Hyperlocal community as the foundation for women-led Viksit Bharat
This article is authored by Pooja Sehgal, health and gender communications lead, Gates Foundation, India and Archana Kapoor, founder, SMART and Radio Mewat.
Gender sensitive media is an indispensable catalyst for the realisation of a women-led Viksit Bharat as they provide a platform not only to create a more gender-sensitive community but also enable bold, confident female voices and leaders.
When Farheen first entered the studio of a community radio station in the aspirational district of Nuh, Haryana, she was just 18 years old. Though initially shy and unsure, she quickly learned the skills of producing radio programmes and broadcasting. Soon, she became a powerful voice for her community, gaining global recognition and being featured in several documentaries produced by national and international channels. Today, at 27, Farheen is defying societal norms in a region where women are often married off before they turn 18 and are trapped in a cycle of repeated pregnancies, poverty and violence. She is determined to marry a man of her choice and take her own decisions about her future. Her story is living proof of the transformative power of a gender inclusive community media.
Community radios, the third tier of broadcasting, can play a critical role in promoting gender sensitivity by providing a platform for diverse voices, challenging gender stereotypes, and initiating meaningful conversations with the community on gender inclusion. Their inherent credibility and trustworthiness enable them to question patriarchal structures, biases, and prejudices, promote gender-sensitive language in their programmes and highlight the need to create safe workspaces for women within the community. Their ability to create and nurture champions and community heroes makes them the perfect vehicle for championing the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
The concept of Viksit Bharat is built on four key pillars: (the poor), Yuva (youth), Annadata (farmers), and Nari (women). The key to strengthening these pillars hinges on the ability to reach the last mile and make communities an active stakeholder. India’s 500 Community Radio Stations, with a collective reach of approximately 140 million, have the undeniable potential to propel the nation's inclusive growth story.
Deep-rooted gender disparities, perpetuated by structural barriers and societal norms, however, hinder women's progress. While a few women have achieved exceptional success in recent decades, women continue to be massively underrepresented as workers and as decision-makers. For instance, the National Statistical Office recently released a publication on Women and Men in India--2023, which estimates India’s Labor Force Participation Rate to be 78.5% among men as against a mere 37% for women.
Further, a rapid online survey by SMART, a nonprofit that also runs a community radio station, highlighted the fact that 93% of community radio licenses in India are held by men. This gender disparity, in ownership, messaging and narrative building, is a missed opportunity for inclusive representation and empowerment. The survey further reflected that content produced and disseminated in women-led community radio stations was far more inclusive than that of all male- run stations. In these stations the managers intentionally sought out female experts across diverse sectors such as health, financial inclusion, skill development, and Panchayati Raj, challenging the deep-rooted community belief that men inherently know more. This difference in approach highlights the fact that gender inclusive community radios can play a pivotal role not only in challenging and eradicating gender-based discrimination but also in bridging the gap between mainstream narratives and underserved populations.
If supported and nurtured, community radios can lead the way in gender transformation from the ground up. They can provide women a trusted and safe platform to share their experiences, highlight their stories, and convey their narratives in their own spoken language, and help them build their agency and voice within their own families and communities. They can empower women to collectively amplify their issues, particularly for those lacking access to digital and social media, ensuring their concerns reach the right channels for action. Community Radio is the most appropriate channel to dispels myths, provide accurate information, and nurture local female role models. It has proved its value in inspiring communities to tackle challenges like child marriage and inequality in education, improve access to health, nutrition and opportunities. They can also provide a platform to nurture talent, build capacity, and create community heroes. The radio platform can mentor and train female grassroots cadres to effectively articulate women's aspirations by developing the skills needed to create, produce, and broadcast content.
Earlier this year, the ministry of information and broadcasting announced that 50 % of the mandated content to be developed by the community for community radio stations should be developed by women and should highlight their issues. This policy can significantly boost women's participation in the community media ecosystem and make women visible as farmers, entrepreneurs, mechanics, bankers, doctors and experts in their own field. Highlighting that women role models and their narratives is core to enabling opportunities, potential and inspiration.
Including women in all aspects of a radio station's operations can be a starting point in making them gain the courage and confidence to build and trust their own capability and make them feel enabled and empowered agents of impact and change within their communities. The benefits could include improved and more representative content, increased resourcing opportunities, better alignment with local development priorities, and a significant role in driving the transformative growth story of a Viksit Bharat.
This article is authored by Pooja Sehgal, health and gender communications lead, Gates Foundation, India and Archana Kapoor, founder, SMART and Radio Mewat.
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