The Representation of Women Politicians in Pakistani English-Language Newspapers

Gender representation, in terms of both narratives and images of women in the public sphere, is an indicator of gender equality in a society. In particular, mass media plays a significant role in shaping the perceptions of the public towards women. Our present study aims to investigate the representation of women politicians in two Pakistani English-language newspapers in 2012, 2017, and 2022: Dawn and The Nation. With the rise of quotas reserved for women in both the National and Provincial Assemblies in Pakistan, our study hopes to analyze how often and in which news genre that women politicians are represented. By employing a content analysis approach, our findings reveal that women politicians are greatly underrepresented in both Dawn and The Nation newspapers compared to men politicians. They are usually depicted in shorter, hard news stories rather than given more in-depth portrayals in features or editorial sections. In addition, there was no significant change found throughout the ten-year period investigated, despite the country’s law to reserve 20% of parliamentary seats for women. Limited representation in media can affect the political careers of women politicians, by limiting their chances of being elected on open merit seats in general elections and also undermining their importance in the eyes of the public. Therefore, it is imperative that the media should have balanced reporting on women politicians. This is especially of concern in a society where women are already facing considerable challenges in all aspects of life due to the sociopolitical contexts of the country.