Q: What is the state of press freedom in your country?
TR: India is a free democratic country. We enjoy a great amount of press freedom. Freedom of speech and expression are part of our fundamental rights in our constitution. We also have the press council of India, where we can appeal if there is any violation of freedom of press and media. And media is a very powerful institution in India. Now there is almost a revolution in terms of electronic media, print media and even the Internet – cyberspace – has become a very, very powerful tool.
Q: What are the biggest challenges for women journalists in your country?
TR: We have … soft news and hard news, and women are supposed to cover the soft news stories. …Like, you know, fashion shows or some charity meetings, something to do with children, and men are usually talking about reporting on defense or battles or maybe conflict or war. I think we really need to break the glass ceiling here, and we need more women at the decision-making level.
Q: How do you and other women journalists face these challenges?
TR: If a woman has an important issue, I think she should discuss it with her editor or with the management. And I think we really need to have more women’s journalism associations or women’s media associations that can take up the issues on a larger platform. We have a network of women in media in India. It is a nation-wide network of women associated with media, and we have several local chapters, but we need to activate these chapters. We need to be more active and vibrant and talk about our issues and problems and maybe bring out some policy changes if necessary.