Is there any relationship between TV morning shows and urban women’s empowerment in Pakistan? A case study from Lahore

Abstract

Electronic media, particularly television (TV), remains an important tool which can contribute positively in achieving women’s empowerment (WE) in developing countries. In Pakistan, TV morning shows are highly popular among women viewers particularly in urban areas and have emerged as a powerful tool to influence WE. Cognizant of this, the present study attempted empirically to investigate the influence of TV morning shows on urban women's empowerment, using a mixed method approach—a combination of qualitative and quantitative tools. In 2018, the study collected qualitative data from 66 episodes of five leading TV morning shows, and quantitative data from 260 women in Lahore—a metropolitan city of Pakistan. Findings revealed that TV morning shows presented the content on WE, and invited women celebrities to portray their success stories to inspire women viewers. Multidimensional assessment of WE showed that only 33% of surveyed women were empowered. It was also found that there was a need of improvement in women’s control over resources, their mobility and participation in household level decision making. Regression analysis showed that TV morning shows related variables—women’s intensity of watching morning shows, their interest in morning shows’ content on WE and their interest in watching women celebrities in morning shows had positive influence on WE and its dimensions at different levels of statistical significance. Based on findings, the study has suggested some key recommendations for TV channels to support the national efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality and WE.