Ms. Madi emphasised that the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of women in the media needs to be recognised as a key issue, so that democratic standards are not eroded for future generations. UN assessments show that, despite severe restrictions on their rights in many countries, women continue to lead community initiatives, support education, and advocate for social and economic resilience under the most challenging conditions.
In Afghanistan’s Kunduz Province, *Mehrgan leads a women’s organization that once trained hundreds of women and supported local NGOs but lost much of its funding and staff in 2022. With support from UN Women, it has since rebuilt its capacity and is now helping other women’s groups do the same.
When the media focuses only on women’s victimhood, it erases their leadership and obscures the full reality of their contributions to peace, stability, and social progress, the report highlights. Sharing stories like Mehrgan’s ensures that the public and policymakers recognize not only the challenges, but also the solutions women are driving on the ground, UN Women said.
Barriers to gender equality
Equally important is the lack of news coverage relating to gender-based violence (GBV). Instead of challenging stereotypes, news media continue to reinforce skewed narratives such as victim-blaming typecasts, portraying GBV as isolated incidents, silencing survivor voices, and using gendered language and tropes in reports. “Fewer than two in 100 stories cover the abuse that far too many women experience”, underscored UN Women.
Source: The UN
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