Women groups flay media sensationalism

Somajiguda: The representatives of women’s groups in Hyderabad condemned the attacks on people’s personal lives and violation of the rights to privacy by the Telugu News Channels. The latest of these is a so-called scoop on the life of D Sunitha which was led by TV 9 and followed by several other news channels such as ABN, 10TV, CVR News and others.

However, the women’s groups demand all the Telugu TV Channels to stop the trend of public shaming of individuals by telecasting personal and private details of people’s lives as news. They also demand the media to delete the videos pertaining to D Sunitha and issue an apology that will be broadcasted prominently at prime time on each of the TV channels.

The women’s group also asked the media to strictly follow the guidelines of National Broadcasting Standards Authority and ensure ethical and responsible news broadcasts.
Sajaya from a women’s organisation said, “Media should not peep into the personal life of anyone as it violates the right to privacy. No individual or media holds the right to judge a woman by what they were wearing.”

Sunitha from Anweshi Research Centre said, “During the recent International Women’s Day, media was vocal about women empowerment. But, in contrast to that they target the women, who attain higher levels.”

Sandhya from POW, “We have been fighting for gender sensitivity and failed to achieve to date. Despite, acts such as Domestic Violence Act, Dowry Harassment Act are in place, nothing has come in favour of women. Media violence has become tougher for women, they are giving much priority to personal lifestyles.

The mainstream media does not have space for pressing issues like farmer suicides and atrocities on Dalits.”