The Coalition For Women In Journalism will be announcing the launch of Pakistan Chapter on the 27th of February, at the Islamabad Press Club.

The event will kick off with a panel discussion highlighting the landscape of the journalism industry for women in the field.

“We are absolutely thrilled to build a strong team to work in Pakistan for the incredible work that women in journalism are doing in this country,” said Kiran Nazish, Co-Founder and Director of the Coalition For Women In Journalism. “During our research to gauge the landscape in Pakistan for women journalists, we found that 69% of female colleagues said they faced harassment on the job, while 24.1% said they did not. That is an alarming number and we hope with a stronger support network in this country, we can  improve the condition through advocacy and awareness.”

“Women have been working in every aspect of journalism in Pakistan, yet there is no support system to address the kinds of issues they face,” said Nosheen Abbas, country manager for the Coalition For Women In Journalism. “This is what the coalition is here to do. I am honoured and thrilled to be a part of a something that has been so long overdue.” 

Tanzeela Mazhar, who looks at safe environments project with the Coalition For Women In Journalism, said “Media organisations in Pakistan don’t have gender codes. They lack both resources and understanding that gender specific environment is a critical need of an industry that has an incredible number of women working both in newsrooms and as freelancers. We want to build a thorough environment that encourages, instead of discourages them to work in journalism.”

“In the current state of media in Pakistan, a support network is an urgent need, and we hope to help guide women journalists not only to navigate an environment filled with discrimination and harassment but to also claim their space in the industry.”

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is keen on observing and understanding the cultural nuances specific to the industry in Pakistan. Marvi Sirmed, who looks over advocacy for the Coalition pointed out the need for specialised mentorship, “women journalists face everyday sexism coupled with lack of gender neutral mentorship in their field. Whatever little guidance is available usually comes with either strings attached or with heavy dose of patriarchal protectionism and patronisation. This is one reason why they don't dabble in the male domain subjects. We hope that through this initiative, young women can be offered mentorship support essential to understanding  professionalism in the beats they choose for themselves within journalism.”

With special thanks to Rana Jawad for sponsoring the event, Ayesha Tanzeem for resource assistance, to Kathy Gannon also for resource assistance and to Annam Lodhi for coordination.

About the Coalition For Women In Journalism The Coalition For Women In Journalism is the first global network of support for women journalists. Our core operation is the mentorship program for mid-career and senior women journalists. We are based out of New York and we work in seven countries offering mentorship in local languages. The network of individuals and organizations part of our network bring together the experience and mentorship necessary to help women navigate the industry.