appropriate time and place. However the face of the girl is covered but it seems from her shape and voice she is a very young girl. Talking and reciting the story in the first hour of its return is in the time still not being prepared to model with community and to talk about what had happened to her as well, it seems that those women who release from the hands of ISIS have to be back to its families, most of them lives in camps and lost members of family. When coming back they should be systematically send to an intellectual persons in the field of psychology as to prepare them to embrace their new lives before channels to do interviews with them, because at the beginning of their arrival’s and questioning them at the same time will make them feel that the society is refusing them, at the end nothing would be in hand for them except approving their pureness.
The first picture is a Kurdish website page as a great number of women could be seen in it. In the above section on the right hand a not active women on a sleep system being appeared the topic is talking about the sleep’s benefits. And this shows the women’s lack of capabilities the same thing below the picture shows three other pictures of women as it talks about the beauty health. On the left side it shows the picture of actress to talk about show. These are the pictures in Kurdish media that hanging women on beauty, showing body, model and as we referred before just viewing them as unable creature.
In the second, as it is a program picture, the content of the topic is about the economy production. And it is worth noticing that the presenter and all others are men at the time there are too many intellectual women in Kurdistan but they have not been invited to the program, this shows us that there is a great deference between men and women in media.
What is becoming the request and speeches of media and folk is a calling topic upon Mala for polygamy and women’s defamation clearly is the place of attract and supporting and posting these kinds of abuses and speeches by media is becoming the causes of wordiness for the women in Kurdistan in general and women’s organization in particularly, and this is also becoming the reasons for many organizations to submit complaints on a number of Mala while they are directly attacking women on TV programs but the presenter of the program do not interrupt his speech and continue and this is in the time when an activist woman also hosted in the same program and the presenter attacks the women by saying your job is to investigate on killing cases of women not talking about the religion men and it could be directly seen that s/he taking the Mala’s side and at the same day Rwdaw channel set up a program about who is with polygamy as this topic itself against and degrading the women’s position and violence towards women. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRHeMje5vSM&t=393s