When you hear about the imprisonment of reporters especially women in the media, it usually ends with a happy ending.
According to Glamour magazine, the fact is many female reporters are just not so lucky. Agnes Taile, who was responsible for coverage of corruption in Cameroon was beaten to death and left dead in a Ravine. Jila Banigyahhoob of Iran who reported on antigovernment protests was another female who suffered a beating on the basis of their profession.
And that was only a sliver of the major picture. Over 82 percent of female reporters world wide have said they have been either attacked or threatened based on there work.
Something needs to be done, and thats why I give thanks to women like Banigahboob and Belarus journalist Iryna Khalip who have not given up on making female journalism a safer profession.
" Journalism is more than a profession, its a means of fighting," said Khalip. She says that knowing her next article could be the cause of her imprisonment or even death makes her work that much harder.
We need to keep female journalism alive and strong. Females are more likely to cover issues such as rape, and domestic violence, which are two issues we would all agree need major attention. Female reporters have the skills necessary to reach deep down within a story, and pull out the emotion. And most women would comply with the fact when speaking out about something painful having to do with a man, they would much prefer and feel more comfortable conversing with a women.
Despite all the risks, female reporters risk there lives everyday. Not only being threatened with physical abuse, but also sexual; these women deserve a standing ovation .
As I am just starting my adventure into the world of journalism I find it necessary to help in anyway I can. According to Glamour magazine ere are a few things you to can do:
1) Ask your senators to support the Daniel Pearl Act, which would have monitor violations of press freedom.
2) Join the Committee to Protect Journalists, which supports reporters working with authoritarian regimes.
3)Visit iwmf.org to sign petitions in support of imprisoned journalists.
4)REMEMBER all the journalist do, and always respect and support them.
Article taken from Glamour Magazine.
This is a great post. Very interesting. I think that women reporters are more like to be subjected to scrutiny by the public. They really put themselves out there when reporting on such riveting subjects. I do believe that they should make their safety their number one priority though. It is sad to know of women who have lost their lives in the name of their profession.
ReplyDeleteUntil recently I didn't know how dangerous being a journalist was, I believe around the time the two journalists were captured and Bill Clinton went and helped to get them back home. I think something should be done to help prevent these things from happening to all journalists who are true to their craft and reporting for the people and not just for numbers.
ReplyDeleteI also just found out how dangerous it is to be a journalist. There should be things done to keep this kind of stuff from happening. Its horrible people have lost their lives for their jobs esp. women , who should be protected. there should be some sort of laws made and our protection for these women.
ReplyDeleteThat's scary, but I think we should focus on the danger to all journalists, not just females. We should do something to protect all journalists.
ReplyDeleteWow. I had no idea that femal journalist can be in that much danger while working. There really has to be something done to protect these people. I'm not just talking about female reporters, I think that getting attacked and stuff is an issue among all journalists.
ReplyDelete