The Indian Forum on British Media held a two-hour seminar on ‘The perception of Indian Women within British media’ in one of the Committee rooms of the British Parliament held on 5th July and which attracted over 75 multi-ethnic members who participated enthusiastically. The panel of speakers consisted of professional Asian women from diverse fields--- journalism, law and Public Relations.
The President of the Forum, Prabhakar Kaza welcomed the audience (largely women from all communities) and explained that the main objective of the Forum, was to serve as a watch-dog monitoring the Reports of Indian events by British Media and contest the reports which seemed prejudicial or tendentious. The aim of the Seminar was to improve the aspirational levels of Indian women so that in any field of endeavor they should focus on success and raising the bar.
Mr Krishan Ralleigh, the General Secretary of the Forum, elaborating on the theme of the seminar, pointed out that the prejudices inherent in the stories in visual, audio and print media in the last thirty years or so and the embellishments over the period of time.
The social and economic achievements of the British Asian women were highlighted by various speakers on the panel.
Ashanti Omkar, the first speaker and a well-known TV presenter said that stereotypes are very strong, but the Indian women in UK are breaking the stereotypes. They are making their mark in all sectors of the economy.
Ritu Sethi, Solicitor, in her talk delineated the route to empowerment for Indian women living in Britain. Rachanaa Jain emphasized the need for self-realization and gradual fulfillment of one’s dreams as a goal of life. The author explained how she inspires women to put in more energy into their vocations and take up roles in diverse sectors so that their potential is tested to the limits.
Meenkashi Ravi, TV broadcaster, gave a theoretical foundation to reporting events and clarified that they come with their own filters, which does give a slant to the report. While reporting about Indian women the British Media is more susceptible due to historical connections with the sub-continent.
Radhika Iyer, TV journalist, spoke about the representation of the average Indian woman and said that the Big Brother treatment to Shilpa Shetty was a seminal moment in the understanding of the current Indian woman. While Bollywood does dominate the British thinking, the 21st Century Indian woman is seen as an independent, aspiring and outgoing person.
Prerna Lau Sian, Barrister, added a legal framework to the discussions and how some public enquiries in UK have led to securing a better status for women and contributed to social safeguards.
Loveena Tandon, renowned journalist and broadcaster, spoke about her experiences in UK and India in the media field. For women while TV is alluring in view of the public exposure, it does have its downsides as it is a 24/7 job. Notwithstanding the challenges many Asian Women are crossing these hurdles and chalking out successful careers.
The seminar was hosted by Rt. Hon. Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow East and anchored by Simi Arora, concluded with a vivacious Q & A session.
