Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) held a conference titled, ‘Celebrating Resilient Voices in
the Media’ on Friday, 15th September 2023 at Mariott Hotel, Islamabad. The conference was marked as
a celebratory event of DRF’s work and achievements with women journalists in the country, particularly
through its Network of Women Journalists for Digital Rights (NWJDR). The conference brought together
journalists, civil society, government representatives and other stakeholders to discuss the state of media
and the challenges that women journalists face in the country and celebrate their achievements despite
the difficult circumstances they face working in the field. The conference had an exciting line-up of three
panels to delve into DRF’s engagement with the journalist community in Pakistan and showcased an art
exhibition of hand-drawn illustrations from DRF’s magazine, Digital 50.50.
The event started off with welcome remarks by Maryam Saeed, Program Manager at Digital Rights
Foundation, who added, “We have gathered today to focus on what we have built at DRF over the past
seven years. We are celebrating abundance today, of the relationships and friendships our NWJDR has
developed and nurtured throughout our journey.” Maryam talked about the accomplishments of the
seven-year project amplifying the experience of working with and supporting women journalists across
Pakistan. She also highlighted the importance of DRF’s nationwide network of women journalists which
serves as a safe space where these women turn to each other for support and solidarity in the absence of
support mechanisms.
In our seven-year journey with the NWJDR, we have conducted capacity-building workshops on online
safety, ethical journalism, gender-sensitive reporting and media law with more than 1,000 journalists
across Pakistan. In 2020, DRF found Pakistan’s first feminist e-magazine, Digital 50.50, which provides a
platform for women journalists in Pakistan to raise marginalized voices. In the past four years, DRF has
launched 15 editions of the magazine featuring more than 100 original contributions from journalists and
120 hand-drawn illustrations depicting the articles on digital rights covered in the magazine. We also
initiated a trend of annual Residential Retreats for the Collective Well-being of women journalists in
Pakistan and have so far hosted three Retreats with more than 30 participants attending each of these.
The 1st Secretary of Political Affairs for the Netherlands Embassy, Ms. Lotte Hofste, shared opening
remarks and stressed the need for a balanced gendered portrayal in media which shows a positive effect
on both women and men. She also shared concerns about women journalists being attacked online
mainly due to the intersection of gender and journalism and how online spaces are unsafe for them to
pursue their careers.
DRF’s Executive Director Nighat
Dad stated, “This conference is a
celebration of the network of
women journalists.
Women journalists suffer greatly in their profession as a consequence of lack of a policy and legal framework.”
Furthermore, NCHR Secretary added, “As Commission, it is our duty to identify the gaps in the system.
And our complaint system can be expanded and a complaint filed with NCHR will see a recourse more
efficiently especially if the state fails to respond.”
Digital Rights Foundation is a registered research-based NGO in Pakistan. Founded in 2012, DRF
focuses on ICTs to support human rights, inclusiveness, democratic processes, and digital governance.
DRF works on issues of online free speech, privacy, data protection and online violence against women.
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