http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=78945
Sunday, March 8, 2009 Presentation of gender sensitive commercial ads criticised AAAB Vice President Mohammad Jahangir speaks at a seminar at Cirdap auditorium in the city yesterday. On his right are Ranjan Karmakar, Ramendu Majumder and Geetiara Safia Chowdhury.Photo: STAR Staff CorrespondentSpeakers at a seminar on 'Gender sensitive ad making: Our expectations and responsibilities' yesterday strongly criticised the ways women are presented in gender sensitive commercial advertisements. The seminar was jointly organised by Gender in Media Forum and Advertising Agencies Association of Bangladesh (AAAB) at Cirdap auditorium in the city. Women working in different sectors of society and representatives from ad firms took part in the discussion and tried to find out a way to face the conflict between client satisfaction and social responsibility. Nazneen Shifa, executive member of the forum, said the presentation of women in the advertisements is mostly as mother, wife, housewife or girlfriend. If she is a wife, she is a person without any income, stay-at-home mum, demanding, nagging, cantankerous, moody, caring, etc. Seeing most of the advertisements, it seems that women has nothing to do other than grooming and taking care of their looks and her main job is to look after her children, she added. “Client pressure and business perspectives are some factors that dominate the idea of gender sensitivity. We are always the intermediary organisations who work for others so it is not our responsibility,” Gausul Alam Shaon, a representative from an ad firm. AAAB President Ramendu Majumder said ad-makers certainly have a social responsibility. Mohammad Jahangir, vice president of AAAB, said a concrete decision should be taken to prevent gender sensitive ads before those being shown. Adcomm Chief Executive Geetiara Safia Chowdhury, TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman, human rights leader Dr Hamida Hossain, Prof Geeti Ara Nasrin, Farhana Hafiz of Oxfam GB Bangladesh, AAAB Secretary General Munir Ahmed Khan, Centre for Women Journalists President Nasimun Ara Haque Minu, Steps Towards Development Executive Director Ranjan Karmakar, Tropa Majumdar, PIB Senior Researcher Shima Moslem and journalist Shanta Maria also spoke. ------------------------------------ -- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTMedia mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to [email protected], OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE Share media news, discuss journalism issues and network with media professionals across South Asia on this mailing list. Just write to [email protected] TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTMedia by sending a blank mail to [email protected] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTCaste: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
