The Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) has issued an urgent call on International Women’s Day to address the escalating threat of gendered attacks against women in media, highlighting a grave concern over the rise of AI-generated defamation campaigns. The foundation pointed to an incident in November 2025 where journalist Benazir Shah was targeted with a fabricated video aimed at character assassination, warning that such manipulated footage is likely to become more common without effective countermeasures.
In a statement, the PPF underscored that while all journalists in Pakistan operate within a restrictive environment, female media professionals endure uniquely personal and character-focused abuse, a challenge particularly prevalent in digital spaces.
The foundation stressed the need for a multi-stakeholder approach to develop effective policies, ensuring that women journalists themselves are integral to the process of creating solutions to counter these threats.
Recent examples of digital hostility in 2025 include a “relentless harassment and gendered disinformation campaign” against senior journalist Asma Shirazi. The Network of Women Journalists for Digital Rights (NWJDR) attributed the campaign to prominent political party supporters and commentators.
That same year, Munizae Jahangir, co-chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and an anchorperson at Aaj TV, also received online threats. More recently, ABN News anchorperson Alina Shigri shared a screenshot of abusive messages she received from a user on the social media platform X.
The PPF noted that while some of these incidents are reported, the full scope of such digital attacks is likely underrepresented due to their unfortunate frequency.
Beyond the digital realm, women in media also face physical dangers. In January, an Aaj News team, including female reporter Hamna Nisar, was assaulted during clashes between political supporters and police in Karachi. In a separate incident this month, Samaa TV journalist Kiran Naz shared images of her car”s sunroof being damaged during widespread protests.
This hostile environment coincides with a stark decline in female representation in the media. Findings from the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) 2025 revealed that women reporters constituted only four per cent of the total in Pakistan, a significant drop from 16 per cent in 2020.
Despite these challenges, a landmark achievement was recorded in 2025 when Kiran Qasim and Shereen Karim were elected as the first-ever female president and vice president, respectively, of the Gilgit Union of Journalists (GUJ), setting a new precedent for women’s leadership in media bodies.
To foster a safer environment, the PPF reiterated its call for authorities to investigate and prosecute all cases of harassment against journalists. The foundation urged the implementation of existing laws, such as the Sindh Protection of Journalists and Other Media Practitioners Act, 2021, and the federal-level Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act, 2021, which offer legal avenues for protection against harassment.
The PPF also called upon media organisations to establish active gender harassment committees, as mandated by law, and to adopt comprehensive safety protocols. It emphasised the need for media houses to promote women into leadership and decision-making roles.
Furthermore, the foundation urged political parties to enforce a strict code of conduct for their supporters to prevent violence against journalists during public events and in online interactions.