Pakistan’s media underrepresents women, digital platforms show potential

A recent report by the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), released on Thursday, revealed that while women’s presence in Pakistani media has improved through digital platforms, traditional media remains predominantly male-centric. The Pakistan National Report 2025 was compiled based on media monitoring conducted on May 6 last year—a day of significant national security tensions with India.

This data captures not just a single day’s news coverage but decades of institutional and societal factors shaping women’s visibility in Pakistani media. On that particular day, the report noted, the overwhelming focus was on national security issues, which directly influenced the visibility and representation of women across various media platforms.

The report highlighted stark disparities between traditional and digital media: Traditional outlets still heavily marginalized women with only 11% of news subjects being female, primarily in areas like arts, culture, and celebrity reporting. Gender-Based Violence (GBV) stories were almost entirely absent from these venues as well. In contrast, digital platforms showcased a more balanced picture—women made up approximately 26% of internet news subjects, particularly prominent in politics, science and health, social issues, and gender-related content.

However, despite this increased visibility online, the role of women in actual news production remained limited: just 5% of bylines across all media were written by women. Women predominantly served as anchors or presenters (96%), with only a small percentage engaging in field reporting. The report also underscored that female reporters seldom covered stories involving male subjects; instead, they often reported on stories featuring women.

GBV coverage remained exceptionally low across both traditional and digital media, with no such stories appearing in print until May 6. Digital platforms did address issues related to sexual harassment, technology-facilitated violence, broader gender inequality, and rights-based perspectives more comprehensively.

Across all monitored subjects, women’s visibility as the central focus of news was exceptionally limited, accounting for only about 15% of stories. Women were predominantly portrayed in roles such as government officials or politicians rather than providing personal insights or expert commentary on issues. Moreover, nearly two-thirds (64%) of quoted content came from men.

The report concluded that gender stereotypes persisted almost universally: less than one percent of the news content challenged these stereotypes, and fewer than one percent addressed issues of gender equality or inequality between genders.

Despite the persistent challenges in traditional media, digital platforms offered significant potential for professional development and framing social issues through a gendered and rights-based perspective. This could lead to increased visibility and representation of women in the Pakistani media landscape.

Overall, these findings confirm established patterns but highlight opportunities for change with the utilization of digital media as an avenue for greater inclusivity and engagement on behalf of women.