The International Labour Organization (ILO) of the United Nations marked the International Working Women's Day in Pakistan on Tuesday by launching a special training programme for electronic media journalists from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad on narratives of empowerment for working women in Pakistan.
The two-day training which concluded in Islamabad on Tuesday, brought together over two dozen young and mid-career reporters and producers, half of them women from more than 15 TV channels based in these regions. The training was conducted by Freedom Network, a Pakistani media development organization.
The training is part of an ILO project titled "Gender Equality for Decent Employment (GE4DE)" aimed at ensuring that Pakistani women have greater access to equal employment opportunities and decent working conditions in selected economic sectors; and that stakeholders have increased understanding of and favourable attitudes towards working women's issues.
The training was the first in a series of two workshops - the second will be held next week in Islamabad for electronic media reporters and producers based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Islamabad. The training was showcased by the presence of Shamim Bibi, Pakistan's first female truck driver who recounted her experiences in making headway in what is considered as a 'man's world' of truck drivers.
Among the topics covered in the training included, The Gender Lens and Women in the World of Work, Women in News Media, Mainstreaming Women and Work in Current Affairs, Women as Stories in the World of Work, and Viewing and Reporting Positively - Empowerment Narratives. In the training, conducted by media trainer Adnan Rehmat and gender expert Salman Asif, the media practitioners were introduced to the concept of GE4DE, how women in Pakistan have been making strides in their economic, professional and self-empowerment as well as the factors that promote this empowerment.-PR