While our advocacy about women issues has been highlighted by the media houses either in news or views, the question of how equal women are treated in the media industry is a big question!
Women’s studies are a more significant part of academic discourse of many disciplines. Gender study is a trans-disciplinary subject. Women and mass media related issues highlighted in 1970. In developing countries like India, portrayal of women issues in news was discussed at a larger level after 1980’s.
Two women journalists, Ammu Joseph and Kalpana Sharma edited the book “Whose News? – The Media and Women’s Issues”. Many issues highlighted regarding media portrayal of women issues in vernacular press and English journalism also.
While our advocacy about women issues has been highlighted by the media houses either in news or views, the question of how equal women are treated in the media industry is a big question!
While we call the media the mirror of society, we were not able to see the faces of women and voices of women in the media industry up to 1950. Now, the picture of women portrayed in the media is not completely dismal. Media plays a very fruitful role in pro-women media advocacy at many levels.
As an academician I would like to classify “The Women and Media Studies” in five categories:
- Women issues highlighted in news and views
- Women in entertainment industry
- Women portrayal in advertising
- Women working in media houses
- Media consumption trends of women audience
These five categories are partly interrelated also, but we must principally agree that media is a power. With the help of the power how we can empower women in the society? Presently if we analyse the Indian media industry, entertainment content consumption is very high. Even after new age media also, entertainment content demand is very high in India, but most of the entertainment content are ignoring women dignity and status during the production process of media content. In entertainment either it is reality shows or shop opera, or different OTT platforms, or song albums most of the content analysis we can see the five types of women portrayed in the entertainment industry.
Women stereotype: Women are cooking, taking care of children, home makers, busy in social rituals – these are the general observations of gender stereotypes in entertainment content.
Concept of “Super Women” was imposed on many entertainment platforms. According to this concept, women should be a package of completeness. She is powerful, multi-talented, she is intelligent even though very submissive, She is beautiful even though she is very kind. Indirectly projecting women as a complete product. This kind of reflection is not real, it is too ideal. In-short, the concept of ‘Super Women’ in media, women have accepted the new modern role but is able to maintain the stereotype legacy of society.
Women as a beauty object: Beauty of women is basically a very subjective term, because, in human society we standardize the concept of beauty in certain parameters. Naturally, it is biological diversity. No one can decide how he or she wants to be born with certain physical beauty. And that is why you cannot discriminate based on beauty. Women should be tall, slim and fair. Due to the propaganda of the media.
India has the biggest fairness market in the world, and majority consumers are women. They believe if a woman is fair then and then she is beautiful, and so we call it “Fair and Lovely”.
In entertainment content many times the media depict the women’s situation has been changed not the status. For example: In an advertisement Kajol Devgan is changing the diaper of a baby, while Ajay Devgan is enjoying tobacco and sitting on a horse. So traditionally, women were changing the dirty clothes of a child, and in the modern world she is changing diapers, so the situation changed but not the status.
In the modern advertisement industry, children are asking ‘Maggi’ to modern moms – “Mummy bhukh lagi hai” – why not “Papa bhukh lagi hai”? So, the situation changed but not the status of women, except some super exceptions.
Making mockery of women / wife in media content: In majority of laughter shows of OTT platforms or television Soap operas cracking jokes on wife is quite common practice. Women portrayal husband as a stupid, less intelligent, ugly looking is quite common. We don’t have such broadcasting policy to ban such content. In one hand we are celebrating Women Empowerment Day, in other hand, we are trying to prove women are stupid. This paradox is also not acceptable. In short, Gender justice and women’s equality should be considered in the content creation of entertainment. Quality of entertainment is one of the major parameters to judge the level of civil society.
In the time of the information age, we have ample social media platforms.
Digital technology has equally promised to provide platform to the issue of gender equality. Digital technology performed an important role for the development to the women of grassroots. Even though some crucial issues have been still alive regarding gender-based freedom of speech and expression in social media usage.
In May 2017, a village in Uttar Pradesh announced Rs.21,000 fine for women seen using mobile phones. According to the NDTV report in Bihar village panchayat near Patna issued an order to impose a fine of Rs10,000 if a girl was found using a mobile phone, while married women should have to pay a fine of Rs2000 if found talking on a mobile outside her house. This kind of prohibition was imposed by the village panchayat.
We believe the mobile phone is a cause of all evil in society including increasing love affairs and incidents of elopement. In 2019, Hindustan Times published a story on the Thakor community banning cell phones for unmarried women in the village of Gujarat. The diktat was passed unanimously on July 14, 2019, by elders of the community from 12 villages of Dantewada taluka, District Banaskatha. A member of the Thakor community in Gujarat banned the use of mobile phones for young girls, to stop inter-caste marriages. Local MLA justified nothing wrong with a move to ban mobile phones for girls. They should stay away from technology and spend more time for study.
While we talk about freedom of speech and expression it is not all about political in the case of women. Freedom of speech and expression is more about social.
Social censorship of women is very strong. Social audit of women is largely acceptable in Indian society. Despite of major incidence got coverage in media during social communication also I would like to quote a few important case studies. My homemaker Gauri (name changed) completed her work and there was heavy rain outside. Her house is 8 km far from my house. I gave an umbrella to her and asked her to call me after reaching home. She said - “I don't have a cell phone; my husband will come late at night. So, I will not be able to give you a call until then. Even I can talk to my parents in the presence of my husband only. Keeping mobile with me may prompt the extramarital relationship, that is what he believes. He badly beat me for keeping mobile with me, so I avoid it now.”
One beautiful young woman in profession is a fashion designer. Every day her husband used to check her phone and read all the messages which she communicated with friends and family members. Not merely that, he checks the incoming and outgoing phone details. When the lady complained about it, her own family members were not ready to support her in a police complaint. 'Ample of complains received in women police station about mobile phone ban or controlled by family members' aid woman journalist Laxmi Patel, who covers women police stations in Ahmedabad.
A book written by Robin Jeffrey, Assa Doron - ‘Cell phone Nation’. They mention, the cheap mobile phone is the most disruptive communication device in history and in India its potential to stir up society is breath taking.
India had 1.2 billion mobile subscribers in 2021, of which about 750 million are smartphone users. It is poised to be the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the next five years.
Smartphone use brought a paradigm shift in society. New mobile tower is coming up, but society boundaries are stopping women from having free access to cell phones. Such kind of censorship is domestic censorship. Can we cover domestic censorship under the domestic violence act? Gender perspective always matters in media policy framing also.
We are using W.W.W. (World Wide Web) but we are looking for another W.W.W. Wider Windows for Women in social media.
Sky's the limit but women are looking forward to more space in cyberspace.
-Dr. Sonal Pandya
Professor and Head of Department of Communications and Journalism
Gujarat University, Navrangpura