Emily Wax writes about being a female correspondent overseas in light of the sexual attacks on Lara Logan and Lynsey Addario.
Wax makes the point that these women need to be trained in how to deal with the dangers that they are susceptible to in these war-torn countries.
While maybe one can make the argument that women should not place themselves in situations in which they could be in danger, women reporters, unlike men, are able to connect to the women in these countries and hear stories that male reporters may be unwilling to report on (women in the Congo who needed vagina reconstructions due to violent gang rape, for one example).
The answer to the safety of these women reporters is not for them to not be in these places, but for their editors to train them in how to stay safe in these situations.
I disagree. We have to accept the minhag ha'mokom...If a society or country does not embrace and accept women, the USA should not keep sending female reporters into these places. It is irresponsible and extremely dangerous...
ReplyDeleteReally? I actually really disagree with that. These are countries where the women are heavily marginalized, and have stories that the world needs to hear. Female reporters are better able to create relationships and bonds of trust that are necessary to hear these stories.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the minhag hamakom? Raping women? Assaulting reporters in general? Because most of these countries aren't that thrilled with male reporters either.
Yes, it is dangerous, which is why I believe that women need to be trained in how to deal with these dangerous situations. Maybe it's a problem that women are willing to risk their lives in order to get the scoop, but I think that they see their job as giving voices to many that are silenced by their communities.
I think that these female reporters are maybe a little bit stupid, but they are also brave and incredible and praiseworthy.
These women are dedicated to reporting and this is what they are passioante about. They are taking the watchdog role because that is their goal - Someone needs to do it- just like in the article a male journalist said he didn't want to investigate this story, so should no one?
ReplyDeleteI think that is is also crucial that a female reporter who is putting themselves in dangerous situations should be partnered with a male reporter.
This is simliar to the situation of Daniel Pearl who went into Pakistan to report a story and who was captured and murdererd.
So should a Jew not go into a Arab land because they are more likely to take a life of a Jew?
I think its a personal decision, that you need to know what you are going into and trained and need to be passionate about what your'e reporting.
This is what Lara Logan said in a CNN article:
ReplyDelete"Women never complain about incidents of sexual violence because you don't want someone to say 'Well, women shouldn't be out there.' But I think there are a lot of women who experience these kind of things as journalists and they don't want it to stop them from doing their job because they do it for the same reasons as me," said Logan.
"They do it because they believe in being journalists."