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- Tahmina, Qurratul-Ain
(författare)
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Gender Equality and Media Regulation Study : Bangladesh
- 2022
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Rapport (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- This study seeks to provide new knowledge and analysis about gender-equality related provisions in regulations, self-regulatory frameworks and policies concerning media in Bangladesh. It also explores their implementation and monitoring aspects.It seeks to provide clear recommendations and cite best practices that can assist stakeholders including law and policy-makers to promote gender equality in and through the media without compromising professional independence. For clarifying the contextual situations and ground realities, it also seeks to provide qualitative reflections accumulated through the research process.March through mid-October 2021, the study explored: to what extent and how have gender-equality, gender-sensitivity or gender-awareness issues been integrated into the regulation and self-regulation concerning both media structure and content. whether such integration and efforts could contribute to the overarching goal of increasing the freedom of expression for women and girls, for people of non-binary gender, for people belonging to sexual minorities, and also for men and boys in situations similarly relevant. if any such effort could lead to compromising or curtailing media freedom and independence.For these explorations, the study used mixed methodology, both quantitative and qualitative. A total of 43 Acts and Rules including the Constitution and 12 national-level media policies were selected for mapping and analysis. A questionnaire survey of 18 media houses were conducted, while seven regulators and self-regulators were interviewed.The study finds that provisions for gender equality and sensitivity in media regulations and national policies have two distinct features. The earlier provisions were concerned more about decency, obscenity and other such issues mainly from a moralistic perspective. The main concerns seemed to have been protecting the morality of society from effects of such contents, rather than protecting the rights of women.Then over the last couple of decades, gender-related provisions in media regulation and policies have been markedly influenced by development concerns. Media advocacy for women development along with other development goals started occupying a central space in regulatory and policy frameworks.10This era might have introduced a rights perspective but gender-equality in the media organisations has not been the dominant primary approach. Provisions on „gender-sensitivity‟ were more frequent. The laws and regulations lack a requirement for equal coverage of women or other gender minorities in media content as well. The policies may have some requirements of this from the perspective of development in various sectors.The laws varyingly provide eligibility criteria for ownership, which are basic, general and more or less common in nature, not specifying anything on gender-equality commitment. Such mentions would be more appropriate and necessary in policies. All policies, with the exception of one, are silent about gender-equality or gender-sensitivity commitments of owners. No law or policy, however, have any bar to a woman being an owner of a media outlet.Sector-wide self-regulatory frameworks are very rare, so are individual house-level ones. Written in- house policies on gender equality or sensitivity are very few.Regulatory and supervisory authority of all the media rests primarily with one central ministry, while gender-related supervision is the responsibility of another ministry. No implementation or monitoring mechanism could be located. Scarcity of data in this field is another major problem. Implementation and monitoring are generally weak in media organisations too.The study recommends more stress on having policies, especially within media organisations. While regulations are important, law alone cannot do much. Policy is more important, at the state level of course, but especially the self-regulatory ones. In the absence of an industry-level press commission, unions and professional organisations need to formulate codes of conducts. Monitoring should be strengthened both at regulatory and self-regulatory levels. Getting the editors and owners on board is important.The study particularly recommends, building on whatever gains have been made so far—building on the awareness amongst the media leaders about what is politically and ethically correct. Alongside looking for what gaps are there, one needs to examine how much and what have been achieved, and what factors made the changes happen. A crucially important task is liaising with the women‟s rights and gender rights movements and gain their support for attaining gender-equality and sensitivity in the media.
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