Breaking taboos: NCSW media workshop on child marriages, GBV concluded in Karachi

The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) contributing towards breaking dystopian taboos, bringing much-needed awareness and equipping journalists to report on sensitive matters, held a 10-day workshop of the “National Media Fellowship on Responsible Reporting and Representation of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Child Marriage" which concluded in Karachi on Saturday.

The fellowship — NCSW's flagship media initiative — was attended by 40 journalists reporting on GBV and child marriage issues from across the country.

Journalists from various domains and backgrounds including English, Urdu and Regional media and from print, radio, TV and digital platforms attended the media workshop.

It is pertinent to know that the initiative is supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Institute of Business Administration's (IBA) Center for Excellence in Journalism (CEJ).

During the course of the 10-day workshop, participants were sensitised with regards to reporting on GBV and child marriage issues with trainers providing comprehensive guidelines to the attendees on how to report on these areas with sensitivity and responsibility.

Participants were also taught hands-on skills like mobile journalism, data journalism and digital journalism.

The NCSW initiated the first National Media Fellowship on GBV and Child Marriage back in 2022 which successfully concluded with 162 GBV and Child Marriage stories published in all mediums. This is the second cohort of this initiative.

It is pertinent to know that established back in 2000, NCSW's primary objective is to assess government policies and initiatives with regards to women's development and gender equality.

The body also examines and reviews laws affecting women and keeps an eye on existing mechanisms and ways to address women's rights violations.