Kalpana Bhattarai
Kartik 18, 2077 (November 3, 2020)
The impact of COVID-19 on Nepali women journalists is a topic that deserves more discussion. Amid the pandemic, they have had to endure economic, health-related, and socio-psychological challenges, along with discriminatory behavior towards them, as explored in this article by Kalpana Bhattarai.
During the pandemic, she had been searching for suitable opportunities to write stories about job losses due to COVID-19. However, instead of putting the experiences of others into words, she herself became a character in that story, as she lost her own job.
My profession was journalism. She had left a secure job as a sub-editor to pursue journalism. She had even quit a well-paying job to dedicate her full-time efforts to reporting. However, in the midst of reporting, she found herself unemployed, as she failed to secure stories to write amid the COVID-19 crisis.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to spread in Nepal, Annapurna Post, where she was employed, suspended its publication starting from the second week of Saun. Five years ago, Srijana Khadka, an archivist, was suspended from the same job she had quit to become a journalist. She had to turn to journalism for her livelihood again. She now regrets her decision to abandon her career in journalism.
Now, there is a sense of disillusionment regarding the profession itself. She asks, “Is there a certain future in journalism?”
With the spread of COVID-19 from Wuhan, China, to Nepal, the government announced a lockdown on Chait 11 last year. Her office also began the practice of ‘work from home.’ However, reporting became a struggle, with regular meetings happening over Facebook Messenger.
“At that time, I met colleagues and asked, ‘What am I going to do in journalism?’ The media houses are laying off journalists even during a crisis. When the need for jobs is at its peak, thinking of leaving the profession becomes inevitable,” she questions, “Is there a certain future in journalism?”
She wasn’t the only one. Even three female journalists working in television and online media, who were already struggling financially, lost their jobs during the lockdown. They faced difficulties in making ends meet with their families. Eventually, they decided to leave journalism behind.
The struggle for livelihood is not limited to job loss. Journalists who used to work on a regular salary are now facing psychological distress more than the crisis of COVID-19 itself. Other professionals who are still earning regular salaries are also facing challenges in writing news in a situation where they are not getting paid as much as they used to. Even “Bhadawals,” who have settled in the capital city after leaving their villages to escape poverty, are also struggling with their jobs after their daughters became jobless.
The future of a working journalist is uncertain. Even in the past, journalists who were not paid regularly suffered more from mental distress than the crisis of COVID-19. The struggle to write news in a situation where other professionals are not getting paid regularly is also causing problems for journalists. The decision to leave journalism is looming for them as well.
