How media can portray positive image of a woman?

By: Sana Saeed

Media is a source of interaction and plays a very important role in shaping our ideas and opinions about what is beautiful and what is not. It can influence our values, beliefs and attitude towards ourselves as well as others. In this patriarchal society, our media is portraying negative aspects about women and showing men as dominant, independent and intelligent whereas women are portraying as passive, dependent and inferior to the men. In most of the media industry, we have seen that women are showing as weak characters and portraying negative image of them.

As in most of the Pakistani dramas we have seen that if a girl is educated and wealthy then her behavior is very rude and she is arrogant to others and don’t even give respect to her elders. And also if a girl or woman is poor she is very nice, humble and kind hearted. She dress properly covering her full body and wear dupatta on her head. But when that girl become rich she wears jeans top and don’t even take the dupatta. It has also shown in the dramas that men have more dominant characters and are more respectable then women whereas women are inferior to the men. So this is the negative thing which our media industry is showing about women. Instead of that, media should portray all this in a very positive sense because media is a source of interaction and what we see on the media we tries to adopt that things so showing negative aspects about women put a negative impact on the young generation. Therefore, women should be portray as strong, confident, intellectual, independent and humble to everyone. And also by making strong female characters and encouraging self-love, it can start to show the world that women are just as capable and courageous as men and deserve equal respect, so that it create positive impact on the viewers and lead towards to the positive society.

Media and advertising play an important role in our culture which reflect the social norms of our society. Advertisements are found everywhere in magazines, newspapers, bill boards and especially on television. We have seen female models in advertisements sensually dressed up for the sake of taking attentions of the customers. Sometimes the female has nothing to do with the actual product but used in order to sell the product. Also media has set a standard for beauty that is beyond natural or even attainable to most young women. Being surrounded by all these advertisements make young women emotionally and physically confused about their bodies. And advertisements for makeup and other beauty products contain the most artificial concept of beauty and the tagline of such products implied that key to look beautiful is thin physique and fair skin.

Business need advertising but advertisements don’t need to display women as objects in order to sell the product. So for this media should show such ads where skin colure and body image shouldn’t be the target to influence the viewers and create gap between the presenters and viewers. Instead, it should made ads where women are shown as having control over their own decisions and as being able to change other people’s behaviors and thoughts and also show such ads where women confidence, her smartness, independency and her skills should be portrayed to put a positive image and spread positive narrative among viewers and young generation to influence by such aspects.

Media has a huge impact on society, so it should influence wisely. If it portray women as a objects for objectifying pleasure then the future generations will grow up thinking this is normal and that women are just what they need in their lives to be happy which could lead them away from being independent individuals who can stand on their own feet. By showing real life situations instead of fabricated ones will help people see what reality is like so they can decide if they want that kind of life when they grow up themselves. And also women should be provided platforms and opportunities nationally and internationally to create a positive image and to prove themselves in order to alter the stereotypical image portrayed by the media.

Chinese leadership expresses solidarity with flood victims; announces relief assistance

ISLAMABAD: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have expressed their complete solidarity with the government and people of Pakistan over the human and financial losses in the recent floods that devastated huge parts of Pakistan.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong conveyed these special messages to President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif from the Chinese leadership. The Chinese leadership expressed their grief over the losses. China had announced an assistance grant of RMB100 million (Yuan), besides the dispatch of 25,000 tents and other assistance items. The first batch of the relief aid containing 300 tents would be arriving Karachi today. The Chinese ambassador would hand over these articles to the Pakistani authorities, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release on Tuesday. President Xi, in a message to President Dr Arif Alvi, observed that severe floods had occurred recently in Pakistan, causing heavy casualties and serious property losses.

President Xi, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, and in his own name, expressed deep condolences over the victims and sincere sympathy to the bereaved families, the injured and the people in the affected areas. The Chinese envoy had apprised the Government of Pakistan of the decision of the Chinese leadership about the relief support. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif expressed gratitude to the Chinese leadership and said that the Chinese leadership and the people of China had always supported the people of Pakistan with their generosity.

He also conveyed his good wishes to the Chinese leadership. The prime minister on his Twitter handle, thanked President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang for the financial assistance to flood-affected people of Pakistan. This flood is like no other in terms of its intensity & spread. China has been there for us at the most difficult times & we greatly value its support, the prime minister posted a tweet.

WWF-Pak appeals donors for relief, rehabilitation of flood affectees

PESHAWAR: WWF-Pakistan appeals to the national and international donor agencies, corporates, government organizations, civil society organizations and individuals to contribute towards the rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts currently underway in Pakistan. According to a press statement issued here on Tuesday, the organization also urges stakeholders to ensure effective coordination and communication so as to support the people adversely impacted by the devastating floods.

The recent monsoon rains and floods have incurred significant human and livestock casualties, damages to infrastructure and economy and posed serious threat to biodiversity. Thousands of families are displaced and shelter-less in Balochistan, Sindh, parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There is an acute shortage of food, clean drinking water, tents and medicine in the flood affected areas, stresses WWF-Pak. Monsoon flooding across the country has left over 1,000 dead and thousands more injured and displaced. An estimated 33 million people, equating to nearly 15 per cent of Pakistan’s population, have been affected by the incessant rains that have wreaked havoc across the country, particularly in Balochistan and Sindh.

Flash floods have damaged standing crops, degraded fertile lands, affected communication networks and caused water, sanitation and hygiene challenges. Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General WWF-Pakistan stated that As one of the countries most threatened by extreme weather, Pakistan’s current crisis is a calamity in itself, but also a warning about what the future holds. Monsoons are essential for irrigating crops and replenishing groundwater and water reservoirs.

This year, with precipitation as high as 600 per cent over the average; many parts of the country have been submerged in water. The occurrence, frequency, and scale of the rains are clearly linked with climate change; the impacts of which will be felt long after this water drains. He added that while flooding is one of the most damaging natural disasters, losses primarily emanate from poor flood risk management. After the catastrophic floods of 2010, we had over 10 years to prepare ourselves. However, our responses continue to be reactive, Hammad opined. He emphasized that all relevant actors, including federal, provincial and local governments, disaster management agencies, non-profit and non-government entities must work together on a robust national flood policy that focuses on adaptation. Dr Masood Arshad, Senior Director Footprint, said Our response must be multifaceted. To be in a position where we can appropriately address flood risks, we must begin by limiting development in flood prone areas and improve our forecasting and evacuating systems.

He added that though climate change has driven this tragedy; with changing monsoon patterns and extremely high localized rainfall; a significant amount of damage has been due to poor land use planning and disregard for the environmental systems that drive our economies. This includes encroachment on river beds and construction on flood plains, he added. Since the beginning of June, spells of rainfall have culminated in a nation-wide disaster which has left more than 100 districts affected, with over 60 of those being calamity hit.

Approximately a quarter of a million households have been destroyed and more than half a million livestock, which are a major source of livelihood for local communities, have perished. Nearly 3.6 million acres of cropland have been destroyed. In this backdrop, WWF-Pakistan calls for formulating a strategy that takes into consideration the environment and addresses the challenges of widespread rains and floods of high magnitude.

China deploys Y-20 plane on emergency delivery mission to Pakistan

BEIJING:The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force dispatched two Y-20 cargo planes to provide emergency humanitarian supplies including 3,000 tents to flood-hit Pakistan Tuesday.

After receiving the order, the PLA Air Force arranged two Y-20 planes to take off at dawn to get to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in the early morning for urgent air transport preparations. The planes are scheduled to arrive at Karachi airport at 16:00 Beijing time today, China Economic Net (CEN) reported. “As Y-20 can perform long-range tasks with heavy load and fast flight speed, two such cargo planes have been arranged to send humanitarian aid to Pakistan to help people in the disaster-hit areas overcome difficulties and rebuild their homes at an early date,” said captain Feng Wei.

Pilot Liu Xiaojun is another captain of this mission. The urgent air transport mission to Pakistan is of special significance to him as he personally experienced the relief efforts after Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. “Pakistan rushed to our assistance after the Wenchuan earthquake in China in 2008.

As I come from Sichuan, I deeply feel the brotherly friendship between the two countries. I also want to express my support for the Pakistani people with the successful completion of the mission,” said Liu Xiaojun.

President receives credentials from envoys-designate of Germany, Spain, Belgium, Libya, Kenya, & Ethiopia

ISLAMABAD: The ambassadors-designate of Germany, Spain, Belgium, Libya, Kenya, and Ethiopia presented their credentials to President Dr Arif Alvi at a ceremony held here at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Monday.

Ambassador of Germany, Alfred Grannas; Ambassador of Spain, Jose Antonia de Ory Peral; Ambassador of Belgium, Charles Delogne; Ambassador of Libya, Moamer Z. O. Abdalmotlab; Ambassador of Kenya, Mary Nyambura Kamau, and Ambassador of Ethiopia, Jemal Beker Abdula, made separate calls on the president. Talking to the German Ambassador, the president said that Germany was one of the largest foreign direct investors in Pakistan. He said that German firms with expertise in wind and solar energy as well as in hydel power projects could take advantage of new sets of incentives offered by Pakistan in these sectors. The president encouraged German investors to invest in Pakistan’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He said that keeping in view the huge potential of business, trade and investment between the two countries, the existing level of bilateral trade needed to be substantially improved.

He stressed the need for bilateral cooperation between the two countries to mitigate the negative fallout of climate change and global warming against the backdrop of devastating floods in Pakistan. Talking to the Ambassador of Spain, the president expressed the need to further expand bilateral relations in the economic, trade, investment and tourism sectors. He appreciated the Spanish support to Pakistan on GSP Plus Scheme and hoped that this support would continue in future as well. He stressed the need for the early finalization of an agreement on defence cooperation between the two countries.

Talking to the Belgian Ambassador, the president stressed the need to substantially increase the volume of bilateral trade from its exiting volume of US$ 1.35 billion by increasing the pace of exchanges of business delegations, participating in trade fairs and launching joint ventures as well as forging meaningful cooperation in agriculture, port handling and dredging, and science and technology. To the Ambassador of Libya, the president stressed the need for expanding the scope of trade ties and exploring new avenues of economic cooperation between the two countries.

He expressed the hope that the new ambassador, appointed after a gap of 11 years, would work towards further deepening the relationship between the two brotherly nations.Talking to the Kenyan Ambassador, the president said that Pakistan accorded utmost importance to the economic and trade ties with Kenya. He also expressed satisfaction over the existing level of bilateral cooperation and coordination in the areas of trade, economy, defence and border management. During his discussion with the Ethiopian ambassador, the president appreciated the decision of Ethiopian leadership to open a diplomatic mission in Islamabad, and expressed the hope that it would improve bilateral relations, enhance mutual exchanges, and would open a new era of friendship and cooperation between the two brotherly countries.

He also welcomed the increasing cooperation between the two countries in the aviation sector and the commencement of two weekly direct flights reconnecting Karachi with Africa through Addis Ababa.