Two eminent personalities speak at Women in Media event: SAWM Sri Lanka commemorates 2 years

The High Commissioner  for Pakistan in Colombo, Ms Seema Baloch and former Vice Chancellor  of the Colombo University,  Prof Savitri Goonesekare shared their views and ideas of women in the media at SAWM Sri Lanka’s 2^ndanniversary commemoration in Colombo, WOMEN AS EQUAL PARTNERS IN SOUTH ASIAN DEMOCRACY.

The event was organised by the Sri Lanka chapter of South Asian Women in Media, a regional network of women professionals in the media, with chapters in all the 8 countries of the region including Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka chapter was formed in August 2009 with members from the print, electronic and internet media, working in English, Sinhala and Tamil. The event was introduced by the South Asian Regional and Sri Lanka Chapter President, Sharmini Boyle.

The Chief Guest and Guest speakers were themselves women of distinction in their chosen professional fields and highlighted the challenges faced by women as they attempt to make a mark in their professional and public lives.

The Pakistan HC recalled her own experience into the foreign service and the 1970s, the strides that have been taken by women since then, the obstacles they continue to face in the upward movement of their careers, and encouraging them to put in the effort required despite the hardships:   “There must be a conscious effort by individuals to change their status in life, to push through the glass ceiling,  to create new holes in that layers of ice, to pull women out of the icy waters and give them a life of their own. We need to create more spaces and expand existing ones for women to be individuals in their own right, to be empowered socially, economically and poilitically. We need new breakthroughs every day, in every field”.

In her speech to the gathering of women professionals, journalists and others present,  Prof Savitri Goonesekare stressed on the importance of the theme of the evening’s event, democracy, and the role of the media in upholding the principles of democracy. “Women’s groups, including women’s groups of journalists like you, must work with each other and together and link across professions and organisations to preserve the relevance and meaning of the rule of law and accountable governance under our Constitution.  We cannot allow an erosion of basic rights and guarantees of individual freedom in the name of economic transition, ethnic or religious identities, or a development agenda that ignores Constitutional rights in the name of a community interest in economic growth. Exercising our basic rights as citizens requires all of us to be particularly concerned with nurturing some of your basic concerns as journalists, the right to freedom of speech and expression and the right to information and media freedom.”

Representatives of the South Asian Free Media Association, Free Media Movement, Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association, Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance and the Muslim Media Forum expressed their support for SAWM Sri Lanka and recognized the value of such a collective in improving media standards.