AAWAZ Response Fund 1

Women in Politics: Media Content Analysis of

Women’s Participation in Politics in Khyber

Pukhtunkhwa

INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH, ADVOCACY & DEVELOPMENT

Muhammad Aftab Alam, Mr. Adnan Rehmat and Ms. Sadaf Baig

May 2013

i

Contents List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ ii

List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... iii

Abbreviations.......................................................................................................................... iv

Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... 1

CHAPTER 1: Media on Women’s Participation in Politics in KPK: An Introduction and

Background ...................................................................................................................... 4

The State of Media in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vs the Rest of Pakistan ........................................... 6

Trends of Media Coverage of Gender Issues in KPK ................................................................... 9

Why are gender perspectives absent from media? .................................................................... 9

Why perspectives of working women are absent from KPK media? ......................................... 10

CHAPTER 2: Objectives and methodology of the Research ............................................... 12

Objectives of the Research ..................................................................................................... 12

Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 12

Media Monitoring and Content Analysis ................................................................................. 13

Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) .............................................................................................. 15

Research Survey ..................................................................................................................... 16

CHAPTER 3: Profile of women politicians in Media .......................................................... 17

CHAPTER 4: Media content on women’s participation in politics ..................................... 21

Overview ............................................................................................................................... 21

Perceptions of Male and Female political participation ........................................................... 26

Drivers of Change: Political Affirmative Action ........................................................................ 33

CHAPTER 5: Recommendations ....................................................................................... 38

Need for increased coverage .................................................................................................. 38

Improving the profile of women in media ............................................................................... 38

Voter education ..................................................................................................................... 38

Campaigning for women’s political empowerment .................................................................. 38

Initiating the gender debate in political manifestos ................................................................. 39

Building a positive image ........................................................................................................ 39

Sustained effort for attitude change ....................................................................................... 39

Giving voice to voiceless ......................................................................................................... 39

Capacity building of reporters ................................................................................................. 39

Capacity building of women politicians ................................................................................... 40

Political communications training for CSOs ............................................................................. 40

Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... I

ANNEXURE I ............................................................................................................................ III

Annexure II ..................................................................................................................... V

Annexure III .................................................................................................................. VI

Annexure IV ................................................................................................................... IX

ii

List of Tables

Table 1: Outline of Broadcast Media in KPK and Other Regions ............................................. 8

Table 2: Size of Media Practitioners in KPK Compared to Pakistan ........................................ 9

Table 3: Media Sources Monitored.......................................................................................... 14

Table 4: Perception of Male and Female Political Participation ............................................. 26

Table 5: Frequency and Tone of Coverage .............................................................................. 34

iii

List of Figures

Figure 1: Ratio of Male and Female Members in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly's

Standing Committees ........................................................................................................ 18

Figure 2: Focus of News Items Related to Female Politicians and Women's Participation in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Based Media Outlets ..................................................................... 21

Figure 3: Advocacy of Coverage of Female Politicians and Women participation in KP

Media ................................................................................................................................ 22

Figure 4: Tone of Coverage - Female vs Male ........................................................................ 29

Figure 5: Media-led Change in Perception about Women's Political Participation in Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa .................................................................................................................... 34

Figure 6: Change in Perceptions due to Media-led Messages ................................................. 35

Figure 7: Change in Perception by Media-led Messages about Women's Political

Participation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa .............................................................................. 36

iv

Abbreviations

ANP Awami National Party

CSOs Civil Society Organizations

FATA Federally Administered Tribal Areas

FB Face Book

FDGs Focus Group Discussions

FM Frequency Modulation

Govt Government

HR Human Rights

KPK Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

MNA Member National Assembly

MPA Member Provincial Assembly

NADRA National Database and Registration Authority

PFUJ Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists

PML-N Pakistan Muslim League-N

PPP Pakistan People’s Party

PTI Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf

SANAM South Asian Network to Address Masculinities

TV Television

1

Executive Summary

In a country like Pakistan, where subordination of women is common place and numerous

abusive attitudes towards women are legitimized in the name of social and cultural norms, the

question of political participation for women gains prime importance. Women in parliament

and the inclusivity of women’s voices and concerns in the legislative and policy making

process are likely to encourage pro-women policies, which in turn can help empower and

help women across the society.

Despite some advances in recent years, the role of women in politics is still fairly limited. A

few policies of affirmative action, particularly the reserved seats for women have gone a long

way in ensuring that there is a substantive presence of women in the assemblies. But whether

the mere presence in assemblies has actually brought decision-making power to women is

another question.

While women are represented in parliament, there continue to be concerns relating to

inadequate participation of women in politics, including percentages of women voting in

elections. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan are noted for the lowest ratio of women

voters.

A study by FAFEN shows that the voter turnout in female polling stations in Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa was only 23.3% as opposed to the 39.7% national average in female polling

stations. 1

Given these facts, the role of media with regards to coverage of female politicians and

women’s participation in politics becomes even more important.

This report presents an analysis of ‘how the vernacular media from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is

covering women’s political participation.’ For this report, multiple news outlets have been

monitored for 3 weeks and compared with national newspapers.

1 Election Observations and Summary Recommendations for Electoral Reforms, Pg. 9. FAFEN. (Last

accessed 30 April 2013) http://www.fafen.org/site/publications/103_FAF-2008102-EOS-0108.pdf

2

The following are the key findings.

Women politicians are vastly under-reported in the press - In 3 weeks, only 7 news

items appeared in 4 local newspapers from Peshawar. The lack of coverage for

women politicians shows the lack of priority newspapers are assigning to female

politicians.

Radio in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa doesn’t prioritize coverage of women in politics – For

3 weeks 2 hours of radio broadcasts on 3 local radio stations were monitored. In the

126 hours of monitored broadcasts, only 1 program was aired that featured female

politicians.

Women’s political participation is not prioritized on TV either – A total of 84 hours of

broadcast were monitored on Geo and Khyber TV. While there were a total of 21

news items aired that relate directly to women’s political participation and female

politicians, barely any actually featured a woman. Most of the news items related to

women in politics feature male politicians and analysts talking about women.

There isn’t an adequate amount of support for women’s political participation in

media coverage – A number of news items broadcast during the course of this

research contained negative statements regarding affirmative action for women,

however the TV broadcasts did not include women’s voices on these issues, and the

overwhelming impression from these broadcasts was that of severe criticism.

TV adopts a generally negative tone towards politicians, whether they are male or

female - When you look at the tone of opinions being broadcast on TV, over 56% of

the news items monitored and analyzed are using negative tones and connotations for

women’s political roles. Data shows that while there is a percentage of news items

that attach negative tones and connotations towards women in politics, the number is

relatively low. In fact, a higher percentage of news articles presented male politicians

in a negative light, than female politicians.

3

Women politicians are not approached by media for serious political comment – In a

survey that accompanied media monitoring, multiple respondents pointed out that

women are approached for pictures, while men are approached for comments.

4

CHAPTER 1: Media on Women’s Participation in Politics in KPK: An Introduction and Background

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, situated in the northwest of Pakistan and spread

over 74,521 sq km, has a population of over 22 million. Women constitute almost half of its

total population.2 Being a tribal and semi-tribal society, the KPK is perceived as a traditional

society in which women have limited role in the decision-making process. Similarly, politics

and political process are the areas where women are seemingly less active in the province.

However, women's participation in politics and political activities has seemingly improved

during the past decade.

Prior to 2001, when General Pervez Musharraf introduced a new local government system, a

relatively limited number of women could be seen in mainstream politics in the country. The

local government system and later constitutional amendment promoting affirmative action

paved the way for increase in the number of women to actively participate in politics.3 As a

result of this affirmative action, a number of women from KPK managed to reach Parliament

– 04 in the Senate, 08 in the National Assembly and 22 in the KPK Assembly. However, all

these women were elected on reserved seats for women, not through contests on general

seats.4

With the increasing role of women in politics, the media landscape of the country has also

changed in the same decade. The electronic media space has expanded from only one state-

owned radio station and television channel to more than 150 local area FM radio stations and

89 local satellite channels nearly half of which are current affairs channels with 24-hour news

and analysis of politics, business and socio-cultural focus. The number of newspapers and

their circulation has also increased considerably during this period, nearly doubling from 3

2 Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: http://www.khyberpakhtunkhwa.gov.pk/Departments/BOS/nwfpdev-

statis-Stat-abs-population.php 3 Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA):

http://pemra.gov.pk/pemra/images/docs/fm/List_Of_Commercial_FM_Radio.pdf,

http://pemra.gov.pk/pemra/images/docs/fm/List_Of_Non_Commercial_FM_Radio.pdf,

http://pemra.gov.pk/pemra/images/docs/stv/list_of_licences_issued_stv1.pdf 4 National Assembly of Pakistan: www.na.gov.pk

Senate of Pakistan: www.senate.gov.pk

Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: www.pakp.gov.pk

5

million to 5.6 million over roughly the same period.5 Due to increasing access to Internet,

social media has got a prominent place and has substantively contributed to expanding media

landscape with over 2.9 million users in the country on a daily basis.6

In the treatise: How Pakistani Electronic Media (News and Current affairs programs)

Portrays Nationalistic Masculinities with Reference to Veena Malik Adeel Pathan, a

journalist and development practitioner and SANAM (South Asian Network to Address

Masculinities Fellow), is of the view that the “media is powerful and has shown its power on

different occasions especially in the context of Pakistan, therefore it has a tendency to

challenge the set norms of the society.”

It was with the increase in the number of media outlets in the country, “media’s power to

influence masses also increased and this was instrumental in shaping the ideas, values,

behavior and concept of the general public” (Uks Foundation Report, 2010). The media, as

the Uks Foundation report (2010) notes, provides the masses with a lot of information, which

is both positive and negative. However, the stereotypical portrayal of women on media is

inevitable in this situation.

Due to various factors the “coverage of women and women’s issues has likewise gradually

improved. Nevertheless, the portrayal of women in content and characters remains negative,

judgmental and biased” (Uks Foundation Report 2009). The report further reveals that

“women’s issues are a long way to go before they are realized to be of national importance.”

Despite all this, the media in general has started treating women’s political participation as a

positive development. Politics, which had been treated as only men’s forte by traditional

right-wing media, has gradually been considered as gender neutral by the majority of the

mainstream media.

In KPK, the number of media outlets is comparatively less than the rest of the country. The

total number of private, licensed radio stations is 11. There is only one private sector Pashtu

5 NationMaster.com: http://www.nationmaster.com/country/pk-pakistan/med-media and IMS Report “Between

radicalisation and democratisation in an unfolding conflict:

Media in Pakistan” available on: http://www.i-m-s.dk/files/publications/1491%20Pakistan.final.web.pdf, page

20. Last accessed April 25, 2013.

6 Internet World Stat, Asia: http://www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm#pk

6

language television channel, i.e., Khyber TV operating in the country, according to Pakistan

Electronic Media Regulatory Authority. The number of newspapers being published from the

province is approximately 80 out of which only 5 are in the Pashtu language, according to the

Press Information Department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Considering the limited number of

media outlets in the province, the coverage of women’s political participation would

presumably be lesser than the rest of the country.

However, media’s stereotypical perception about women in general and women’s political

participation in particular does not seem too different from the rest of the country. So far the

situation seems to remain more or less the same in vernacular and regional media.

Nevertheless, social media, which has revolutionized human interaction has created space for

women’s perspectives. Multiple female politicians from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are actively

using social media and are active on twitter. Tribal and Pashtun women on different social

media platforms are actively contributing political opinions and giving a rare insight into the

minds of local women and their approaches towards the political process.

One of ANP’s key leaders Bushra Gohar has over 12, 000 followers on twitter as opposed to

ANP’s own official account which has less than 2000 followers - While Bushra Gohar has

sent out more than 11,000 tweets, ANP’s official account has just a little over 2000 tweets.

These numbers are reflective of the kind of public engagement that has been made possible

for female politicians and also shows that women from KP are embracing the communication

and outreach tools accorded to them via social media. Women from KP on social media is not

limited to political leaders, Pasthun women like @hafsa are regularly tweeting opinions on

political and other happenings in KP and the tribal belt.

The State of Media in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vs the Rest of Pakistan

With the growth of media in Pakistan in recent years and the increase in numbers of

journalists, the dynamics of how media accesses, processes, generates and distributes

information and how people consume information have changed. This is as true for Pakistan

in general as for KPK. According to Inter-media Pakistan, a national media advocacy,

research and training organization, the number of journalists in Pakistan was about 2,000 in

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2002 (the year in which the government for the first time allowed private TV channels and

radio stations). In 2013, this had grown to 17,000 journalists.

In the last 10 years (2002-2012), the following has been the impact of the rapid growth of the

media in terms of freedom of expression and information access, according to research done

by Inter-media Pakistan (www.intermedia.pk):7

Media Space

Media density – the number of TV channels has grown from 1 in 2002 to 96 at the end of

2012; radio stations from one to 147 and newspapers from about 700 to 1,100 in the same

period. This has meant more media space and more coverage of more issues, particularly

politics.

Media Practitioners

Media sources – the number of journalists in the same period has grown from 2,000 in 2002

to over 17,000 in 2012. This has meant more journalists covering more news sources and

generating more news and current affairs, including politics.

Media Pluralisms

Media variety – the diversity in themes and sources has dramatically improved coverage of

thematic issues such as politics and women in politics. This has meant that there have been

more media pluralisms, more equity and more equality, in general although this has varied

from region to region.

The Following table provides outlines of broadcast media in KPK and other regions:

7 Alam, Muhammad Aftab and Rehmat, Adnan. (2012) Mainstreaming of Pakistani Tribal Areas into National

Media Legal Framework available on: http://irada.org.pk/new/pdf/Final%20Policy%20Paper%20-

%20Jul2012.pdf, page 5-6. Last accessed: 27th

April 2013.

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Table 1: Outline of Broadcast Media in KPK and Other Regions

REGIONS Population

(2005)

Commercial

FM stations

(end 2012)

Educational

FM stations

(end 2012)

Govt FM

(end

2012)

Govt

AM

(end

2012)

TV (main

current affairs

channels

only)

(end 2012)

Punjab 84.1m 49 12 8 5 9

Sindh 39.4m 39 4 2 4 13

KPK 26.2m 14 4 2 4 1

Balochistan 9.9m 4 0 2 4 1

FATA 5.6m 0 0 3 0 0

AJK 5.5m 6 0 0 2 0

Gilgit-

Baltistan

1.9m 2 0 0 2 0

Islamabad 1.4m 6 7 3 1 0

Pakistan

(TOTAL)

120 27 20 22 24

Source Inter-media Pakistan

The link between media density and political & economic stability

- 4/5th

of media density in Pakistan is (roughly) East of Indus (170 out of 213 media

organizations – newspapers excluded)

(Sindh, Punjab, Islamabad & AJK)

- Only 1/5th

of media is (roughly) West of Indus (43 out of 213 media organizations –

newspapers excluded)

(Baluchistan, FATA, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan)

The following is the size of media practitioners in KPK compared to Pakistan:

9

Table 2: Size of Media Practitioners in KPK Compared to Pakistan

REGIONS Population

(2005 est.)

Journalists

(estimated)

TV Channels +

Radio Stations

Punjab 84.1m 6,100 83

Sindh 39.4m 3,300 62

Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa

26.2m 1,100 25

Balochistan 9.9m 650 11

FATA 5.6m 200 3

AJK 5.5m 450 8

Gilgit-Baltistan 1.9m 170 4

Islamabad 1.4m 900 17

Pakistan (total) 12,870 213

Source Intermedia Pakistan

Trends of Media Coverage of Gender Issues in KPK

Like the rest of Pakistan, the extent, scale and scope of coverage of gender issues in the

mainstream media, the media in KPK has also been affected by similar constraints.

According to the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) only about 5% of the 17,000

journalists in Pakistan are women. This figure comes to about 750 women journalists in the

country. This discrepancy prevents reports on issues related to women in politics in KPK

acquiring the critical mass needed to influence opinions and policies.

Why are gender perspectives absent from media?

In the last 10 years media space in Pakistan, as in KPK, has expanded but not space for

women in current affairs, which influences policy. The number of media practitioners has

increased but not the number of women journalists, editors, news editors and senior reporters.

The KPK reportedly has fewer than 30 women journalists. In the same period, media

pluralisms have multiplied but not the voices and perspectives of women represented in

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media. Likewise, thematic expertise of media has improved but not professionalism on

gender issues.

The first generation of media reforms starting with 2002 in Pakistan came with increasing

focus on public interest but left major gender gaps – now the second generation of reforms

also seems to be ignoring prioritization of women’s interests and perspectives, especially

when it comes to reporting about women in politics in the KPK.

Why perspectives of working women are absent from KPK media?

Reporting on gender issues, in general, is not a priority for media in KPK while priority of

reporting on women in politics is even lower. Similarly, gender perspectives in reporting

about politics are not a priority for KPK media while reporting about women in politics is

lower still.

The KPK media, in general, is usually not interested in women’s perspectives on any issue

while perspectives of women about politics are ignored as a matter of routine. Also, gender

perspectives are, in general, considered the domain of female journalists, not for men. With

few women journalist practitioners in KPK compared to men, gender sensitized media

content, particularly current affairs, is rare.

Another reason that has affected the quantity and quality of coverage of gender issues,

especially issues related to working women is the cultural constraint. Cultural and religious

norms all over Pakistan make women hesitant to approach or talk to the media. In a province

like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, acknowledged as culturally conservative, the issues of cultural

constraints are manifold. It requires extra effort by journalists to get women’s perspectives

and the lack of female reporters in the field make this an additionally difficult task. Even

during such traumatic and high-impact events like floods and military operations, the gender

balance is conspicuously missing from focused media coverage of these events due to the

same constraints.

11

The apprehension with which Pakhtun and other women from KPK regard the media, and the

restrictive norms that discourage any contact with journalists in general, result in the

suppression of their voice.

12

CHAPTER 2: Objectives and methodology of the Research

The research is a scoping study of media content about women political participation in the

province of KPK.

Objectives of the Research

This scoping study aims to meet the following objectives with a specific focus on Pakistan's

northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa:

Analysis of how women active in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa politics are portrayed by the

media

Analysis of messages (positive, negative, threatening, ridiculing, etc.) conveyed

through media with reference to gender balance in the context of Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa

Comparative analysis of treatment of women and men in politics in the context of

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Exploration and discussion of drivers of change vis-a-vis women's participation in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa politics and affirmative action, e.g., structural, institutional and

legal action

A study of media-led messages (in support or against) which may have the changed the

environment for women’s participation in politics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (e.g., pressures on

women, formal and informal processes through which women rise in political roles, local

area acceptability about women’s role, legislation, etc.)

Methodology

This study has been undertaken using:

Desk research

13

Monitoring media content and messages

Analyzing content and messages monitored

Focus group discussions

The available relevant literature on portrayal of women in media as well as political

participation of women is reviewed. Sources of literature include newspapers, electronic

media, government documents, NGO/INGO reports, etc. Literature review comprises of

reputed journals, thesis, books, working papers, conference papers, seminar proceedings, etc.

Through the literature review, guidelines for media monitoring and Focus Group Discussions

(FGDs) were developed. Media-led message(s), which may have changed the environment

for women’s participation, were also explored and analyzed. Both in FGDs and surveys the

participants were encouraged to explore any change in perception brought about by a wide

range of media-led messages including portrayal of women in news items, advertisements

and/or specific media campaigns. The aim was to analyze if the media is airing/publishing

any content that has the potential to consciously or unconsciously change the audience’s

perception about women’s political participation

Media Monitoring and Content Analysis

The following media sources with principal focus on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa constituted the

sample , the sources were monitored from December 7-27, 2012 – a period of three weeks.

14

Table 3: Media Sources Monitored

Name/Title

Classification

Newspapers

1. The News Peshawar Edition of national English daily

2. Aaj Peshawar edition KPK-based Urdu daily

3. Wahdat - Peshawar Peshawar edition KPK-based Pashto daily

4. The Frontier Post Peshawar edition KPK-based English daily

Television Channels (Monitored from 8:00 – 10:00 pm)

1. Geo News National Urdu daily

2. Khyber News Pakistan's only Pashto language current affairs TV

Radio Stations

1. PBC - Peshawar State-managed AM radio for KPK transmission

2. Radio Dilbar Independent FM radio based in Charsadda

3. Radio Buraq Independent FM radio based in Peshawar

Social Media

1. Blogs and Facebook 1. Qissa Khwani on FB -

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Qissa-

Khwani/378428198873310?fref=ts

2. The Khyber Watch - http://khyberwatch.com/main/

3. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa -

http://www.pakhtunkhwa.pk/category/politics/

4. http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/tag/khyber-pakhtunkhwa/

2. Twitter Accounts 1. @BushraGohar – ANP MNA

2. @RubinaKhalid1 – KP Senator from PPP

3. @Qissakhwani – Twitter account focused specifically

on KP and FATA

4. @AliDayan – Ali Dayan Hassan, Human Rights

15

Watch

5. @RahmanBunairee - Journalist, Radio/TV Host for

VOA. Worked as Deputy Director news (S) 4 Khyber

TV, Editor Roshan Pakistan & Jaras.

6. @marvisirmed – HR Activist

7. @ANPMarkaz – ANP Official Account

8. @sardarhbabak - Minister of Education

Pakhtunkhwa.

9. @Pakhtunkhwa - Pakhtunkhwa Peace Forum, a

worldwide group of Pashtun students and professional

10. @KhyberWatch – Twitter keeping an eye on Pakhtun

Issues

The content monitored on electronic media (television and radio) – consisted of news and

current affairs programs aired during prime time i.e., 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Upon completion

of monitoring for three weeks, the content was analyzed to understand messages conveyed

through media under a set of criteria and relevant indicators. Comparison of messages

towards male vs. female was also done. Efforts are made to include relevant Aawaz Program

indicators in the monitoring tools and framework of analysis.

Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)

Alongside the media content analysis, two focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted

in Peshawar (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Islamabad. The purpose of the FGDs was to explore

drivers of change and get expert opinions about the state of coverage for women’s political

participation.

The component of media content analysis was the primary tool of this study. Media

monitoring served to generate current primary data for analysis. Predefined objectives of the

study identified three themes of analysis: media personnel, gender, and political scientists.

Keeping in view the limitations of the project size, time and size of population, we divided

our entire target population into different subgroups then randomly selected the final subjects

16

from the different strata. This sampling technique served as a purposive sample. We

highlighted the specific subgroups in the population, which were media personnel, gender

based groups, and political scientists.

During the process of research, it was impossible to get information from all the media

personnel, gender based groups and political scientists in KPK due to a large number of

subjects in the population. Therefore, efforts were made to select reliable and indicative

sampling technique to gather primary data. Resulting information represents the larger

population and is used to draw inferences about the respective population of KPK.

Research Survey

In addition to the monitoring of content and its analysis along with the focus group

discussions, an online survey was launched through survey monkey to seek a general

perception about the media content regarding women political participation in KPK. 67

individual participated in the survey and shared their views in this regard.

The respondents of this survey are media professionals and media consumers from Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa. The respondents were chosen after discussions with reporters based in

Peshawar. During the selection of the participants, two key criteria were developed:

- The respondent should be a news enthusiast and should have the capacity to

understand and comment upon gender perspectives in media.

- The respondent should be a media practitioner, preferably a reporter who works

regularly on the political beat.

Among the 67 respondents, 30 respondents were journalists, while the remaining 37 were

media consumers.

17

CHAPTER 3: Profile of women politicians in Media

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formerly known as the North West Frontier Province, is one of the

regions in Pakistan that has been most affected by terrorism in recent years. The Pashtuns

form the largest ethnic group in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the smaller ethnicities in the

region the Hindkowans, Dards and Chitralis. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has the second-lowest

Human Development Index out of all of Pakistan's provinces.

The province is known to be culturally conservative and is one of the regions associated with

subordination of women. The scale and scope of political participation of women in Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa is relatively lower than Sindh and Punjab.

According to the National Assembly website (www.na.gov.pk), women constitute 23 percent

of the National Assemblies 340 members. Of the 77 women parliamentarians, 60 were

elected on reserved seats and 17 through popular vote. In the National Assembly’s Standing

and parliamentary committees the representation of women from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is

only 2%.

In the National Assembly’s standing committees, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa women occupy only

3% seats. It is true that women’s overall representation in the assembly and the committees is

low, but within that small circle, politicians from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa occupy an even

smaller percentage.

Women from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa form only 9% of the total female members in standing

committees of the national assembly. However, 11% of the women in National Assemblies

parliamentary committees are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The situation in parliamentary committees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly is

not too different.

18

Figure 1: Ratio of Male and Female Members in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial

Assembly's Standing Committees

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also has one of the worst records when it comes to the political

participation of women. In previous elections, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, all the

parties came to an unspoken agreement that women should not be allowed to vote and some

constituencies have held elections without a single woman voter.8

The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) does not have the biometric

record of 3.72 million women voters and many of the ones missing are from Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the highest number of women voters who have not

provided biometrics were in Peshawar (32,107) followed by Abbotabad (21,629) and

Mansehra (17,105). 9 In 2008 elections, the highest number of unregistered women was in

8 Participation of women in polls – The Express Tribune, 27 December 2012 -

http://tribune.com.pk/story/484986/participation-of-women-in-polls/ 9 NADRA doesn’t have biometric data of 372 million women voters – Dawn, 26 December 2012.

http://dawn.com/2012/12/26/nadra-does-not-have-biometric-data-of-3-72m-women-voters/

Male Members

81%

Female Members

19%

19

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the decrease in women voters by province/territory between 2002

and 2007 was 45%. 10

These statistics show that the decline in political participation of women in Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa started from the voter’s registration process. According to the report quoted

above, a significant percentage of the missing 3.72 million women voters belong to KP. Not

only are women from KP failing to register as voters but the actual participation on election-

day is also alarmingly low. In 2008, only 23.3% registered female voters cast their vote,

highlighting the extent of women’s lack of political participation.

In this situation, debate over women’s political participation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should

have been a priority issue for the vernacular press and media in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

However, as the data gathered during the course of this research reveals, this is not the case.

During December 7-27, 2012, the regional newspapers monitored in Peshawar published only

7 news stories that made a direct mention of female politicians and women’s participation in

politics. The radio stations aired only 1 story directly linked to female politicians and women

in politics. Khyber TV aired 18 relevant news stories.

However, none of these articles and news pieces actually succeeded in building women’s

political profile. At most there is commentary on security issues linked with elections and

how it affects women. None of the female politicians from Awami National Party (ANP),

which heads the ruling coalition in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and other political parties in the

province have been profiled.

One of the reasons that behind the lack of a tangible profile for women politicians in local

media is the duration and timing of this research. The media has been monitored for three

weeks only and that too at a time where there is not much going on in terms of legislation.

The elections are due soon and the media’s focus is on reporting electoral politics rather than

assembly proceedings. Little happened during December 7-27, 2012 that had the potential of

pushing the agenda of women’s political participation to a priority slot on TV, radio and

newspapers.

10

Electoral reform and women’s political participation – Jinnah Institute - http://www.jinnah-

institute.org/programs/governance/307-electoral-reform-and-

20

In effect, the research data shows that there is a lack of political profiling of women in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The media does not seem to recognize a need to build a political

profile of leading female politicians. The frequency of coverage of women politicians and the

number of news items analyzed during the monitored period is very low. Thus, it has not

been possible to identify any underlying trends in media’s profiling of women in politics.

21

CHAPTER 4: Media content on women’s participation in politics

Overview

The monitoring for this research occured during a time when there was no major legislation

done by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly. No major politicial developments occurred in

the region and female politicians were not called to the forefront by either the parties or the

media.

During the monitored period, only 7 news articles on women were published in the monitored

newspapers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1 news item was aired on monitored radio stations

and 21 news items were broadcast during 8:00 – 10:00 pm on Khyber TV and Geo TV.

Figure 2: Focus of News Items Related to Female Politicians and Women's Participation

in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Based Media Outlets

Directly on politics

Directly on politics

Directly on politics

Indirectly on politics

Indirectly on politics

Indirectly on politics

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

TV

Radio

Newspapers

22

In addition to the media content analysis, a research survey and two focus group discussions

were also conducted to highlight perceptions on the current state of media coverage and the

possibility of a media led change. A total of 67 participants participated in the survey, while

17 participants took part in the Focus Group Discussions in Islamabad and Peshawar.

As many as 10% of the respondents of the survey said that they haven’t seen any coverage of

women politicians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa based media and the majority said that the current

coverage of women in politics is inadequate.

Figure 3: Adequacy of Coverage of Female Politicians and Women participation in KP

Media

Similar sentiment was reflected by the participants of the focus group discussions.

Commenting on the lack of coverage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa based vernacular press, a

participant in Islamabad focus group discussion indicated this could be due to the absence of

thematic expertise of reporting on politics with gender perspectives that may have led to the

lack of proper coverage for women’s political participation in media. The participant said that

a thematic focus on reporting about women in politics as a special newsbeat is lacking in

Adequate 37.30%

Adequate 11.90%

Adequate 20.90%

Inadequate 62.70%

Inadequate 88.10%

Inadequate 79.10%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

100.00%

Newspapers Radio TV

23

media, and that media practitioners are content with merely

reporting events rather than conducting analysis that can help

inform opinions and perspectives of the public.

A female participant from Peshawar said that media doesn’t have

enough slots for women in politics as compared to men. Another

participant blamed the lack of thematic understanding about the

electoral process for the dismal quality of coverage about

women’s political participation.

A senior journalist from Peshawar highlighted that, “Only elected

women, who are only a few, appear and represent the issues and

non-elected women play little role in representing the women

issues relating to politics in media, especially in KP based

media”.

Comparing the content on KPK-based vernacular media and the national media, a female

participant from Peshawar said that there is no obvious difference between national and local

media when it comes to coverage of women in politics. She said that the state of coverage is

actually quite reflective of the status of political participation of women in Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa. She also said that usually, some of the women’s issues are highlighted before

the elections; however, media does not have a proactive approach

The data gathered through the online survey shows that more than 88% of the media

consumers and practitioners in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa find the radio coverage of women’s

political participation inadequate. The majority of participants in the FGDs also agreed with

this assessment and stressed a need to increase media coverage on the theme.

A female participant from Peshawar said that; “Sometime radios have enough space for

women. But if we talk about the area like FATA, males are not willing to listen to female

voices. However, the role of radio is quite impressive.” Another participant added that;

“Coverage is ample on international radio only. Local FM radio is commercial and gives

coverage to women only on specific occasions such as 16 days of activism.”

One third of the news

items that were directly or

indirectly linked to

women’s participation in

politics adopted a negative

tone that either

discouraged or ridiculed

women’s political roles.

Most of the news items on

women’s political

participation were

positively toned, however,

when you look at the tone

of opinions being broadcast

on TV, over 56% of them

use a negative tone

24

Unfortunately though, during the course of this research, the 3 radio stations monitored for

related content aired only 1 piece directly related to women’s political participation – an

alarming situation, as radio remains one of the key sources of information for women in

KPK. As a female participant from Peshawar pointed out; “There should be news coverage of

voters, because without women voter coverage, the opinion would be unbalanced. Radio

influences the opinions and women can learn about their rights and duties.”

Similar observations were made about the coverage on TV and participants of both FGDs

largely agreed that TV in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is not supportive of women politicians. A

participant in Islamabad noted that TV in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shows a structural bias

towards men.

A male participant from Peshawar pointed out that “television channels give coverage to

female politicians but the coverage is not enough/ample and positive.” Multiple participants

agreed with the assessment that coverage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa based TV channels often

portray women’s political activities in mostly negative terms.

This assessment can also be authenticated by the analysis of monitored content from Khyber

TV – One third of the news items that were directly or indirectly linked to women’s

participation in politics adopted a negative tone that either discouraged or ridiculed

women’s political roles.

Another trend that can be seen in the data from Khyber TV is that most of the news items on

women’s political participation had a positive tone, however, when you look at the tone

of opinions being broadcast on TV, over 56% of them are using a negative tone and

connotations for women’s political roles.

The news items aired covered subjects like Malala Yousafzai’s recognition from Senate,

statements from leaders like Yaseem Rehman and coverage of Benazir Bhutto’s death

anniversary. By their very nature, the news items were positively toned and appeared

supportive of women’s role in politics.

However, in opinion pieces, including the programs focused on women’s participation in

politics, an apprehensive tone was adopted. Multiple programs on Imran Khan’s statement

25

against reserved seats for women were aired; criticism on a female politician’s decision to

change her political party affiliation was also the subject of multiple opinion based programs.

The data thus shows that the news stories used neutral or positive tones when reporting about

women’s political participation. However, the opinions expressed in current affairs programs

and/or in opinion pieces did not follow the same pattern and they reflected doubts over the

political participation of women.

Among the 21 news items monitored on Khyber and Geo TV, four news items featured

discouraging statements regarding women’s role in politics particularly the statement

‘election not selection’; there was no attempt on the part of media to neutralize the impact of

sexist statements by bringing a woman politician’s perspective.

Other news pieces also focused on Imran Khan’s opposition to reserved seats for women in

assemblies. However, another statement by a Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) official was

aired to praise and encourage the role of women in politics. Three news items were related to

Malala Yousufzai and related statements and all painted Malala Yousufzai in a positive light.

The news items identified as ‘negative’ were the ones in which negative statements about

women’s role in politics were aired without including any statement from women on those

statements. The broadcasts termed ‘positive’ contain support for women in politics; in this

particular sample the few items that have been categorized as supportive were about Malala

Yousufzai and Benazir Bhutto. Two items about Benazir Bhutto were broadcast on Khyber

TV – One of which was a comparison between Benazir Bhutto and Bashir Bilour. In both,

Benazir Bhutto’s role as a politician was shown in a positive and adulatory manner.

There were two instances in which affirmative action for women was discussed; the first

being Imran Khan’s opposition for reserved seats and the second was the Senate honoring

Malala Yousafzai with a “Dukhtar-e-Pakistan” [Daughter of Pakistan] title. In both cases,

media refrained from taking any obvious positions. Imran Khan’s discouragement and

ridicule for the affirmative action in parliament was aired without the addition of women’s

voices and the decision to honor Malala was also aired as it is, without any added

commentary or analysis.

26

Perceptions of Male and Female political participation

A common perception about coverage of women in politics is that the media usually presents

a stereotypical and negative image of female politicians and doesn’t really encourage

political participation for women.

The data gathered during the course of this survey shows that the ratio of sexist overtones

about women in politics is relatively low. In fact, a higher percentage of negative news

articles were written about male politicians.

Table 4: Perception of Male and Female Political Participation

Portrayal of female politicians in monitored news

articles

Medium Positive Negative Neutral

Newspapers 80% 20% 0%

Radio* 100% 0% 0%

TV 67% 33% 0%

Only one news item directly related to women’s

political participation was aired on radio during the

monitored period.

Portrayal of male politicians in monitored news

articles

Medium Positive Negative Neutral

Newspapers 50% 50% 0%

Radio 0% 0% 0%

TV 50% 44% 6%

The one news item directly related to women’s

political participation aired during the monitored

period on radio and it did not mention male

politicians.

27

As an example, take a look at this news item.

The headline Sabir Shah issues another show-cause

notice to Shazia omits the female politician’s surname,

thus treating her differently from her male counterpart.

Shazia Aurangzaib’s decision to join PPP, leaving her

PML-N membership has been the focus of 3 out of 7 news

stories on the theme. Among the 3 stories, only this one

actually includes a quote from Shazia Aurangzaib. The

rest are based only on quotes from male members of the

party, thereby representing lopsided perspectives.

Not only is her perspective given less coverage than her

male counterparts, the headlines of all three news items

portrays her in a disparaging manner.

The headlines are;

- “Shazia has committed political suicide: Dr

Khaleeq”

- “Sabir Shah issues another show-cause to Shazia”

- “PML-N ends Shazia’s KP assembly membership”

In all of these news items, Shazia Aurangzaib is portrayed as a political worker who has

committed a faux pas at best and there is no attempt to actually incorporate her perspectives

into the story. We know that she changed parties and that Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-

N) is unhappy with it but apart from a fleeting mention of ‘differences’ between her and party

leadership, the reasons behind her decision haven’t been explored. We are given the

impression that her perspective, even in a matter that directly concerns her own political

career is not important.

Likewise, other news items categorized in the negative category also give an overall negative

impression of female politicians. In one news item, PML-N’s new chairperson of KPK

28

women’s wing, Begum Tahira Bukhari, is quoted as saying “Women Members of the

Provincial Assembly (MPAs) who are elected on reserve seats should use funds after

consultation with party leadership as they are not elected through direct voting."

However, even though the news item contains a couple of quotes bringing the competency of

reserved seat for MPAs in question, the news item has been given a positive category as it

contains more positive references to women’s political participation than negative ones.

29

Figure 4: Tone of Coverage - Female vs Male

Tone of coverage of female politicians

(December 7-27, 2012)

Tone of coverage of male politicians

(December 7-27, 2012)

The single relevant news report that was aired on radio is a primer on ANP women’s

association and gives details on the role of the association.

All in all, the categorization of news items as positive or negative has been found dependent

upon the overall impression that the news gives about women and their role in politics.

However, here one has to consider the fact that these statistics are driven from a limited data

set and to gather a more comprehensive impression of how the media is presenting male and

female politicians, more varied data is necessary.

Positive

Positive

Positive

Negative

Negative

Newspapers Radio* TV

Positive

No news monitored

Positive

Negative Negative

Neutral

Newspapers Radio* TV

30

For this, desk research was conducted and the online editions of 3 English language national

newspapers including Dawn, The Nation and The Express Tribune were checked from

January 2011 to December 2012.

A random selection of around 150 news items containing references to male and female

politicians were analyzed. The analysis showed that the national newspapers are taking a

largely neutral tone for both male and female politicians.

If one looks at the data, it becomes obvious that neither the provincial nor the federal

newspapers actually cover women politicians as a special thematic issue as opposed to

focusing on generalities that ignore gender aspects of participatory politics. Women

politicians appear in news only when something significant occurs that involves them

directly. Barely any of them have been approached proactively to give a comment upon

general political developments. The number of news items that actually explore the question

and challenges of women’s participation in politics is almost non-existent.

As a case in point once again, consider the following opinion piece.

31

In this 3-column opinion piece on Polls and the Security Challenge, the issue of women’s

participation gets a small paragraph. Considering the fact that the turnout of female voters is

the lowest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA, the lack of priority for women voters is

alarming and goes on to show that the matter of women’s participation in politics is not

prioritized on the media’s radar.

32

In the mainstream media, women politicians’ voices appear more

often, but the difference in frequency of coverage is not because the

national media gives more priority to women in politics, rather, the

national papers cater to all assemblies, thus giving it a bigger

number of female politicians to cover. The coverage might be more

frequent, but it does not indicate that the national newspapers are

bringing in the gender perspective. The coverage is similar; offering

simple quotes from female politicians if and when they are directly

involved with the issue being covered. As with the vernacular press

there is no proactive, visible effort from the media to get gender

perspective on policies and legislations; there is barely any coverage

on the issue of women’s participation and a general look at the

political coverage in national papers as well as the vernacular press

gives the impression that politics is actually a male-only arena and

has implications for men only.

There is no visible difference in the way the 3 national newspapers gave profiled male and

female politicians. However, there is a difference in the frequency with which men and

women have appeared in the news. Male politicians from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa perhaps by

the virtue of being greater in number, also have a greater chance of making an appearance in

the national newspapers.

The issue of difference in the portrayal of male and female politicians was also discussed in

the focus group discussions. A male participant from Peshawar said that; “As far as news is

concerned, male politicians get more time as compared to female politicians. It has been

observed that speeches of male politicians get more time than the female in electronic media.

On the other hand, pictures of the females get more space than those of males.”

This opinion about media going to men for sound bites and women for pictures was seconded

by multiple participants, hinting towards the fact that even women making a name in politics

are being objectified by the media.

A female respondent of the survey commented: “For media, women are good only for

pictures - they are used to add visual value, not thematic clarity. When the reporters and

“As far as news is

concerned, male politicians

get more time as compare

to female politicians. It has

been observed that

speeches of male

politicians get more time

than the female in

electronic media. On the

other hand, pictures of

females get more space

than those of males.”

- A media reporter from

Peshawar

33

anchors want real opinions on serious matters, they turn to men. Even when women are

invited to talk shows, they are pitched against each other in hopes of an argument, which is

enjoyed more than arguments among male politicians.”

A female participant from Peshawar added: “Females are not taken seriously in the media.

Their point of view (opinion) about serious issues is not given due coverage. They are mostly

seen as unqualified for having opinions about ‘non-women related issues.’”

Another participant added that the media shows male politicians as being the dominant power

in decision making process.

Drivers of Change: Political Affirmative Action

A look at a randomly selected collection of related news items about KPK, published in

national newspapers, indicates similarly dismal trends – From January 2011 to December

2012, most of the stories that make a mention of women’s participation in politics are only

indirectly linked to policy making.

Pro-women legislations and efforts at affirmative action have not attracted much media

coverage.

In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-based newspapers only 2 news items were published about pro-

women’s legislation and 1 was about women-led legislation; all 3 adopted a positive tone and

showed appreciation and encouragement for affirmative action and pro-women’s legislation.

The single news piece aired on the monitored radio station did not make a mention of either

affirmative action or pro-women’s legislations. Khyber TV channel ran a news item and a

ticker linked to pro-women’s legislation and both the items adopted an encouraging tone for

such actions. In other words, radio and TV covered the theme differently – the former tided

over gender aspects of the coverage of legislation while the latter recognized that the

legislation was meant to empower women.

34

Frequency and tone of coverage on pro-women legislation and affirmative action

(December 7-27, 2012)

Table 5: Frequency and Tone of Coverage

Medium Number of

Items

Tone

Newspapers 2 Positive

Radio 0 N/A

TV 2 Positive

Similar trends were noticed in the media coverage national newspapers. While the media has

covered news about pro-women’s legislation from all the provinces, the coverage is lacking

in depth and infrequent.

Media-led Messages: Change Factors

Despite the lack of coverage, most of the respondents who took part in the research survey

and participated in the FGD believe that media has the power and the capacity to change

perceptions about the political participation of women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Figure 5: Media-led Change in Perception about Women's Political Participation in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Media can change

perceptions 65%

Media can't change

perceptions 35%

35

Participants of the focus group discussions said that media can play a pivotal role in voters’

education and media campaigns can help empower women politically. A participant from

Peshawar said that media can take advantage of its access to remote areas and those with low

literacy rates to change perceptions about women’s political participation.

The majority of the participants of the online survey said that their own perceptions regarding

women’s role in politics and political participation of women has changed due to media

messages.

Figure 6: Change in Perceptions due to Media-led Messages

However, when asked to define how their perceptions have changed and identify which news

items, advertisements or media campaigns have been effective in the perception’s change,

most of the respondents were hard pressed for answers. However, they were able to identify

the kind of the change their perceptions have undergone.

Perceptions have

changed 57%

Perceptions haven't changed

43%

36

Figure 7: Change in Perception by Media-led Messages about

Women's Political Participation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

One of the respondents said that she remembers the media coverage of female politicians

during Shazia Aurangzaib case and was impressed by their conviction and strength. She said

that the media gave full coverage to a female politician from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had a

difference of opinion with her party, and the media gave coverage to her opinion as well. The

respondent says that the coverage and the politician’s conviction in her perspective helped

her see female politicians as strong political entities.

Another respondent said that he remembers a current affairs show in which multiple female

politicians from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa talked about the issues they themselves face and the

program helped him form a more comprehensive impression about the difficulties of women

in the political arena in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Another respondent remembers the coverage when Nighat Orakzai was made provincial chief

of PML-Q. After Naseem Wali Khan, she was another female politician who was assigned to

lead a political party in KP. The media coverage helped highlight the image of women in a

leadership role and thus effected the perception of the respondent positively.

Slightly +ve change

44%

Very positive change

34%

Slightly negative change

15%

Very negative change

7%

Another respondent remembers the coverage when Nighat Orakzai was made provincial chief of PML-Q. After Naseem Wali Khan, she was another female politician who was assigned to lead a political party in KP. The media coverage helped highlight the image of women in a leadership role and thus effected the perception of the respondent positively.

37

Another respondent experienced a change in perception after listening to politician Mrs Sitara

Ayaz mostly getting good coverage on Deewa Radio and Mashaal Radio, and sharing details

about her whole life and politics.

A recent incident that seems to have changed perceptions about women’s political

participation is the targeted attack on the right to education’s young campaigner Malala

Yousafzai. Multiple media consumers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said that the media

coverage highlighted the intensity of anti-women sentiment.

Focus group participants from Peshawar highlighted that only powerful women manage to

get coverage in media. If they don’t have strong political backing – family etc – they hardly

get attention.

Overall, participants agreed that women as politicians are invisible in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

based media. Nevertheless, the limited appearance of women on media has shown their role

in politics. However limited, the coverage of women politicians has brought change in the

public perception about women’s political participation.

38

CHAPTER 5: Recommendations

Need for increased coverage

It is alarming to see such little space being dedicated to the cause of women’s participation in

politics so near the elections. In a province like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has a history of

excluding women from the political process, the media needs to take up the cause with

dedication. There is a definite need for increased coverage on the theme in all newspapers,

radio and television. More time for a women related agenda should be expressed by media.

Improving the profile of women in media

According to the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), less than 5% of 17,000

journalists in Pakistan are women, about 750 only. There is a need for correcting the

imbalance in media when it comes to gender representation. More women reporters, sub-

editors, directors and photographers can help improve the gender perspectives in media.

Voter education

Media can play a pivotal role in voters’ education and it is vital that the media accepts and

takes up its role as an educator, especially before the elections. There is a dire need for

increased participation of women in political affairs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and there is no

force better than the media to initiate an attitude change regarding women’s participation in

the electoral and political process.

Campaigning for women’s political empowerment

Media campaigns can be launched for women’s political empowerment. The campaigning

should be done for increased inclusiveness and a more prominent role for women in the

political sphere. The campaigns can include success stories of women leaders and politicians

and present politics as a positive subject matter.

39

Initiating the gender debate in political manifestos

Manifestoes of the parties should be compared and analyzed for gender positive attitudes.

The political parties form the foundation of parliamentary democracy and unless media can

build pressure on political parties to ensure gender equity within their own systems, it won’t

translate into the national political sphere. This debate is even more important in a region like

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as political parties themselves have entered in formal agreements

barring women from casting their votes.

Building a positive image

Media can portray positive images of women political personalities through engaging

women. Media should approach grass-roots communities and their women leaders and high

light positive images, highlight role models, etc. Media should show success stories of

women parliamentarians in Pakistan and around the world. Successful case studies of women

as change makers should be highlighted by media

Sustained effort for attitude change

Media can bring change in the minds of the society, about women. Media should make the

people realize that women’s voices matter and their votes count. For this, there is a need for a

conscious and sustained effort on the media’s part to bring about a change in attitude.

Giving voice to voiceless

The lack of coverage of women and their political aspirations especially from remote areas is

resulting in women’s marginality. Media should go to under-reported areas (geographically

and thematically) and bring the voices of women in those areas to light.

Capacity building of reporters

40

Better coverage of the political issues of women would not be possible without a better

understanding of the thematic area. Reporters and other media practitioners should be trained

and equipped with an increased thematic understanding of politics and women’s role in

politics. In a region like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it is also very important to ensure that

capacity building efforts also train reporters to navigate through the culturally subversive

norms to ensure that they can talk and report on the political participation of women without

causing any agitation which can backfire.

Capacity building of women politicians

Improved skills in political communications for women politicians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

should be a priority considering their general failure to engage the media in pushing forth not

just specific political messages but also the profile of women in provincial politics.

Political communications training for CSOs

The development sector is a vibrant sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, engaged in advocacy and

orientations of stakeholders in political empowerment. However, their general interface with

the media is based around the need for publicity instead of building skills of media on

thematic issues so that the issue of building a greater public profile of women in provincial

politics is addressed. Training on political communications of the CSOs is necessary to help

media educate themselves about the significance and scale of women’s involvement in

politics so that sensitization the issue leads to informed and prioritized reporting.

I

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http://pemra.gov.pk/pemra/images/docs/stv/list_. Last accessed 20th December 2012.

Shahid, Jamal. (2012). Nadra does not have biometric data of 3.72m women voters.

Available: http://dawn.com/2012/12/26/nadra-does-not-have-biometric-data-of-3-72m-

women-voters/. Last accessed 02nd Jan 2013

The Express Tribune. (2012). Participation of women in polls. Available:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/484986/participation-of-women-in-polls/. Last accessed 02nd

of

Jan 2013.

Uks Foundation. (2010). More women in Media: The Way Forward. Available:

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/MORE_WOMEN_IN_MEDIA.pdf. Last

accessed 20th Dec 2012

Uks Foundation. (2009). More Women in News and Views. Available:

http://www.uksresearch.com/PublicationsPDFs/more%20women%20in%20news%20and%2

0views.pdf. Last accessed 20th Dec 2012

III

ANNEXURE I

Questionnaire on media messaging and change in public perception of female

politicians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

1. Have you seen any coverage of female politicians and political participation of

women in media?

a. Yes

b. No

2. Do you think that newspapers in KP are giving ample news coverage to female

politicians and political participation of women?

a. Yes

b. No

3. Do you think that radio in KP is giving ample news coverage to female

politicians and political participation of women?

a. Yes

b. No

4. Do you think that television in KP is giving ample news coverage to female

politicians and political participation of women?

a. Yes

b. No

5. Do you think that media can play a role in changing perceptions about political

participation of women in KP?

a. Yes

b. No

6. Has your own perception about female politicians or women’s participation in

politics changed due to media coverage or messaging?

a. Yes

b. No

IV

7. If yes, please briefly explain how your perceptions have changed.

8. Do you remember any particular news / program / advertisement about female

politicians in KP or women’s participation in politics?

a. Yes

b. No

9. If yes, please share which news item do you remember and why.

V

Annexure II

FGD Questionnaire

Media messaging and change in public perception of female politicians in Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa

1. Do you think that newspapers in KP are giving ample news coverage to female

politicians and political role of women? How does the coverage in vernacular press

differ from national papers’ coverage?

2. Do you think that radio in KP is giving ample news coverage to female politicians? Is

there a need for increased coverage?

3. Do you think that television in KP is giving ample news coverage to female

politicians and / or highlighting debates on need of increased political participation of

women?

4. In your opinion, is there a difference in the way media treats and portrays male and

female politicians?

5. What role do you think media can play in changing perceptions about political

participation of women in KP?

6. How has your perception about female politicians or women’s participation in politics

changed due to media coverage or messaging?

7. What do you find missing in the current media coverage of female politicians?

8. How can media improve the image, coverage and profiling of women politicians in

KP?

9. How can media play a role in encouraging political participation of women (voters) in

KP?

VI

Annexure III

Coverage in Newspapers

General Categories Affirmative Action

S.

No Date Newspapers Type Theme Subject Tone Context

1 Dec,10,2013 Frontier Post News indirectly about politics Political Statements unsupportive AA within parties

2 Dec,10,2013 Frontier Post News Directly about politics policies Supportive AA during elections

3 DEC,13,2013 Wahdat News indirectly about politics legislation led by women Supportive AA within Parliament

4 Dec,14,2013 The News News Directly about politics policies unsupportive AA within parties

5 Dec,26,2013 The News News indirectly about politics Election Related News Supportive AA within Gov.

6 Dec,26,2013 The News Opinion indirectly about politics Pro-women Legislation Supportive AA within Gov.

7 Dec,27,2013 Aaj Opinion indirectly about politics Pro-women Legislation Supportive AA within Gov.

Coverage in Radio

General Categories Affirmative Action

S. Date Radio Stations Type Theme Subject Tone Context

VII

No

1 Dec,11,2012 FM Dilbar Charsadda News Directly about politics Political Statements Supportive AA within parties

Coverage on TV

General Affirmative Action

Headline

TV

Channel Type Theme Subject Tone Context

Discussion on BB

Khyber

TV Opinion

Directly about

politics Other Supportive Other

Ticker on president visit to Malala`s health

Khyber

TV News

indirectly about

politics

Pro-women

Legislation Supportive

AA within

Gov.

Party changing of women politicians

Khyber

TV News

Directly about

politics

Election Related

News neutral

AA within

parties

Training about female workers

Khyber

TV News

indirectly about

politics Other Supportive Other

Criticism of Nighat Aurangzeb

Khyber

TV Opinion

Directly about

politics

Political

Statements unsupportive

AA within

Parliament

Program hum bhi Pakistan hain

Khyber

TV Opinion

indirectly about

politics

Political

Statements unsupportive

AA during

elections

VIII

Yasmeen Rehman say about rules n laws

Khyber

TV News

Directly about

politics Legislation Supportive Other

Makhamakh

Khyber

TV Opinion

indirectly about

politics policies Supportive Other

Headline

Khyber

TV News

Directly about

politics

legislation led by

women unsupportive

AA within

Gov.

Headline related with female workers

Khyber

TV News

indirectly about

politics Other Supportive Other

News about Nighat Aurangzeb about polio

Khyber

TV News

indirectly about

politics

Pro-women

Legislation Supportive

AA within

Gov.

Dateline Peshawar

Khyber

TV Opinion

Directly about

politics

Election Related

News Supportive

AA during

elections

Discouraging statement about women role in

election

Khyber

TV Opinion

Directly about

politics

Political

Statements unsupportive N/A

Discouraging statement about women role in

election

Khyber

TV Opinion

Directly about

politics

Election Related

News unsupportive

AA during

elections

Discouraging statement about women role in

election

Khyber

TV Opinion

Directly about

politics

Election Related

News unsupportive N/A

Discouraging statement about women role in

election

Khyber

TV Opinion

Directly about

politics

Election Related

News unsupportive N/A

Asad Qaiser PTI was positive for female Khyber Opinion Directly about Election Related Supportive AA during

IX

politicians TV politics News elections

Benazir vs Bashir Bilour

Khyber

TV Opinion

indirectly about

politics

Election Related

News Supportive N/A

Malala conference address Geo News

indirectly about

politics Other Supportive

AA within

Gov.

Senate accept Malala as Dukhtar-e-Pakistan Geo News

indirectly about

politics Other Supportive Other

Imran khan statement Geo News

Directly about

politics

Election Related

News unsupportive N/A

Annexure IV

Indicators of Quality Reporting

1. Subject Oriented: This indicator establishes thematic focus

The media item should have been written/produced with a clear focus on women in politics in KPK (and not be part of a media item that has

another key focus on a non-KPK issue)

2. Case Study/Example: This indicator establishes stakeholder perspectives

The report should have a specific reference to a sub-theme on women in KPK politics and should have at least one case study – highlighting /

talking to a beneficiary/affectee in the report

X

3. Expert Opinion: This indicator establishes independent expert analysis

The report should incorporate views/opinions/perspectives of at least one subject expert gender and/or politics.

4. Research, Reference & Source: This indicator establishes context, scale and scope of topic

The report should incorporate facts, figures or statistics related to issues related to women in KPK politics in general or sub-theme and/or

references to laws, treaties and/or conventions on the subject of political and civil rights, etc.

XI