GENEVA (ILO News) - The International Labour Organization (ILO) will mark International Women's Day on 7 March this year with a discussion by four award-winning women journalists on war and conflict, and the special challenges it poses to them and other women.
The panel, "Dangerous Assignments: Women covering conflict" will be hosted by ILO Director-General, Juan Somavia. The event will take place in the Governing Body Room (R-3 Level of the ILO building), from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Although no longer a novelty in the media, women still face frequent gender-related challenges at every level of their work. Many women journalists are criticized by their communities for choosing to cover dangerous subjects; others must battle discrimination within their own organizations to obtain such assignments.
The participants in the discussion are:
- Kate Adie, UK, BBC Chief Foreign Correspondent: Ms. Adie is an award-winning, veteran correspondent who has covered most major conflicts and wars over the past 20 years. Ms. Adie received the OBE in 1993 and her first book, The Kindness of Strangers, appeared in 2002.
- Christine Anyanwu, Nigeria: Sentenced to life in prison in 1995 for reporting on an alleged coup against then-Nigerian President Sani Abacha, she was only released after his death three years later. Ms. Anyanwu has won a number of press freedom prizes, including the prestigious World Press Freedom Prize.
- Barkha Dutt, India, Senior Editor NDTV: Host of two popular shows on India's premiere television channel, she rose to prominence in 1999 while reporting from the frontline during the Kargil War, India's first televised conflict. Over the years she has won numerous awards including Best Woman Journalist Award 1999.
- Nadia Mehdid, Algeria, Foreign Editor at Asharq Al Awsat: Ms. Mehdid was the first journalist from her newspaper to report from Baghdad after a 10-year absence from Iraq, and the only female journalist in its London headquarters. A journalist for the independent Algerian Press before joining Asharq in London in 1995, she continues to report first-hand from hot spots across Algeria.
The ILO has played a major role for the past eight decades in setting standards to promote equal opportunity for women workers. It gives priority to ensuring gender equality, both within its own walls as well as worldwide through its global activities. For more information on women's day events and gender issues, please contact: communication@ilo.org or visit our website at: www.ilo.org/communication.