Ahmedabad, Date: 06/03/2020

Under the aegis of Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Press Information Bureau-Ahmedabad in association with Department of Communication and Journalism, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, a Round Table Conference on “Women in Media: An Overview” to mark International Women’s Day today in Ahmedabad.

 

The Round Table Conference was conducted in three sessions. The first session focused on Role of Women in Film and Theatre. The second session elaborated on Role of Women in Print Media. The third session was on Role of Women in Electronic Media.

 

Dr Dhiraj Kakadia, Additional Director General, PIB addressed the gathering by speaking about the overall contribution of women towards their family, profession, media and society. He mentioned that under the dynamic leadership and directions from Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Mrs Smriti Irani, Minister, such Round Table Conferences are being organised by PIB Units across the country. He said that the innate qualities that women possess should be appreciated not only on one day i.e. Women’s Day but also throughout the year.

 

Speaking on women in theatre and film media, Annapurnaben Shukla, Gujarati film actress said that earlier women were not respected in the field of theatre and in fact they were discouraged to take up this job. But today, women in theatre and films have earned laurels for their talent.

 

Ms Aditi Thakar, theatre and film artiste/ producer emphasized the importance of women becoming decision-makers in the media field and having technical knowledge. Women should be respected in all fields. She said Kasturba Baa stood like a pillar of strength with Mahatma Gandhiji. Keeping this and many other real-life experiences, protagonists in her plays are always women. She concluded that the depiction of women in a negative manner in this media should be objected.

 

Ms Artiben Patel, film artiste and film-maker said that instead of showing clashes in family in commercial serials, more compassionate stories can be depicted. It is always difficult to do something different. It is important to be courageous. Bold steps do not necessarily require lot of thinking. We must march ahead with moral values.

 

Speaking on women in print media, Mr Ajay Umat, Editor, Navgujarat Samay daily shared his experiences with respect to the evolving journey of women in print media over the years. He said that now more women are taking up journalism courses and more and more women are being recruited in this field.

 

Ms Dipal Trivedi, Editor, Ahmedabad Mirror newspaper emphasized that reporting of soft beats like health, education and lifestyle should not be restricted to women reporters, but they should be given responsibility of covering crime, financial and sports news also. She said that women should not be looked at as secondary bread winners. Women should not be discriminated for salary and promotion. She quoted a report which said that all over the world, only 3 % women get pay equal to that of a man.

 

Ms Jyoti Unadkat, Former Editor, Sandesh newspaper and Abhiyaan magazine said that women should forget about all limitations and proceed towards their goals.

 

Speaking on the role of women in electronic media, Dr Sonal Pandya, Head of Department, Dept of Communication and Journalism, Gujarat University spoke about the role of women in regional electronic media and related policy-making.

 

Ms Pooja Dalal, freelancer said that there are many women RJs in Ahmedabad who draw very high salary and have earned respect of and popularity among listeners. She said that India as a nation is unique due to its diverse demographics and hence people have different philosophies ranging from orthodox to traditional to modern. Women hence face many obstacles but they are overcoming all problems. 

 

Ms Sandhya Panchal, anchor, News18 Gujarati TV channel said that she had no Godfather in this field of media and was completely new to it, and yet she has attained success due to the support of her family and organizations she worked in. She said that she hopes to see a day in future when women will not have to speak about their struggles any more.

 

All the three sessions concluded with question and answer rounds.

 

PIB and Dept of Communication and Journalism felicitated those exemplary women professionals who through the platform of information and communication have reached the last female citizens in the process of development,. The women professionals felicitated were: Ms Sejal Dand, Anandi NGO; Ms Mital Patel, Vicharta Samuday Samarthan Manch NGO; and Ms Suniti Sharma, SEWA NGO. The women-achievers gave very motivational messages to the gathering on women empowerment.

 

SD/JP

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