Many women act as the voice and the face of the media but their stories remain largely untold.
To know their side of the stories, media personality and aroma specialist Amina Haque spent an afternoon with a handful of mothers working in the media, on Monday.
The event was organized as part of an initiative to raise awareness about the hurdles faced by working mothers in the media, and to provide a platform for them to voice their struggles.
Ishrat Jahan Urmi, a journalist working with DBC News, said: “The media profession is full of struggle, but we must give our best to overcome its challenges.
“No-one will just hand over our rights to us, we must achieve them ourselves. We should not pay any heed to gossip and hearsay.”
Paula Rahman from priyo.com, an online news portal, shared her experience of travelling abroad. She also described how the governments and social organizations of many countries work for the benefit of working mothers.
A special guest at the event, theatre personality Munira Yusuf Memy, described her struggles on personal and social levels, as she started her acting career. She also credited her mother for her success.
“As a child, I was told that the society does not look favourably on women working in the media. I kept working in this sector and I refrained from making friends. But we should not be blamed for making friends,” she added.
News presenter Shamim Ara Munni described how her former in-laws portrayed her in a negative light for working in the electronic media.
Fashion designer Lipi Khandaker said: “I have seen with my own eyes how working mothers became happy from the support I provided them at the office.”
Rumpa Syeda Farzana Zaman, who acted as the anchor for the event, said: “Women, especially mothers, face a lot of hurdles while working in the media. Many professional women leave their jobs to take care of their children.
“Both the government and the private organizations must come forward to ease the hurdles faced by working mothers. Many young women, who are also mothers, are currently working in various sectors of the country, and their numbers will certainly go up.”
Amina Haque from Novins, Musician Nilufar Lily, entrepreneur Nasrin Yakub and Mina Ashrafi, former deputy director of Ministry of Women and Children Affairs participated in the event, among others.
