There was a time when ‘Journalism’ was considered one of the non-traditional professions for Indian women. Main reason being, that all along Journalism had been a male dominated profession despite the fact that women have played a significant role in the 19th and 20th Centuries in the field of book publishing and periodical journalism. During the freedom movement activists such as Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay, Sarojini Naidu, and Aruna Asaf Ali were known as “Daughters of Liberty” to Newspaper readers of that generation.
But after such magnificent history, women got somewhere lost in this field. Careers in Communication and Media concentrated in the urban sectors specially in the Metropolitan cities. Women mainly preferred editorial work or wrote regular columns in Newspapers as Music critics, Art critics, Fashion critics, etc. There were many who took up the responsibility of bringing ‘problems faced by women’ to light. However very few women opted to take up positions as reporters and correspondents in the Daily Press. I am in no-way trying to say that these women preferred to go the easy way or their work was not important, they are as a matter of fact equally responsible for showing us the light and the path for a brighter and stronger future.
I must be 13 or 14 years old, when the in-famous ‘Babri Masjid’ demolitian incident took place. I remember watching the footage of the racial attacks and mob fights that were taking place at the Masjid sight. Some of these footage and newspaper reports were covered by women journalists such as Anita Pratap. Many of these women were harassed, beaten, raped by the ruthless mob but that did not detter or dampen the spirits of these courageous women. For me, this was an eye-opener to the fact that we can match up to our male counterparts and can handle equal responsibilities in whatever aspect necessary.
Today, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that South Asia is one of the most dangerous regions in the world for women journalists, Bangladesh is considered the worst among the Asian countries. In some countries, they are threatened by attacks from gangsters & political parties; religious fundamentalists harass journalists and media workers. However, this has not discouraged journalists, who continue to push the boundaries of freedom, navigating through the conflicts that affect the nations and keeping their communities informed with news and thoughtful analysis.
Couple of days ago, sting operation ‘Operation Duryodhana’ carried out by Cobrapost.com and the news channel Aaj Tak took the headlines. They conducted a sting operation in which we were shown 11 Indian MPs accepting money to ask questions in the Indian parliament. One of the main person behind this exposé is Suhasini Raj. In the words of Aniruddha Bahal (head of Operation Duryodhana), “Suhasini Raj, the reporter, was inserted in the field with an alias of “Namita Gokhaleâ€, had a past selling insurance and was a fast talker. Never at a loss for words, she ended up doing an extraordinary job on the field, surviving several anxious moments when many middlemen and even MPs got their antennae up.”
The guts of this women is commendable. She carried her self thru intense and dangerous situations without any fear. One can’t even begin to imagine what she must be feeling when a lecherous minister leads her to his bedroom and passes comments such as “Aapke paas deh hai na (You have your body to offer)†and “Rukenge hamare yahaan (Will you stay at my place?)â€. It’s people like her who restore our faith back in investigative journalism, after the shameful attempt made by India TV and Ms. Ruchi for their ‘casting couch’ sting operation.
For me Suhasini is no less than Anita Pratap and Barkha Dutt (Barkha shot to fame as one of the best-known journalists in the country because of her highly commendable journalistic work during the Kargil War in 1999). She has shown exceptional courage and bravery in the face of danger and strengthen the role of women in the news media, based on the belief that “nothing is impossible”.
And I have a strong feeling that this is just the beginning…..
wanting to scream out loud, hoping that so-called “TV gurus†would hear our plead one day. This entry was posted on Friday, October 28th, 2005 at 9:02 am and is filed under Lists, Humor, India. You can follow any responses to this entry through theRSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. 46 Responses to “The old “idiot†box…†sowmya Says: October 28th, 2005 at 12:08 pm First time here. Your post took me through a nostalgic journey down DD lane. Indeed the
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