* Gulf women are successful in their journalistic work and are respected and appreciated by all
* Bahrain is proud of its strong press, and it is faithful to its homeland and its gains
* Journalism is a profession governed by principles, values, rules, laws, regulations and customs
* The ceiling of freedom in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia is commensurate with our traditions and priorities and with our responsibility towards our homelands
Ahdiya Al-Sayed, President of the Bahraini Journalists Association, is a guest of “Saudi women” and her permanent friend. We interview our guest about her journalistic experience and success stories in her career, and what she said about the Saudi woman who testified to her with confidence, sobriety and empowerment, generation after generation.
* How does Professor Ahdia see the present Saudi woman, who is her companion and sister in history, present and future?
** I believe that Saudi women have reached a very high position, and I have always said that the basis for change was strong, so Saudi women are now in a stage of progress and prosperity, and have attained positions they deserve in the presence of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his Crown Prince who supports Saudi women as a fundamental pillar in the development process, if The radical changes that have taken place in the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have led to women having an important role in Saudi society, in the government, and in state agencies, and Saudi women still have a very long way to go. Undoubtedly, this development has an impact on Bahrain, and what happens in Bahrain affects Saudi Arabia. We are in the same line, walking together. The success of Saudi Arabia is the success of Bahraini women, which gives us the opportunity to cooperate with each other in major matters, so that we have a voice not only at the local level, but also at the international level, and there are many files that concern our countries and others concerned with preserving our gains In Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, I believe that the voice of women is very important. This is an opportunity for us to cooperate with each other to advance and develop our countries.
* In your opinion, what is lacking for Gulf women to have greater representation in the fields of journalism? Do you think that the number of Gulf women journalists is still modest compared to the number of men? Is government support alone capable of bridging this “gender” gap?
** We do not have statistics showing the number of female journalists compared to the number of men in journalistic work. I do not see that the number of female colleagues is modest compared to men. As for government support, we need financial support, but without interfering in journalistic work. Thank God, the governments of the two countries are open to the press and listen to it. And they interact greatly with it, because the press plays a big and important role in providing the government with the voice of the citizen, and since the crises we are going through have affected the press, we find that there must be support for the press in general.
I do not care much about the numbers because what counts is the work and the outputs, and I believe that the number of female journalists is an estimated number by looking only at the beginner names of young men and the big names. There is no difference between women and men in the journalistic work in the Gulf countries. There is a very important difference which is the ascension of high positions. I really hope in Bahrain Saudi Arabia and all the Gulf countries want me to see more women in high positions in the press, “editor-in-chiefs, deputy editor-in-chiefs and managing editors.” This is what we lack in the Gulf, and I believe that women are qualified for these positions and we can achieve this with very open guidance. Women need support in this. Positions I see that Gulf women are very successful in their journalistic work and have their valued status and are respected and appreciated by all.
* What is the reality of empowering Bahraini women journalists? How can they achieve a real partnership with Saudi female journalists?
** In Bahrain, we have more than half of the association’s membership of women, and the association embraces the most important media women, and all those who work in the media, including newspapers, radio, television, and news agencies, are journalists. The issue of women’s empowerment in this regard is not a problem for us, as women exist in all places And the empowerment of women is possible in cooperation with each other, to find female media leaders who will be at the head of newspaper management. Today, Bahraini and Saudi women can head the editor-in-chief of a newspaper and manage the editor-in-chief of a magazine. We are not only talking about newspapers and magazines, but rather they head and run the departments of media institutions.
The coordination between our colleagues in Saudi Arabia through conferences, workshops and forums enables us to prepare women to work in leadership positions in newspapers inside our country or to travel abroad to attend intensive courses, and cooperation is by encouraging graduates of journalism and media in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to engage in journalistic work, a lot Some of the female graduates are forced to work in public relations and media companies and departments. Thus, our press has lost young men who have the potential to be the future generation. We can also train, encourage and empower female journalism and media graduates, so that they can have a voice, opinion and influence in the street, and train them so that we create professional female journalists from them.
* “Journalism has no fear or favour.” What is the story behind this slogan?
** We always celebrate this day in Bahrain, leadership and journalists, and one of the most beautiful things we get in the international press is the congratulations that come to us from His Majesty the King, and here is a message sent by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa to the journalists. The message is our goal on our global day. At the top of this pyramid is a leader who believes in our work. A day in which we celebrate, and stresses the importance of every slogan drawn up by the international community and the United Nations to celebrate International Press Day “No fear or favour”. They believe very much in the responsibility of the word, and they believe in the messages that His Majesty the King sends to them. At the national level, we celebrate Bahraini Press Day.
At the international level, within a year and a half, we were able to have a vote in the International Federation of Journalists, and I was voted to be a member of the (Gender) Steering Committee to represent the Middle East, which means my representation of every woman journalist in the Gulf countries and the Middle East, the files that belong to them if Were there any harassment or problems of concern to women journalists, it is our duty to deliver the message, and through this interview I can cooperate with my female colleagues in Saudi Arabia on issues that can be brought up to the Gender Council, for example the issue of “equal job opportunities” and leadership positions. We will get great support from The International Federation of Journalists, which is in fact a moral support, given that our leadership today is actually supporting us and giving us advanced positions and positions, but we must be effective at the international level and participate in their activities and have a strong voice, this is a very excellent thing.
At the international level, we are in Bahrain. Within a year and a half, I took the seat of the Gender Council, and we have another contract in a higher advisory committee in the International Federation, and each contract is for 3 years, and the other contract is for Professor Rashid Al-Hamar, Vice President of the Journalists Association.
His Majesty the King, may God protect him, in our meetings with him, he always encouraged us to develop ourselves and take care of refining them through continuous training so that we can upgrade our capabilities and then be qualified to obtain international gains in the field of journalism.
Our worldwide celebration of this day every year is evidence that we believe that we are an integral part of this wide-ranging world. Journalism is not a simple profession, on the contrary, it is a profession of great importance in our lives today, and the journalist has a word and has an opinion, and all the political matters that happen in Our surroundings, and the challenges we face, the journalist has a great and very important role in it, and it is important that he must be aware of all matters, not only in the region, but also on the international level, and since we are required to be informed, we must have international memberships in press institutions, we celebrate with them With their slogans, every slogan that was used in the celebration of the International Press Day, Bahrain had a share in implementing these slogans through its work and practices, and Bahrain became one of the countries that boasts that it has a strong and responsible press, and at the same time is faithful to its homeland and its gains.
Q: Would you like to give the readers an overview of the “gender” council and its tasks? Is our concept of “gender” still in its initial stages?
** I believe that without the support of the Arab states, I would not have won this council, which raises all issues of concern to female journalists in all countries of the world, and among these issues is that they demand equal salaries between men and women journalists, thanks to God. We do not have this issue in Bahrain. In Saudi Arabia, it is really a strange thing that in Europe they demand equal salaries for women journalists with their fellow journalists, and in our countries we believe that women’s rights are lost, but the opposite has appeared, that women’s rights have been preserved in our country for decades, and we have no difference between men and women in salaries.
The shortage that we have in leadership positions can be supplemented in the future, God Almighty willing, with our efforts and joint work. The leadership in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia believes in the competence of women, and even men in both countries also believe in the ability of women journalists and support them by various means.
Winning the seat of the Gender Council was a distinguished experience, and one of the files that also raises the harassment of women journalists on social media. The "Gender" Council is concerned with every matter and complaint concerning any newspaper in the Middle East. Some time ago, there was a threat to Iranian women journalists who submitted their resignations and took a stand against the mullahs’ regime. There was fear for women journalists, and members of the Council referred to this issue in solidarity with Iranian women journalists. I campaigned in favor of our fellow Iranian women journalists. That any journalist or media person be subjected to injustice or torture by the Iranian regime can be seen as political positions, but in reality it is a purely professional position.
Our job is to look at the situation of women journalists around the world. We said equal job opportunities and salaries and protecting them from any systems that may expose them. I think these are very important files.
* Ahdia Al-Sayed is a member of the Arab Women’s Council. How would you describe the work of the Council, and did the “Corona” pandemic affect, in one way or another, the work of male and female journalists? When we say “the Arab Women’s Council,” what do we mean and to what extent can we rely on the council’s role in raising awareness and discussing Arab women’s issues?
** My presence in the Arab Women’s Authority and in the Board of Trustees. The authority is working on large projects and work is continuing on them by obtaining support and financing projects, but due to the Corona crisis, we were unable to organize many programs; Including seminars and events that were supposed to be organized by the Commission to raise issues of concern to Arab women. Although the world has gone online, I still believe that our presence in one hall together will have a stronger effect on conveying women’s voice, through the Arab Women’s Commission, which many individuals and institutions have joined. The Commission has a very important role. It will build several centers for breast cancer detection in large countries. These are big projects. There are countries that cannot build hospitals. There are funders who support the Commission, and the Commission will build these centers not only for disease detection but also for treatment.
The Commission also has very strong political positions, and positions with Arab women, empowering and encouraging them, and highlighting their work and successes is very important. The Commission is based in Dubai and the members from the countries of the Arab world are honorable personalities. We learn from each other and learn from each other’s experiences, but unfortunately the Corona pandemic has hindered that, and we hope things return to normal. The Authority is playing its role fully, God willing, and the Council has a great role in raising the level of awareness of women. Women are very aware, but there are very poor areas where women suffer from many problems that must be addressed through the programs and projects of the Arab Women Authority.
* Arab women face several problems, the most important of which is stereotyping and societal stereotyping. What is the role of the press, in your opinion, in addressing these problems?
** Our Arab societies in general have many problems represented by the negative view or stereotype in the mindset of some about the contribution of women in their society and in their general movement, but I believe that this is one of the issues that the press works to address through specialized files, journalistic investigations, meetings, dialogues and seminars Journalism with experts, psychologists, and sociologists, noting that journalism is not solely responsible for addressing community issues. There is an exchange of roles between journalism, radio, television, theater, and drama in general, and specialized journalistic writings.
* In a previous statement, you mentioned that you are looking forward in Bahrain for a press law that is commensurate with the new changes, between traditional and new media. Has the compass of journalism been lost, and does the new generation have enough awareness to differentiate between the concept of the “Fourth Estate” and “printed or electronic” tools?
** We must separate "social media" and "journalistic work", because journalism is a profession governed by principles and values, rules of conduct, laws, regulations and customs that we study until we learn because it is a profession like all other professions, while social media practices correspondence in a wide space It is open to every citizen, and that naturally results in a lot of problems. The story of the citizen journalist is that there is no citizen journalist, citizen doctor, or citizen engineer. Journalism is a profession that we study and learn. The topic of discussion that revolves around social media will eliminate journalism. This is not correct, and I am betting on that. The printed press will continue and never end. Interest in it may decrease or the presses print fewer numbers. However, journalism has long ago turned to digital journalism and remains called “journalism”. Accounting remains as a profession with its own ethics. There is no face between social media and journalism as a profession and fourth authority.
There are those who take advantage of freedom of opinion and expression to stir up sectarian strife and raise issues affecting the security of our countries. These account holders are not patriotic. They may be terrorist organizations funded from abroad. The putschists of "Hezbollah" or the "Muslim Brotherhood". These putschists are not compared to the one who sits behind the account of an apparatus and hides himself. It is never compared to a journalist who writes news or an article under his own name and is responsible for every word he says. There is no comparison between the two. Journalism remains a profession and a fourth authority. It ends because it is an important pillar and pillar in any civilized society, and there is no society where the saying of the press has ended.
The press law that we talked about is commensurate with the new changes in the traditional media and the new advertisement, but after reviewing the existing press law that was issued in 2002 AD, we found that it is excellent, and there are amendments in some articles, and we can have a new law commensurate with the stage, and among the amendments There is no imprisonment for journalists in publishing cases, and this does not mean that there are imprisoned journalists. There are only saboteurs, terrorists and putschists in Bahrain’s prisons. There are people who claimed to be journalists, but they were involved in killing the police, and in terrorist and subversive cases. Not to imprison the journalist.
* What do you think of those who bet on the death of the printed press?
** If we are proud that we are a fourth authority, we must maintain a very excellent level and content, and what happened in the Corona crisis proved to all of us that the source of reliable news is newspapers, any number or statistics required. People always refer to newspapers if they want to be sure of Numbers and information because it is the correct and reliable source, and they did not return to social networking sites. This confirms that the press is still fine and has credibility for the information, and for our press to remain strong, we must look at the content another look, and if we do not care about development and keeping pace, we will lag behind the march, investigative journalism is very, very important Our sources of journalists are incomparable with what is published on social media because we have direct communication with officials and the state, which makes us provide a distinguished news service through investigative journalism and investigations.
* Has the Gulf media succeeded in promoting national identity and belonging within the GCC system? How can media shortcomings be overcome?
** I believe that the national media in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia has achieved great success in instilling the national spirit and belonging, because the press and media institutions are national institutions whose first and foremost concern is preserving the security and stability of our countries, and preserving our very distinct identity, and there are things that distinguish us as Arabs and Gulf people from others; Culture and civilization We differ from the rest of the world. This difference does not mean that we are against other cultures, but rather we adhere to our traditions and originality.
* Does the media content constitute a challenge for the Gulf journalist? And can the ceiling of freedom stand as a barrier to creating competitive global content?
** The content is not a challenge, and the challenge is to provide distinctive content; Because we have the capabilities, tools and resources, which unfortunately some journalists and media workers lack, some appear to work as a job and not as a place for creativity and to provide everything that would positively affect the advancement of our societies. Whoever works in this field does not leave it because it nourishes his soul. The difference between a journalist as a job and a journalist who loves His work is the difference between a journalist who loves journalism, and it is possible to achieve one in one year that raises the name of the journalist and the balance of the profession to the highest levels, and it is possible for a daily report that does not draw the attention of any reader to the work of this journalist, this difference, the challenge is the love of the job.
I do not think that the ceiling of freedom has come down again. The ceiling that exists in accordance with our traditions, our societies and our priorities, with our nature, our Arabism and our politics is what made us feel responsible towards our homelands. We are not compared to the traditions and customs of foreign countries. We still have respect for the elders and respect for the state, and in other countries in the name of freedom. The press insults their important symbols of high personalities, and with our ceiling in freedom, we were able to maintain our security and stability.
* How can we describe the media partnership between the two sisters, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia?
** The media partnership between the two countries exists. The Ministry of Information between the two sisters, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, is always continuing and we see it through cooperation. The unification of the media discourse is not new. As civil society institutions, the partnership between the Journalists Association has become between the two countries, and many important points have been agreed upon before the Corona crisis. Among them is holding training workshops and exchanging the work of journalists in the two countries so that they work between newspapers of some, forums, forums and conferences to raise political issues, because our work is linked to politics and the affairs of our countries, and God willing, after the Corona crisis, many important events will begin to be organized, and we will also celebrate a number of occasions, among which we will celebrate To the Bahraini woman in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to the Saudi woman in Bahrain on March 21, 2021 AD with our fellow journalists in Bahrain, after which we will celebrate Emirati women, and we will continue to celebrate Kuwaiti women…etc.
I hope that we will create a joint committee of fellow journalists in the two countries to organize the celebration of Saudi women in Bahrain so that it will be the beginning of a great work in strengthening the relations of women journalists and media in the Gulf system.
Areej Al-Juhani @areejaljahani