Thus several speakers pointed out the healthy media attention to women's political participation that has accompanied the on-going parliamentary elections. Yet turn to the Crimes Section in any newspaper, and you might be shocked. The treatment and representation of women involved in crimes, whether as aggressors or victims, seems to be coming out of the 19th century. Women's credibility and morals are directly and indirectly questioned even in stories where they are the victims of violence and aggression. Sexism also raised its ugly head during the debates surrounding the new Personal Status Law earlier this year.
All news is politicised.
And it is up to feminist organisations constantly to point out the underlying biases in all news coverage and to expose these presumptions on gender roles. For example, Abdel-Meguid's study pointed out that journalists rarely resort to women as sources for their story, even when such women are established authorities in their respective fields. Similarly, the stereotypical generic woman is often the subject of ridicule in cartoons and caricatures. Indeed, this observation is also confirmed by research. The study concluded that caricatures and news items were the two main forms in which material discriminating against women is usually presented.