Publication and Production – ASMITA Women's Publishing House, Media & Resource Organization.

Providing media training from gender perspective

adasmita — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 08:17:00 +0000

ASMITA had developed a training package on journalism from gender perspective. This training package was the first of its kind in the country. The organization implemented the training program in different development regions of the country. Basically, journalists working at the grassroot level participated in the training, which gave them guidelines to produce media materials from gender perspective. The participants had strongly recommended that such training should be carried out more often and in more places.

The organization is committed to do so. At present, the organization has re-designed the project to conduct the gender perspective training for media practitioners in the changed context. Now, the organization has prepared two training manuals- 1. Social
Diversity & Gender Equality in Media- A Training Manual 2. Gender Sensitive Program Production in Community Radio- A Training Manual for the training of journalists.

Establishing a Women and Media Resource Center

adasmita — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 08:14:23 +0000

ASMITA had established its Documentation and Information Section since the very beginning of its inception. The main purpose of the Section was to collect and store documents and information on Nepali women. At present, the Section has a huge collection of reference materials on Nepali women. The concept of establishing a Resource Center on gender, women and media has emanated just from the objective to systematize the Documentation and Information Section. The purpose of setting up the Resource Center is to collect updated information on Nepali women and disseminate the information to media practitioners, scholars, researchers, activists, journalists, human rights activists, and leaders at the grassroot level who are working for women’s cause. The Resource Center will bring the researchers & journalists alike, who are interested or working on gender issues, within a single network.

Executing a series of Media Literacy Programs targeting women and adolescents

adasmita — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 08:11:14 +0000

ASMITA’s media literacy program aims to make the country’s media more gender sensitive, democratic and accountable to the people. The participants in such programs are also encouraged to set up their own media in their own locality.

ASMITA completed a nationwide research Women and Media: A Study of the Media Situation in Nepal in Relation to Women in 2003. The findings of the research reveal the pattern of the relationship/interaction between women and media. It shows that media agencies in the country are producing their products without considering the need and requirements of women consumers. Women media users are critical of such products, but they don’t find ways to express their dissatisfaction. Many women recognize the significance of media in their everyday life and seek for the ways to utilize the media in bringing change in their condition. Such findings of the study instigated to execute the activity related to media literacy programs for women. It is expected that the projects designed under the activity would develop a system of interaction between media agencies/personnel and women media consumers.

ASMITA had executed the media literacy project, as an experimental program, in two districts Rupandehi and Morang in 2006. Under this project, the organization developed a training manual for Women Media Volunteers who took charge of organizing women media audiences, conducting discussion programs and

executing media monitoring. Similarly, a booklet was also published on how to use the media in everyday life. Later, the media literacy program was launched in other 12 districts– Sunsari and Banke (2008), and Ilam, Jhapa, Kavrepalanchok, Parsa, Baglung, Kapilbastu, Dang, Surkhet, Dadeldhura & Kanchanpur (August 2008 to July 2009). The prgram was widely appreciated in all these districts to improve the media content from gender perspective. The organization would like to continue this program implementing it throughout the country.

Conducting regular media monitoring (analyzing and monitoring the portrayal and representation of women in the mainstream media) and responding to the media

adasmita — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 08:08:50 +0000

ASMITA has been conducting media monitoring activity from the very beginning of its establishment. The main purpose of this activity is to show how women are wrongfully portrayed and represented in the mainstream media and suggest proper ways to portray women in media. Notably, ASMITA is

the pioneer organization in the country to start media monitoring. The magazine Asmita used to publish articles related to media monitoring under a regular column named Sanchar Nigarani (‘Media Watch’). The organization has also executed several projects related to media monitoring on different issues like women’s equal property rights issues in media, media coverage on violence against women, media monitoring of political news from gender perspective. For Nepal, ASMITA is the National Co-ordinating organization for the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) in 1995, 2005, 2010 & 2015.

These days, women have become significant consumers of different kinds of media products. Therefore, their view, interest, want, like/dislike, expectation pertaining to the media also deserve consideration. The organization would like to conduct readership/ audience surveys regularly because this is also a sort of media monitoring in which media is analyzed from consumer women’s viewpoint.

Writing and Publishing books, booklets, anthologies, yearbooks etc. on gender issues

adasmita — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 08:01:09 +0000

ASMITA has published several books on women and gender related issues. Some of the prominent books are- Women in Transformation, Women in Disaster Management &

Reconstruction, Profiles of Some Women Leaders, Sarwartha Yogbani, Nepalese Women

Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize- 2005 etc. Different kinds of IEC materials (booklets, posters, magazines for simply literate women etc.) produced by the organization have been used in workshops, discussions and interaction programs. Those books and IEC materials were prepared from gender perspective, particularly on women related subjects.

Publishing the magazine Asmita to analyze and create debate on feminist and gender issues

adasmita — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 07:59:59 +0000

ASMITA has been publishing the magazine Asmita since 1988, though the publication was discontinued several

times due to unavoidable constraints. Nevertheless, the reputation of the magazine Asmita as an ardent advocate for women’s cause still prevails among the educated masses and women activists. The organization sees the present context as an opportunity to take advantage of the past reputation by restarting the publication of Asmita.

ASMITA is aware about the fact that feminist movement and discourses around the world have taken a radical shift, which has opened up new horizons for study. Issues like ‘neo-colonialism and women’, ‘post feminism’, ‘post colonial feminism’,’feminist historiography’ are emerging in academic discussions. However, such issues are not being raised visibly in the context of Nepal. The magazine Asmita will publish research and discussions on the emerging issues. It will definitely contribute to enrich feminism

at the academic level. Asmita will also scrutinize the contemporary agenda like restructuring of the state, promulgation of New Constitution, social inclusion and proportional representation from gender perspective, and advocate for women’s position and rights in all these processes.