Media, and women: Monotone discussion and
الصفحة الرئيسية > تقارير الرصد الإعلامي > Media, and women: Monotone discussion...
Media, and women: Monotone discussion and failure in dealing with the substantive issues
Iraqi women have been subject to various conditionsprevailed in the Iraqi society; starting with traditions which were a real threat to them, to the wars through which Iraq has been, and the continuous violence, which has been resulting from sectarian fight and the retraction of civic values in the shade of the political Islamic parties dominating the Iraqi scene. Those conditions led to a retraction in the women’s role in the society, what reflected, directly or indirectly, on the media discussion of women’s issues.
This is why Iraqi media house is devoting its 17th report to observe the handling of Iraqi women’s issues in Iraqi media, looking inside a sample of journals, magazines and websites, and preparing reportages to find out media views of women, who are “the half of the world”. The conclusion is as follows:
First: media outlets specialized in women’s issues
- Narjes magazine http://www.narjesmag.com/
a monthly magazine published by Al Madainstitution for media, culture and arts
- The magazine allocates columns for female journalists or female activists, and sometimes for male activists. It presents different views regarding women’s recent issues and women’s rights. You can download a copy of the magazine from its website.
Examples of the titles in the magazine:
- Divorced women’s solidarity fund
- In your day ma’am
- An argument between two ideas
- The magazine published a set of reportages regarding women,
For example:
- Celibacy: waiting for “the super man” or compromising to have just a husband!
- Fighters’ wives: between life hardships and their husbands’ suspicions
- Early marriage: a murdered childhood and a lost motherhood!
- the magazine has a special section to publish press kit regarding students, especially university students, either males or females,
Examples:
- university study: the first chance for marriage
- 80% of university students commit mistakes in Arabic writing
- University students: “we are searched for uniforms as if we were terrorists!”
- The magazine publishes a special part in every issue, discussing some issues with their consequences and causes. Those issues are not required to be relating to women’s issues.
Examples:
- The city’s curse: people from Baghdad agree that extravagance and neglect of public funds are the main negatives of our society
- Homosexuality: pleasure among religion, traditions, and nature
- Marriage of female minors: poverty, tribal traditions, and the justifications of al Ja’fari law
- The magazine interviews women who could have a fame in the Iraqi scene and publishes the meetings in “Iraqiat” section
Examples:
- Shorouq Al Abaiji: I hold the concerns of Iraqi women with me
- Dean of faculty of science “prof. Inas Al Rebai’i”, the first female dean in Babylon University
- Prof. In’am Al Tamimi: my principal at school encouraged me to study medicine
- “Iraqiat” section also includes reports about women who appeared on the international scene, showing their biographies,
Examples:
- The pioneer woman ZahaHadid: I seek inspiration from the intermixture of the Mesopotamian marshes and the modern cities
- Abeer Al Sahlani: The Iraqi woman whom Iraq did not lose
- The magazine has a section titled “Ra’edat” , in which it publishes the biographies of Iraqi and Arab women, who have key role in their societies,
Examples:
- Nazik Al Mala’ekah 1923-2007
- The oldest ideal driver in Baghdad
- Khadijah Al Hadithi
- The magazine contains other sections for women issues (like: beauty, fashion, parenting… etc), in addition to general topics about arts and sports,
Examples:
- Skirts are back to fashion world
- How to get rid of menstrual cramps
- Sayings about beautiful women
- Iraqiyat website http://www.iraqiyat.org/
A website that presents press kits relating to women and their needs and issues.
- The website publishes articles for female journalists and activists in a section titled “Mudawinat”,
Examples:
- Jobs and women!
- Female violence against each other
- Marriage and interests
- The website also publishes topics about the recent wome’s events in a section titled “recent news”,
Examples:
- Iraqi women condemn marginalizing women and ruling them out of senior positions
- An Iraqi female refugee in Greece sells bread to survive
- The statement of the Kurdish women association in march 8th and march 10th
- The website publishes interviews with female activists and reportages on women’s issues in a section titled “Mujtama’”,
Examples:
- Female beggars in Baghdad: victims of specialized networks and prostitution rings
- Lawful clinics and listening centers: a refuge for oppressed battered women
- Chief of the humanitarian relief association for the Turkmen women in Iraq: we work hard to serve society, and we do not belong to any group or party
- Iraqiyat website publishes stories of Iraqi or international women, who did exceptional and effective works in their societies. Those stories are published either as interviews or as biographies,
Examples:
- Zakiyyah Ismael Heqqi: the first female judge in Iraq and the Arab world
- Captain Faiza Al Azzawi: one of the very first female Iraqi pilots
- Al Khansa’aMalak Al Rahmah from Sinjar mountains: the first female doctor helping refugees
- The website publishes common topics that could be important for women like; health, décor, shopping, and other topics.
- Taklami website http://www.takalami.org/
A websiteconcerned of women issues, presenting video or written press kit.
- The website presents video press kit on issues that may concern women or that they are involved in,
Examples:
- A report about story maker workshop, conducted by “Bo Bishehwah” organization for human development
- A woman against sighted people
- The story of the Bedouin Zahwa and the landfill in Al Diwaniyyah
- The website presents literary topics written by women on different women’s issues in a section titled “Li Ajliha”,
Examples:
- Me following Adam.. an unforgivable sin
- You are mine!
- A pen talking for itself!
- The website publishes press kit and studies for women from other websites,
Examples:
- Two Iraqi women among the 100 most influential persons in the world
- How far will verbal harassment go?
- Trusting female lawyers
- Nakhlah News http://www.nakhlanews.com/news.php
- A News page concerns women’s issues. It is published by Bint Al Rafidain website, but it is no longer issued ,
Examples:
- Creativity power in Iraqi women emerge in handwoven tapestry
- Al Baldawi suggests to al Abadi to obligate all blocs of handing over names of two male candidates and one female candidate for each ministry
- In its conference on “the weakness of women’s role in the political process” :Bint Al Rafidain is hosting the ruling parties and asking: why?
Second: general media outlets
- Journals:
- Al Zaman : http://www.azzaman.com/
Al Zaman journal is distinguished of discussing several issues concerning women, like violence, society oppression, and harassment.
For example:
- Al Zaman journal published an article titled “violence against women” by Inas Mohammad Hussain, in which she discussed violence phenomenon against women inside houses, committed by fathers, husbands and others. At the end of her article, the author suggests that women should recognize her importance and the importance of her role at her house and in her society. This article was published in March 23rd 2016.
- Mushtaq Al Jlehawi Al Rba’i wrote in March 16th 2016 an article titled “women and society’s enmity”, in which he discusses the discrimination between women and men in society; suggesting that women are deprived of most of their rights because of traditions, but he doesn’t suggest any resolutions or recommendations to help stop this phenomenon.
- Khaled Al Khazraji discusses the daily issue of harassment of girls in his article “harassment and our social values”, in which he describes guys who practice it as “extremists”, demanding Iraqi media to expose those who practice harassment and discuss this issue just like Egyptian media did to get the attention of ministry of interior to do all needed to protect women. This article was in February 27th 2016.
The journal published articles of common topics like women’s beauty and health,
For example:
- Study: the frequent use of talcum powder by women could cause ovarian cancer
- Different opinions on the relationship between talcum powder and ovarian cancer
- A law to encourage women to abort
- Al Mada journal : http://www.almadapaper.net/ar/
This journal has a special section for women, although articles are rarely published in this section. Articles are divided on the other sections as follows:
Beauty and health,
Examples:
- Medical consultation: the risks of using slimming drugs for women
- OB/GYN specialists to Al Mada: here are the symptoms of pregnancy
- Pregnant women and medical consultation
Women and Arts,
Examples:
- In Al Mada’s morning: AmalTaha is leaving
- Al Madafamily beatifies the senior of international architecture ZahaHadid
- Sherihan to “Al Mada”: if I’m invited to sing in Baghdad, I’ll accept the invitation
Articles and News related to women’s issues
- In Erbil book fair: a conference discussing women’s role in reformation process
- Iraqi women association demand to call corrupted persons to account and to involve women in the technocracy
- The week’s issue: men’s cruelty against their wives.. submission and patience fearing an ambiguous future
- “women in Al diwaniyyah do not recognize the daysand others call for equality, amid calls to be just with them”, is a title for an article discussing the story of women working in a food factory, and the suffering of Iraqi women who are affected by the bad economic conditions and traditions.
- Together against women’s enslavement and exploitation: an article discussing families’ violence against women
- Al Sabah Al Jadid journal : http://www.newsabah.com/wp/
The journal discusses women’s issues from different aspects, including short discussions and articles like:
- “Women’s oppression”, in which the journal discussed ISIS violations to women’s rights, starting with enslaving to selling and booby-trapping them.
- “the levels of women’s oppression”, an article discusses traditions that push girls to early marriage
- Incitement: the curse that erodes the fabric of society… female students are the most affected by it
The journal has also published articles about women’s health, such as:
- What is the period a woman should wait before she gets pregnant?
- Alternative drugs to serve instead of the first enemy of women, the chemical treatment
- The first center for obesity treatment in Sulaimaniyyah is open now
In addition to all of the aforementioned topics, the journal publishes other common topics relating to women, like:
- Men feel a woman’s beauty by her voice
- Recent study: women are smarter than men
- Never lose your femininity by those behaviors
- Al Mashreq journal : http://www.al-mashriq.net/
Articles about women in this journal are divided into
- news about women, like:
- The UN: 51% of refugees are women, and there are more than 1 million widows in Iraq
- The independent: the metal clip, a new instrument for ISIS to punish women in Mosul
- Female judges: increase of family violence crimes, 90% of the victims are women
- Few articles discussing women’s issues, like:
- Rights denial: one sort of violence against women
- Common articles concerning women, like:
- The types of women you should never marry
- The woman whom men never forget
- Women’s obsession of buying skin rejuvenation creams
- Al Alam journal
This journal has published several articles discussing some issues concerning women, like:
- Violence against women, and the female slaves in the past and present
- “your eyes are not the judge”, an article that condemns the male dominated view towards women
- 5 thousand women included in the social donations in Babylon
Other articles on women are published in this journal, like:
- Peshmerga female fighters celebrate Nowruz in training camps
- A Kurdish female fighter: Jihadi fighters feel scared of Peshmerga female fighters
- A national organization: ISIS’s practices against the women in Sinjar and Al Anbar have created a “horrible” crisis in the region
No articles on beauty, makeup, or health have been found in this journal.
- Al Adalah journal
This journal has published few articles on women. Some discussed women’s issues, while the others contained news about women. For example:
- Al Hmood calls to create an independent structure to demand for women’s rights
- UN: Iraqi women’s participation in decision making is limited, although of the high level of their representation in the parliament
- Al Jbooriemphasizes on granting women their rights by the intended reformation
- Ministry of labor intends to coverthe deserving women who live in the home of aged in the social security
Third: websites:
- Al Ghad press : http://alghadpress.com/ar/
This website is distinguished by its coverage of all events concerning women; like crimes, events, or conferences. For example:
- A woman is kidnapped from her house Southeast Baghdad
- The ministry of interior fires a policeman who assaulted a woman
- The Iraqi institute calls for the activation of international resolutions concerning women
In addition to that, it published articles on all women’s issues, including health, such as:
- A study: coffee shrinks the size of breasts and eliminates the danger of breast cancer
- Women fall in love at the sixth sight
- Ascarislumbricoides: a new treatment to increase women’s fertility
- Al Iraq News Network : http://aliraqnews.com/
Most of the articles on women’s issues in this website are news of accidents, statements, seminars, meetings, or conferences concerning women, such as:
- Human rights: 3500 missing Ezidi persons, half of them are women
- ISIS opens a bazaar to sell Ezidi and Christian women in Mosul
- Haifa’aZankanah: it would not be possible to liberate women without liberating the country itself
The site presents also articles on common topics concerning women, like:
- Women are better than men in software
- Women have a negative effect on men in wars
- The woman in love and the drunk man.. and the hidden world of women
The website rarely publishes articles on medical topics concerning women, like:
- Women are more prone to have heart diseases
- Vitamin D grants women balance
- Ayn Al Iraq News : http://aynaliraqnews.com/
This site is one of the websites that rarely publishes materials concerning women’s issues. And when it publishes any of it, it concentrates on the news, like:
- Al Jboori: ISIS kidnaps women in Al Shirqat and we should liberate them quickly
- One woman accused of terrorism arrested in Waset
- Two bodies for stabbed woman and man found northeast Baghdad
- Noon News agency
This website has published several news and reports concerning women, but it lacks articles that discuss women’s issues. Examples:
- Isis kidnaps 35 women in Mosul
- 30 Ezidi women are liberated from Isis and the head of the chemical division is arrested
- A female child of ISIS executes five women, including a female doctor west of Nineveh
- The oldest female protester in the world dies
It includes also medical articles, like:
- What should pregnant women do during their pregnancy.. a report
- Warnings for women of using Flagyl during pregnancy
- A treatment for breast cancer in 11 days
- Al Somariyyah News
Al Somariyyah News has a special section for women, though it doesn’t discuss women’s issues or their problems. The articles in this section are limited to women’s beauty, gracefulness, and health, in addition to cooking, for example:
- Five things every woman hates in men
- The easiest three recipes to lighten your lips
- Three kinds of food that burn fats quickly
It publishes also news and reports about women, like:
- Female protesters in the parliament and the green zone leave the protests
- Women’s committee criticizes the new government and demand a good representation for women
- Judges: traditions and women’s shyness decrease harassment lawsuits
- Iraqi Media Network
This website has no special section for women, though it presents many articles concerning women, health and makeup. It is noticed that there is a complete absence of articles discussing women’s issues and problems. Here are some titles from the website:
Health
- Would coffee save women from cancer?
- Tools and tests to diagnose female sterility
- The importance of Salmonids for pregnant women
Common topics like makeup and beauty
- What would happen if women stop wearing makeup?
- 3 recipes for hands-care after washing dishes
- Is it fair to compare high heels to men’s suits?
News concerning women
- Women go out in mass demonstration to demand for reformation
- ISIS kills women and mutilate their bodies
- Old women: everybody should participate to help our country go through this crisis
Fourth: interviews
- Nermin Al Mufti… how would Iraqi media defend women while it doesn’t agree on crucial national issues
Nermin Al Mufti, journalist and civil rights activist, considered media coverage of women’s issues “so weak to the extent that the audience never sees it”, referring that to “the society’s oppression of women’s rights”.
The weakness of media coverage of women’s issues arises also from “the pressure addressed by the society; because of war, violence, occupation and other elements”, Al Mufti, chief of Al Qal’a Turkmenistan journal, said. What makes women and children “the biggest loser”, she added.
Al Mufti believes that activating media role in covering women’s issues will happen only when media practices “its real professional role”. She explains that Iraqi media “is controlled, even when it comes to discuss our national issues, which we’re supposed to stand together to solve and defend”.
Iraqi media “was never united to defend our crucial national issues, so how would it defend women’s issues and problems”, Al Mufti explains, “it is very important to have real professional uncontrolled media. A media that knows Iraqi people very well and understands their issues, so they discuss it bravely. Only this kind of media will be able to discuss women’s issues and solve their problems”.
- Ammar Al Sawad..Iraqi media has been marginal in covering the Ezidi women issue, some media outlets even used this issue for sectarian purposes
Iraqi media was “marginal in the issue of Ezidi women comparing it to the role that the western media played”,Ammar Al Sawad, TV. Anchor in Al Hurrah Iraq channel, said in an interview with Iraqi media house. The western media, the American and European, “had most of the information regarding the issue, while Iraqi media was marginal”, he added.
Al Sawad accused Iraqi media of “making enslaving the Ezidi women issue subject to sectarian considerations”, explaining that some media outlets “ignored the issue, while others used it in its sectarian war.”
- AfrahShawqi: Iraqi media failed to discuss women’s issues. Its coverage to it was “monotone and traditional”
Iraqi media as “an imitator of many events in the Arab world, has failed in dealing with Iraqi women, although Iraqi women are distinguished from the world’s women of being through years of wars, siege, sectarian fight, difficult tribal laws, and the absence of rule of law”, the journalist AfrahShawqi said in an interview with Iraqi media house. Iraqi media “discussed women’s issues in a monotone and traditional way, like talking about a powerful working woman who cares about her family, or a woman in a senior position that only men used to be in, or concentrating on stories of successful women who turned into media ideals for all those who want to talk about women, this is how a lot of stories are ignored, stories of women who suffered from sexual harassment, torture in prisons, social violence represented in the power of tribes, family violence (the husband’s control and the excessive power that brothers and fathers have), rough work (women working in bricks workshops, agriculture, or searching waste).”
Shawqi, who is a member in the national union for Iraqi journalists, refers this to “the dependence and reliance of some journalists, they even don’t bother themselves in searching for new stories about women, then writing it. So they prefer to imitate and publish the traditional material about beauty, fashion, haircuts, the health of pregnant women, and other topics”.
AfrahShawqi believes that Iraqi media, regarding the Ezidi women issue, “failed to cover the tragedy of the Ezidi women and female refugees. Even the information we had about their numbers, their locations, and the social status of some of them after being liberated, not only were inaccurate, but even they were not coming from trusted official sides, except for some humanitarian non-governmental rights organizations, that concentrated on their status and on preparing detailed reports for media, because some women were in unsafe locations”.
The coverage of Ezidi women’s conditions “was limited only to the time of the crisis”, Shawqi added,“and it failed covering most of the issues of female refugees and enslaved women after being liberated, or even pressing on the government to take its responsibility.”
Shawqi believes that “the tight society structure hindered the concentration on those stories, which many have even tried to hide or deny, fearing tribes and revenge consequences, in addition to distrust in the people around.”
In her answer on a question by Iraqi media house about Iraqi media role to cover women’s issues, and if it is positive or negative, AfrahShawqi stressed that Iraqi media “was never successful in covering women’s issues for many reasons; like being focused on the political affairs at the expense of all other issues, in addition to perpetuating the image of women, who are substandard, in the Iraqi parliament, since their work became limited to political groupings of the fighting ruling parties.”
Fifth: notes:
- Shallowness and conventionality dominated the Iraqi media coverage to women’s issues, although women are the half of the society.
- Attention to women’s issues and affairs are not among the priorities of Iraqi media outlets, which are busy in the political, security, and economic issues. This is why their discussion of women’s issues reflected women’s situation in the society, and the parties’ and Islamic powerful structures’ view, in the shade of the weakness of civic groups.
- Media outlets focused on the suffering of women because of emigration or mistreatment because of traditions, but they never suggested ways to deal with that.
- Media outlets have rarely discussed laws that protect women and their rights, and negative and positive sides of those laws.
- International media surpassed the national media in covering the stories of some Iraqi women, who achieved a lot in their communities, such like the architect ZahaHadid, or in telling the world about their suffering, just like what happened with the Ezidi activist who survived ISIS’s kidnapping, Nadyah Murad.
Sixth: recommendations
- It is very important that media pays more attention to women’s issues and monitoring the violations they might be subject to and expose it, taking the protecting violence victims, staying away from exploiting women’s issues, and increasing the awareness ofwomen’s role in the society into account.
- To give women a greater chance to occupy senior positions in media institutions.
