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Women: International
“Liberation and empowerment have become equated—even in a women’s magazine professing to be substantive—with sauciness or
‘becoming more like the west’ rather than addressing some of the harsh realities that affect the lives of millions of disadvantaged
women.”
ponder this paradox and conclude that
even if today most editorial supplements
are edited by women, the contents
of the main paper are overseen
and decided by male editors, therefore
changes in gender-linked perceptions
of “news” are merely superficial.
There have been exceptions, such
as when women in the media made a
significant contribution to gender equity
in regard to the law involving rape.
In 1979, the Supreme Court exonerated
a policeman of rape on the grounds
that the victim, a teenage tribal girl,
had had sexual relations with her boyfriend
and was therefore of lax morals
and could have consented to the
policeman’s advances. Women activists,
supported vigorously by women
in the media, succeeded in raising a
national outcry and in reopening the
case. The rape law was subsequently
amended to put the onus of proving
innocence on the accused rather than
the victim, especially in custodial rape
cases.
There is today, compared with a
generation ago, an overwhelming visibility
of women in the media. But that
does not necessarily translate into gender
equity in terms of the content of
what goes on the pages. What we tend
to forget in this confusing scenario is
that “engineer” or “doctor” does not
necessarily equate with “liberal-modern,”
and “unlettered” does not mean
lacking in spunk. Nanjangud
Tirumalamba, a pioneering woman
journalist of 100 years ago, was married
at 10 and widowed at 14. Forced to
sit at home thereafter as an “inauspicious
outcast,” this woman taught herself
to write, went on to start a journal
in 1917 and, through her work, became
a role model for younger women.
She died in 1982 at the age of 93, and
a prestigious prize—competed for by
women writers and journalists—is now
given in her honor.
Eighty years ago, male journalists
ridiculed Tirumalamba’s writings
through scathing criticism. Today,
women journalists complain that many
male editors still regard them as suitable
only for covering “soft” stories—
fashion and flower shows, for example.
“I wanted to do a story on the problems
of women commuters on buses—seats
reserved for women are often taken by
men who abuse us about wanting equality,”
a female reporter explained. “My
story was reduced to a small item of
300 words with women’s strong comments
edited out and men’s frivolous
ones left in, raising a laugh. It was also
relegated to an inside page, though
working women make up 50 percent
of bus commuters.” Another trainee
journalist said, “I submitted a piece
about men being taught to share
kitchen and child-care duties. The editor
said, ‘Why don’t you turn it into a
humor piece?’”
The recent attacks on Americans took
more than 3,000 lives. Many more
women die every year in what are called
“dowry deaths” in India. When they
bring dowries considered insufficient
by their in-laws, they are doused in
kerosene and burned. The news of
each such incident appears as a tiny,
two-column-inch item tucked in an
inside page. There is little media outcry,
except for an occasional article
written by a woman activist, and little
public outrage. More women work as
journalists today than ever before, yet
dowry deaths continue not only to
occur but to increase in number. In
contrast, a four-minute visit by a movie
actress on a soap brand promotion
tour gets reported prominently (10
column inches), with a large color photograph
and gushing descriptions of
what she wore.
I pull out Femina magazines from
the 1970’s and compare them with
current issues. Even before looking
inside, the covers make a statement: In
the old issues, the covers seem soft,
demure, feminine and “goody.” They
show smiling women, hair tied back
neatly, holding up flowers or a heartshaped
card saying, “Happy 1979.” A
contest for children, hairstyles and star
forecasts are the highlights.
Today the cover girls appear in
skimpy, barely there western clothes,
hair blown loose, mouth open,
bellybutton exposed (message: “be
daring!”). Designer clothes, a quiz on
Nieman Reports / Winter 2001 89