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21 May has been celebrated by UNESCO since 2001 as The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. To celebrate the day UNESCO Dhaka office in partnership with UNWOMEN and Article 19 organized the roundtable discussion titled Gender Role in Culture and Creative Industries and in Media in Bangladesh with the support from SIDA. 

The event was graced by Azmeri Haque Badhan, Actor; Ashfaque Nipun, Filmmaker and screenplay writer; Gousul Alam Shaon, Managing Director, Dotbirth;  Rawnak Hasan, General Secretary, Actors Equity of Bangladesh; Nobonita Chowdhury, Director-Gender, Justice, and Diversity (GJD) and Preventing Violence Against Women Initiative at BRAC; Shimu Naser, Founder of Earki; Shameem Akhtar, Film Director; Mir Mukarram Hossain, Founder and CEO, Film Syndicate; Amitabh Dewry, Curator and Bookmaker Consultant, Box Office;  Rashed Zaman, DOP; Anisul Islam Hero, Dancer; Pooja Sengupta, Dancer;  Mahjabin Reza Chowdhury, Producer, Half Stop Down;  Afsana Ferdousi, Fashion Designer including other distinguished representatives from the media and creative industry of Bangladesh as the discussants.

This day celebrates not only the richness of the world’s cultures but also the essential role of intercultural dialogue in achieving peace and sustainable development by highlighting relevant issues such as the need for artistic freedom and expression, social and economic rights of artists, and gender roles in cultural and creative industries. 

``Media has infiltrated into every part of our daily lives, but women still do not have an equal place in media and the arts. Creating spaces for dialogue about gender equality, spaces that discuss women, men transgender people, and the relationships between them, is critical to improving gender equality in Bangladesh’’, UNESCO Dhaka Officer-in-charge Susan Vize commented while inaugurating the discussion.

During his opening remarks, Faruq Faisal, Regional Director, Article 19 said, ``It is becoming difficult nowadays to express ourselves. Cyberbullying has become the biggest problem in our life. We need to work more on freedom of expression and the right to information. ’’

The role of media to sensitize people on gender, the way of portraying women in media, the role of media in making social norms and values and its impact have been discussed by Shararat Islam, Communications Analyst of UN Women.  

During the session, Azmeri Haque Badhan said, ``It is much needed to include those people in such discussion and platforms who are less aware of gender’’.

Ashfaque Nipun said, ``we need to change the mindset on gender stereotyping.’’

On that point, Nobonita said, ``We need to identify the gender discrimination we create through our activity and communication. We can get the reflection from social media users as well.’’

By expressing his concern Gousul Alam Shaon mentioned, ``Private sectors, Television channels need to work together to create a sensitized society for a long–term and sustainable outcome. We need to explore the root cause of gender discrimination and to plan effectively for the empowerment of women.’’

Rawnak Hasan said, ``We need to strengthen the creative industry for an enlightened society. The role of cultural practice is very significant. We need to include cultural practice in our education system.’’  

All the discussants shared their valuable insights and experiences on the issue and highlighted the necessity to change gender perception in media immediately. The roundtable discussion was moderated by Kizzy Tahnin, Program Officer, Culture, UNESCO Dhaka Office.