3rd AWDR: Arab Women and the Media

Beijing Platform for Action integrates the media among its critical areas of focus to advance gender equality. This is due to the centrality of the media in citizens’ lives, the plethora of social, political and economic issue it covers, and the effect of the gender images it portrays to the public at large.

The obstacles facing Arab women to capitalize on the media as a powerful tool for transformation of discriminatory practices are numerous and can be categorized at two critical levels.

At the institutional level, prevalent negative gender attitudes of media agencies and institutions are to be blamed for: the low participation of women in media industry; the secondary role assigned to women if succeeded to enter the media profession; and a wholesale problems, including financial and technical resources, constraining women from entering media milieu. The totality of these factors compromises the overall potential role of Arab women as key media producers.

At the social level, the Arab media reproduction of prevalent gender discriminatory attitudes has a down spiral effect on Arab women as users, subjects in the media.

In tackling these issues, CAWTAR 3rd AWDR, Arab Women and the Media will present a bibliographical based-analysis as to what has been achieved at level of knowledge on media and Arab women in the 22 Arab countries. The Report aims to provide scientific-data to be used as advocacy tool to influence policy to improve participation of women in media industry and to capitalize on media as a powerful tool for transformation of discriminatory societal practices.

The Report will be available in Arabic, English and French