The Media Center at An-Najah National University in Nablus and Press House-Palestine organized an awareness-raising workshop on gender and media issues.
Dr. Farid Abu Dhair, a lecturer at An-Najah University, said that the aim of this workshop is to shed the light on the role of journalists in spreading the culture of gender and the rights of both men and women.
He pointed to the responsibility of media to spread the culture of gender in society, inform the public of facts and information and to clarify concepts.
"The concept of gender in media continues to suffer from lack of interest among many journalists. Moreover, they perpetuate the stereotypical concept of gender discrimination in media. There was, therefore, a need to integrate the concept in media materials and to train journalists on it, "said Abu Dhair.
The participants in the workshop stressed that media still reflects the stereotype image and culture dominant in any society, where men are always at the forefront of leadership, while women spend their time doing traditional stereotypes roles.
According to participants, what is required is a greater effort by media to break down the dominant ways of thinking and a need to enhance the gender culture.
The workshop is part of the "Capacity Building" program, which is part of "Enhancing freedom of expression, quality and independency of Palestinian media" funded by the Norwegian and Swiss governments.
