Critical Analysis of Depiction of Women in Mass Media - Interdisciplinary Course (IC1) - Mumbai University - Oriental College of Education - DivakarJha6

1.  What is Education?
Education is the process of
facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge
skills, values, morals, beliefs, and habits. Educational
methods include teaching training, storytelling,
discussion and directed research.
Formal education is commonly divided
formally into such stages as preschool or kindergarten,
primary school, secondary school and then college,
university, or apprenticeship.
Women education in India plays a very important role in the overall
development of the country. It not only helps in the development of half of the human resources,
but in improving the quality of life at home and outside.
According to PT. Jawaharlal Nehru
“If you educate a man you educate an individual, however, if you educate a
woman you educate a whole family. Women empowered means mother India empowered”.
According to M. Phule,
"Education is that which demonstrates the difference between what is good and what is evil".
According to Swami Vivekananda,
“There is no chance of the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is
improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on one wing.”
Education plays a critical role in the development of a nation whether it is social or
economic growth. A nation can be educated in the real sense of the term, when its entire
population is educated. Over the years, India’s literacy rate has improved manifold from 12% in
1947 to 74.4% in 2011. Even though, the literacy rate is still below the average of 84% around
the world.
 Importance of Education for Women:
 Women who are educated are able to take charge of their future.
 They earn and contribute to their family income.
“Critical Analysis of Depiction of
Women in Mass Media”

2.  Women who are educated help reduce child and maternal mortality.
 Educated women are better equipped to take care of their children.
 They are less likely to be taken advantage of and lowers exposure to domestic abuse.
 Have great confidence and takes right decisions.
 Contributes in a positive way to the society and the nation at large.
 Including women in politics tend to have different growth dimensions.
 When women are included in key decision-making positions, they take holistic decisions for
the development of the society.
 Problems and Issues of Women Education in India
The importance of women in matters of building the character of the citizens,
economic reconstruction of the country and social reforms is being realized. Under the fast changing
conditions in the country in the recent times increased attention is being paid to their education. Though
different Commissions and (Committees appointed at times, suggested for the solution of the problems of
women’s education and for its expansion, even then there are certain problems still persist in that field.
The main problems facing their education are:
 Development of immorality
 Suitable Curriculum for the education of
girls
 Lack of social consciousness among
women
 Scarcity of lady teachers
 Lack of proper physical facilities
 Unwillingness of lady teachers to serve in
rural areas
 Financial difficulties
 Problem of transport
 Problem of wastage and stagnation
 Problem of co-education
 Lack of enthusiasm and interest of the officials in charge of education
History of Women in India:
The status of women in India has been subject to many changes over the
span of recorded Indian history. Their position in society deteriorated early in India's ancient period,
especially in the Indo-Aryan speaking regions, and their subordination continued to be reified well into
India's early modern period.
Practices such as female infanticide, dowry, child marriage and the taboo
on widow remarriage, which began in upper-caste Hindu society in Northern India, have had a long
duration, proving difficult to root out, and in the instance of dowry have spread to all castes, classes,
and even religions.

3. Medieval India was not women's age it is supposed to be the 'dark age' for them.
Medieval India saw many foreign conquests, which resulted in the decline in women's status. When
foreign conquerors like Muslims invaded India they brought with them their own culture. For them
women was the sole property of her father, brother or husband and she does not have any will of her
own.
They were not allowed to move freely and this lead to the further deterioration of
their status. These problems related with women resulted in changed mind-set of people. Now they
began to consider a girl as misery and a burden, which has to be shielded from the eyes of intruders
and needs extra care. Whereas a boy child will not need such extra care and instead will be helpful as
an earning hand. Thus a vicious circle started in which women was at the receiving end. All this gave
rise to some new evils such as Child Marriage, Sati, Jauhar and restriction on girl education.
The ritual of dying at the funeral pyre of the husband is known
as "Sati" or "Sahagaman". According to some of the Hindu
scriptures women dying at the funeral pyre of her husband go
straight to heaven so it’s good to practice this ritual. Initially it
was not obligatory for the women but if she practiced such a
custom she was highly respected by the society. Sati was
considered to be the better option than living as a widow as the
plight of widows in Hindu society was even worse.
It is also more or less similar to Sati but it is a
mass suicide. Jauhar was prevalent in the Rajput societies. In this custom wives immolated themselves
while their husband were still alive. When people of Rajput clan became sure that they were going to
die at the hands of their enemy then all the women arrange a large pyre and set themselves afire,
while their husband used to fight the last decisive battle known as "Shaka", with the enemy. Thus
protecting the sanctity of the women and the whole clan.
Medieval Indian Women:
1. Sati
2. Jauhar

4. It was a norm in medieval India. Girls were married off at the age
of 8-10. they were not allowed access to education and were
treated as the material being. The plight of women can be
imagined by one of the shloka of Tulsidas where he writes "Dhol,
gawar, shudra, pashu, nari, ye sab tadan ke adhikari". Meaning that animals, illiterates, lower
castes and women should be subjected to beating. The child marriage along with it brought
some more problems such as increased birth rate, poor health of women due to repeated child
bearing and high mortality rate of women and children.
The condition of widows in
medieval India was very bad. They were not treated as
human beings and were subjected to a lot of
restrictions. They were supposed to live pious life after
their husband died and were not allowed entry in any
celebration. Their presence in any good work was
considered to be a bad omen. Sometimes heads of widows were also shaved down. They were not
allowed to remarry. Any woman remarrying was looked down by the society.
The veil or the 'Purdah' system was widely prevalent in
medieval Indian society. It was used to protect the women folk from the eyes of foreign rulers
who invaded India in medieval period. But this system curtailed the freedom of women.
3. Child
Marriage
4. Restriction
on Widow
Remarriage
5. Purdah
System

5. The girls of medieval India and especially
Hindu society were not given formal education. They were given
education related to household chores. But a famous Indian
philosopher 'Vatsyayana' wrote that women were supposed to be
perfect in sixty four arts which included cooking, spinning,
grinding, knowledge of medicine, recitation and many more.
It was a custom prevalent in Southern India.
In this system girls were dedicated to temples in the
name of gods and goddesses. The girls were then onwards known as 'Devadasis' meaning
servant of god. These Devadasis were supposed to live the life of celibacy. All the requirements
of Devadasis were fulfilled by the grants given to the temples. In temple they used to spend
their time in worship of god and by singing and dancing for the god. Some kings used to invite
temple dancers to perform at their court for the pleasure of courtiers and thus some Devadasis
converted to Rajadasis (palace dancers) prevalent in some tribes of South India like Yellamma
cult.
The status of women in Southern India was better than the
North India. While in Northern India there were not many women administrators, in Southern
India we can find some names that made women of that time proud. Priyaketaladevi, queen of
Chalukya Vikramaditya ruled three villages. Another women named Jakkiabbe used to rule
seventy villages. In South India women had representation in each and every field. Domingo
Paes, famous Portuguese traveler testifies to it. He has written in his account that in Vijaynagar
kingdom women were present in each and every field.
He says that women could wrestle, blow trumpet and handle
sword with equal perfection. Nuniz, another famous traveler to the South also agrees to it and
says that women were employed in writing accounts of expenses, recording the affairs of
kingdom, which shows that they were educated. There is no evidence of any public school in
northern India but according to famous historian Ibn Batuta there were 13 schools for girls and
6. Girl
Education
7. Devadasis

6. 24 for boys in Honavar. There was one major evil present in South India of medieval time. It
was the custom of Devadasis.
Though women of India are not at par with her counterpart in Western
world but she is struggling hard to make her mark in men's world. We can count on certain names
from the British India where women put the example of extraordinary bravery which even men might
not be able to show. Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi was the one such woman.
She was the one who put even British rulers to shame with her
extraordinary feats in battle. She fought for her kingdom, which Dalhousie, British Governor General,
had unlawfully annexed. She was in a true sense the leader of uprising of 1857. There are certain men
who took the cause of women in India. There have been social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy,
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekanand, Swami Dayananda Saraswati who have helped women
gain their previous status in society.
Born on 22nd may 1772 he was the torchbearer of social reforms
for the women. He was strictly against the evils prevalent in society in his time. He is the one who has
done women a great favor by abolishing Sati lawfully. It was due to his efforts that Lord William
Bentinck banned the custom of Sati in 1829. Though this law was not a great deterrent but it changed
mindset of people to some extent. Ram Mohan Roy also did great work in the field of women
education. He was against child marriage and favored widow remarriage. He himself married a widow
thus setting the example for the whole society. Along with 'Dwarka Nath Tagore' he founded "Brahmo
Samaj" for the reform of Indian society and emancipation of women.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was popularly known as Vidyasagar, which
means sea of knowledge. Testifying to his name he was truly the sea of
Raja Ram Mohan
Roy
Ishwar Chandra
Vidyasagar

7. knowledge. He was a pillar of social reform movement of Bengal in 19th century. He widely read
ancient Hindu scriptures and came to know that the gender divide which was prevalent in Bengal was
not encoded in our ancient texts instead it is the politics to keep women subordinate to men. He
strongly supported women education in Bengal and went door to door to persuade people to send their
girl child to school. He also did a lot in the field of widow remarriage. He opened many schools for
girls.
Born on April 11, 1827, Pune, Jyotirao
Govindrao Phule was a real philanthropist. He was the one to open first
girl school in India. He is also credited with opening first home for
widows of the upper caste and a home for newborn girl children so that
they can be saved from female infanticide.
He was the founder of Arya Samaj and gave a cry, "back to Vedas". He translated
Vedas from Sanskrit to Hindi so that a common man can read it and understand that the Vedic Hindu
scriptures gave utmost importance to women. He emphasized for the equal rights for women in every
field. He tried to change the mindset of people with his Vedic teachings.
Mahatma Jyotirao
Phule

8. The social reformers of 19th century laid down the stage for the
emancipation of women but it was Mohan Das Karam Chand
Gandhi under whose influence these reforms reached masses. He
was the one who liberated Indian women from the clutches of
'Purdah' and other social evils. He brought them from their
confinement and asked them to participate in the struggle for
independence. According to him women should be liberated from
the slavery of kitchen only then their true potential could be
realized. He said that responsibility of household is important for
women but it should not be the only one. In fact she should come forward to share the responsibilities
of nation.
When Gandhiji came to the stage of Indian struggle for independence then
the average life span of Indian women was 27 years and only 2%women were educated this shows
what a Herculean task it was to bring the women of India who was not getting her basic rights to fight
for the cause of the nation. But it was due to his efforts that so many women like Sarojini Naidu,
Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sucheta Kriplani and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur came forward. He
spread the message of equality of the gender to the masses and criticized the desire of Indian people
to have male child instead of a female.
Gandhiji was strictly against the child marriage and favored
widow remarriage. He urged the youth to come forward and accept young widows as their life partner.
He said that the girls are also capable of everything boys can do but the need of the time is to give
them opportunities so that they can prove themselves. It was mainly due to his efforts that when India
got independence 'right to vote' came naturally to Indian women whereas in other developed nations
like England and America women got this right very late and that too after lot of protest.
Media is the communication outlets or tools used to store and deliver
information or data. The term refers to components of the mass media communications industry, such as
print media, publishing, the news media, photography, cinema, broadcasting (radio and television), digital
media, and advertising.

9. 1. Print Media
 Newspaper [National News Paper and Daily News Papers (local/Regional)]
o Advertisement
 Magazines
o Consumer Magazines
o Business Publication
2. Broadcast Media
 Television Advertising
 Radio
3. Support Media
 Outdoor Advertising (bill boards/boarding/neon signs posters etc.)
 Cinema and Video advertising
4. Digital Media(Internet)
 Website
o Ad buttons
o Ad banners
 E-mail
Empowerment of women means developing them as more aware individuals, who are
politically active, economically productive and independent and are able to make intelligent discussion in
matters that affect them. Women empowerment as a concept was introduced at the International women
Conference in 1985 at Nairobi, which defined it as redistribution of social power and control of resources in
favor of women.
Nations, businesses, communities and groups may benefit from the
implementation of programs and policies that adopt the notion of female empowerment. Empowerment of
women enhances the quality and the quantity of human resources available for development.
Empowerment is one of the main procedural concerns when addressing human rights and development.

10.  Dimension:
The process of empowerment has five dimensions, viz. Cognitive, psychological, economic,
political and physical.
 Cognitive Dimension:
It refers to women having an understanding of the conditions and causes of their
subordination at the micro and macro levels. It involves making choices that may go against cultural
expectations and norms.
 Psychological Dimension:
It includes the belief that women can act at personal and societal levels to improve their
individual realities and the society in which they live.
 Economic Dimension:
The economic component requires that women have access to, and control over, productive
resources, thus ensuring some degree of financial autonomy. However she notes that changes in
the economic balance of power do not necessarily alter traditional gender roles or norms.
 Political Dimension:
The political element entails that women have the capability to analyses, organize and
mobilize for social change.
 Physical Dimension:
There is a physical element of gaining control over one’s body and sexuality and the ability
to protect oneself against sexual violence to the empowerment process.
Parameters:
 Raising self-esteem and self-confidence of women.
 Elimination of discrimination and all forms of violence against women and girl child.
 Building and strengthening partnership with civil society particularly women’s
organisations.
 Enforcement of constitutional and legal provisions and safeguarding rights of women.
 Building a positive image of women in the society and recognizing their contributions
in social, economic and political sphere.
 Developing ability among women to think critically.
 Fostering decision-making and collective action.

11.  Enabling women to make informed choices.
 Ensuring women’s participation in all walks of life.
 Providing information, knowledge, skills for self-employment
Communication is extremely important for women’s
development and mass media play significant role. It is to be noted that growth of women’s
education and their entry into employment have contributed to the growth of media. In all spheres
of life whether for controlling population growth, spread of literacy or improving quality of life for
vast masses, women have crucial role to play.
However, women can be expected to play this role when they
become conscious of their strength and are not deliberately marginalised by male domination. In
this context, media has an important role to play – to create awakening in women to achieve their
potential as the prime movers of change in society. In today’s world, print and electronic media play
a vital role in effectively conveying message that needs to be conveyed.
According to media depiction of women:
Basically Indian media does not attack serious issues like
exploitation and unequal treatment to women in different areas rather it is busy in reporting sex
related incidents to increase its business. Now media is not remaining voice of truth rather it’s a
mode of entertainment and earning money. Thus instead of highlighting the exploitation of woman
it is becoming a reason in increase of violence against women.
It is true that media has brought to light, as never before,
certain misdemeanors against women but in a very subtle manner. Generally, women’s problems
never figure on the front page of a newspaper unless it is a gruesome murder or a case of rape. The
special page for women in the newspapers is still related to kitchen tips, beauty tips, fashion and
recipes. According to advisory laws media has to follow these recommendations on reporting
violence against the women.
 Media needs to take an extended, broader view of crimes against women. It has to be
instrumental in conducting a social audit on factors responsible for increasing crimes,
particularly against women and children, including indifferent investigative procedures,
miscarriage of justice, and growing social impunity of the perpetrators of crime.
 It also has to be contributory in creating awareness among civil society of the causes and
nature of the crime itself, and of the preventive measures.
 When treating these issues, media has to be extremely factual and empirical.

12. Limited coverage in Media:
Newspapers cover women’s problems drawing the attention of
policymakers to issues requiring immediate attention such as the adverse sex ratio, infant and maternal
mortality, crime against women and the effects of poverty on women and their families. But this coverage is
very limited with the rest of the space occupied by cinema actresses, models, video jockeys and the rich
women and their hobbies. Many of the women’s magazines are devoted to fashion, glamour, beauty aids,
weight reduction, cookery and how to sharpen „feminine instincts‟ to keep men and their in-laws happy.
There are comparatively fewer articles on career opportunities, health awareness, and entrepreneurship,
legal aid, counselling services, childcare, services and financial management. (G.N. Ray, 2008) Thus the
media should take into consideration the following points.
 The media must project the working women in the unorganized sector as worker and not merely as
performing the duties of wife/daughter. Now the women are being major earners, so they must be
projected as producers and not merely as consumers.
 The media should make effective attempts to not only highlight the problems of women in poverty,
but should monitor in such a way that incompatible idol are not depicted, nor demeaning references
to their work are made.
 To upgrade content and coverage, there should be combined efforts between NGO’s, women’s
social action group, research organizations, institutes of mass communication, and the media
personnel.
Women Journalist in Media:
Like as in other professions, women are doing very well in media too. They
are continuously inspiring with their work. In short, women have become indispensable in the field.
Women’s organizations and media must play a vital role in promoting this change. It is heartening that a
wide variety of women’s media initiatives are making a positive impact.

13. Media can accelerate the process of women empowerment it is necessary to
know about the present situation of women in India. There are certain key aspects related to the women
empowerment which media should adequately cover and facilitate the process of women empowerment.
To highlight the issue of gender inequality:
A vast majority of Indian women work throughout their lives but the fact is that it is not officially
recognized. The main findings of the survey revealed that discrimination not only in salary but also in
promotions, work issuing and working hours. We should not forget that Gender Equality is not just a
women’s issue. It is an issue of the nation. Media can play a great role by bringing these issues ahead.
To make people aware of wages discrimination:
Women generally earn a far lower wage than men doing the same work.
There is no state in India where men and women earn equal wages for their work. This is equally applicable
to other areas of works such as mining, trade, transport services etc. In the various work sectors average
wages earned by male is more than the wages earned by female. The findings of UNDP which were
published as Human Development Report concerning gender equality say that “Women’s work is greatly
undervalued in economic term.
To show the present situation of crime against women:
The crime rates and violence against women in our country are increasing
rapidly which reflects women as weaker sex who is still being dominated and exploited. They face violence
inside and outside the family throughout their lives. The Crime Record Bureau of India’s website shows that
in the year 2006 total crime reported against women was 1,91731. Police record shows that a woman is
molested in the country every 20 minutes; a rape occurs every 34 minutes and every 43 minutes an
incident of sexual harassment takes place. Every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped and every 93 minutes,
a woman is killed. Media should raise voice about these issues so that people could be aware about it.
These issues should not be highlighted as entertainment series besides that it should be taken seriously.
To raise the issues of under representation on important positions:
Women are underrepresented in governance and decision making positions.
At present women represent approximately 8-9% of Parliamentary seats and less than 6% of cabinet
positions. Less than 4% seats in High Courts and Supreme Courts are occupied by women. Less than 3% of
administrators are women. Our only women Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi is a great example of women
empowerment but still the participation of women on important positions is very less. Media can make a
huge difference in this situation by appropriate efforts.
To know the situation of women health in country:
Millions of Indian women simply lack the freedom to go out of the house in
search of health services they need. The National Health Survey found that 52% women in India are not
even consulted on decision about their own health. The antenatal and postnatal care is beyond the reach of
many Indian women. The National Health Survey mentions that some 1, 00,000 to 1, 20,000 women die
every year due to pregnancy related causes. In some States death rate is quite high and alarming. The rate
in India is quite higher than the maternal mortality rate surveyed in Cuba, China, Srilanka and Vietnam.
Girls and women face discrimination within the family; eating last and least. Media should make people
aware about these issues.

14. To focus the serious issue of male-female ratio:
Men outnumber women in India, unlike in many countries where the case is
otherwise. The main cause of the gap in the male female ratio is prevailing practice of female fetus killing
especially high in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. In these states, the ratio is shockingly low as compared
to other Indian states. Female infant mortality rates are higher than male infant mortality rates. Our media
needs to focus on this health issue of women. The various scheme incorporated by the govt. requires wider
coverage so that women especially from economically weaker section can be benefitted from them.
Portrayal of women by the Media:
By and large the media scene in India is that media does not address serious issues about exploitation and
unequal treatment to women in different spheres but is keen in reporting sex related incidents by way of
sensationalizing news of atrocities on women. Thus instead of highlighting the exploitation of woman they
end up becoming one of the reasons in increase of violence as their coverage more often than not tend to
glorify the crime against women. It is true that media has brought to light, as never before, certain
misdemeanors against women but in a very subtle manner it also perpetuated the stereotyped image of
woman as a householder and an inconsequential entity in the traditional value system. Generally, women’s
problems never figure on the front page of a newspaper unless it is a gruesome murder or a case of rape.
Newspapers even on women’s page does not usually address relevant issues for women empowerment but
reporting is concerned with beauty tips recipes, fashion syndrome etc.
It is unfortunate that there is lack of sensitivity among the newspapers
in general to women and their problems. I would like to refer to the Study conducted by the Media
Advocacy Group viz. “Violence against Women: Media Coverage and Representation”. The Media Advocacy
Group made the following recommendations on reporting violence against the women.
 Media needs to take an extended, broader view of crimes against women. It has to be instrumental
in conducting a social audit on factors responsible for increasing crimes, particularly against women
and children, including indifferent investigative procedures, miscarriage of justice, and growing
social impunity of the perpetrators of crime.
 It also has to be instrumental in creating an awareness among civil society of the causes and nature
of the crime itself, and of the preventive measures.
 When treating these issues, media has to be extremely factual and empirical. The study also stated
that the only regulation that governs a sensitive reporting on this issue is that the rape victim’s
name should not be disclosed. Barring this, the study found that everything else is graphically
reported. Often the victim’s family name and address is cited, making a mockery in the letter and
spirit of the regulation.
 Though much of this violation and malpractice are committed by a small group of publications,
others are spurred on to imitate and keep pace with the sensational trend. Therefore, I urge the
media to take a serious look on the issue and do self-regulation and self-monitoring with extreme
care and caution.
 Aarushi murder case is another prime example of irresponsible and sensational reporting by the
Media. The gruesome murder of a teenage girl for days have been the sound basis of increased
TRPs of the News Channels.
 The media both electronic and print are morally and legally bound to avoid sensationalisation of
news relating to victims of crimes.

15.  The Press Council of India had already drawn guidelines on the subject and appeals to media to
follow them meticulously while reporting atrocities on women/child. It is important for me to refer at
this point of time to, also an important issue that greatly and gravely impacts women in overt as
well as covert manner, the HIV/AIDS reportage by the media.
Conclusion:
Therefore media should promote respect and dignity to women by avoiding
highlighting negative portrayal of women. The subject Women and Media is quite relevant in the present
day context. This is a huge platform from where the process of women empowerment could be accelerated.
Media can play an important role to empower women in different fields as now it is very easy, to search
anything related to empowerment through internet. Media has a great caliber for the empowerment of
women. Therefore no other sector can match the efforts of media in each field to empower women.
In second highest populated country like India only 49% women are literate as
compared to 66% of men. The ratio of school going girls is very less as compare to boys. The drop out
percentage of girls is very high as to boys. The female adult literacy rate in many countries like Malaysia,

16. Srilanka, China, Vietnam, and Indonesia is higher than that in India. Media could play an important role in
improving the percentage of women education in the country.
The subject Women and Media is quite relevant in the present day context. From this
platform the discussion on the subject is being initiated. The debate on this issue is being proposed to be
discussed at the State level and the Press Council is keen that seminars and workshops on this subject are
organised at different States and at different levels. I sincerely hope that this initiative will be fruitful.