Hyderabad: To carry out accreditation of journalists in newspapers, there must be a minimum of 33 per cent women desk journalists, according to a government order issued to all managements of various organisations. The desk journalists required for accreditations are 20 in number and of them 33 per cent must be women, according to the order. If not, desk journalist accreditation will be vacant according to the order. Each organisation gets 51 accreditations from state government.
Mr Arvind Kumar, commissioner of information and public relations said, “The order is to encourage women into journalism. This is the pattern followed and there has not been any problem.” But what if the organisations do not have enough women journalists? Mr Kumar said, “We will take a decision on a case-to-case basis.”
Dr Geeta Reddy, senior Congress leader explained, “Why is government asking private entities to implement 33 per cent reservation when it is not being followed by the state? State government must first set an example and then ask others to follow it.”
While more women are required in work places, asking private organisations to create reservations will not enable empowerment. There must be a conducive atmosphere in society to allow more women to opt for jobs and sustain the same.
However, women already make up for more than 33 per cent of the workforce in media houses.
