Mass Media: A Tool for Empowerment of Asian Women?

"Prompted by the desire to promote the positive role the mass media can play in relation to gender and development concerns and to share experiences with two the neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia, the Research Centre forGender, Family and Environment in Development (CGFED) and Vietnamese Info Youth Centre organised a workshop on gender, media and development in Vietnam."

Held in September 2003, the purpose of this workshop was to analyse the role of the mass media in propagating gender equality and to explore models and experiences that promote the active participation of communities in their own development.

The workshop ended with participants making recommendations on how to move forward in the struggle to ensure that the mass media become a tool for women's empowerment in Asia. Some of the recommendations included:

• More attention must be paid to basic education programmes for women, especially women in rural and mountainous areas.
• Besides improving cultural knowledge, knowledge and information on healthcare for women, particularly reproductive and sexual healthcare, must not be ignored.
• A relationship between the mass media of the three countries - Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam – needs to be developed.
• Short-term training classes for gender cadres should be organised so that they can collaborate effectively and directly with the mass media on covering gender issues.