Ammu Joseph : Voices unheard
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Jul 05 2014
THE RAPE EPIDEMIC
In search of the missing link
THE RAPE EPIDEMIC : In search of the missing link
Indifference, impatience, aggression and denial have been among the common responses to rape as a multi-layered problem. In the concluding part of her article, Ammu Joseph draws attention to all that fosters a culture of violence against women in our society and why it is unamenable to hasty remedies.
Jul 03 2014
PREVENTING RAPE
Are we just blind persons feeling an elephant?
PREVENTING RAPE : Are we just blind persons feeling an elephant?

Every case of sexual violence that becomes a cause celebre gives rise to earnest calls for action which often yield some results. But limited, quick-fix solutions that do not address the underlying causes of this deep-rooted problem have clearly not worked, writes Ammu Joseph in the first of a two-part article examining the many layers of the issue.
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Feb 13 2014
WORLD RADIO DAY
Who will cast the first vote for equality?
WORLD RADIO DAY : Who will cast the first vote for equality?
On World Radio Day, Ammu Joseph looks at the representation of women in Indian radio and wonders if the medium can play a more significant role in ensuring empowerment and equal participation.
Sep 01 2013
GENDER VIOLENCE
Why the death penalty stands for nothing
GENDER VIOLENCE : Why the death penalty stands for nothing
The pressure of ill-informed popular sentiment coupled with a retributive judicial system may lead to an award of capital punishment for rapists, as it has in the Delhi 2012 case, but that does very little to address the much larger problem of VAW in all its dimensions. Ammu Joseph explains.
Sep 01 2013
GENDER VIOLENCE
Why the death penalty stands for nothing
GENDER VIOLENCE : Why the death penalty stands for nothing
The pressure of ill-informed popular sentiment coupled with a retributive judicial system may lead to an award of capital punishment for rapists, as it has in the Delhi 2012 case, but that does very little to address the much larger problem of VAW in all its dimensions. Ammu Joseph explains.
Aug 02 2013
WOMEN IN POLITICS
Whose dynasty is it anyway?
WOMEN IN POLITICS : Whose dynasty is it anyway?
If 34 per cent of current parliamentarians have family ties and all those under 30 years are hereditary MPs, the concern over women alone leveraging family connections in politics seems misplaced. As the Women's Reservation Bill awaits yet another round of consideration, Ammu Joseph wonders if women politicians can and do make a difference.
Jun 30 2013
GENDERED TRAGEDIES
An unequal disaster in the land of Chipko
GENDERED TRAGEDIES : An unequal disaster in the land of Chipko

As Uttarakhand reels in the aftermath of devastating floods, Ammu Joseph underlines the need for greater awareness of the gender dimensions of such calamities and recognition of the special and diverse needs of women and other disadvantaged sections of society.

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Feb 25 2013
OPINION/MEDIA
Terror reporting reveals gaping holes
OPINION/MEDIA : Terror reporting reveals gaping holes

The pervasive tendency to speculate and insinuate involvement of individuals and selective groups in instances of terror, without authentication or references to source of information, is not only an unfair attack on those implicated but against the very essence of journalism. Ammu Joseph elaborates.

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Dec 03 2011
KATJU EPISODE
Who will bell the media cat?
KATJU EPISODE : Who will bell the media cat?
If issues concerning media standards and ethics are not swept under the carpet as in the past, some good may result from the recent storm over Justice Katju’s observations, writes Ammu Joseph.
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Jun 30 2010
PAID NEWS SYNDROME
Who pays the price for paid news?
PAID NEWS SYNDROME : Who pays the price for paid news?

In mid-June, the Election Commmission of India directed Chief Electoral Officers of all states and Union Territories to enforce the law against "paid news" during elections. The institutionalised racket has been running into hundreds of crores of rupees. Ammu Joseph brings you up to speed.

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Ammu Joseph is an independent journalist and author based in Bangalore, writing primarily on issues relating to gender, human development and the media. She contributes to a number of mainstream publications and web-based media.

Among her publications are six books:

  • Whose News? The Media and Women's Issues (1994/2006, authored/edited with Kalpana Sharma)
  • Making News: Women in Journalism (2000/2005);
  • Storylines: Conversations with Women Writers (2003, with 4 other editors);
  • Just Between Us: Women Speak about their Writing (2004, with 4 others);
  • Interior Decoration: Anthology of Poems by Indian Women (2010, with 4 others); and
  • Terror, Counter-Terror: Women Speak Out (2003, edited with Kalpana Sharma)

She has also contributed chapters to several other books and written/edited a number of other publications, both Indian and international (among them, most recently, Missing Half the Story: Journalism as if Gender Matters [2010] and the IFJ-WACC Resource Kit to Strengthen Gender-Ethical Journalism [2012]). She contributed to UNESCO.s Gender Sensitive Indicators for Media and is currently part of an international team working on a UNESCO report on World Trends in the State of Freedom of Expression and Media Development.

She is a founder-member of the Network of Women in Media, India, and of the fledgling group, Media Watch Bengaluru, which seeks to create time and space for discussions on media-related issues in Bangalore.