Radio Ujjas

The radio programme emerged as part of KMVS's focus on adolescent girls' education, basic functional literacy with sangathan (women's group) members, and development of context-specific educational curricula for literates and neo-literates. The educational activity was initiated with the creation of 'Ujjas Mahiti Kendra' (Ujjas Information Centre), out of which members began publishing a newsletter called 'Ujjas'. Its principal objective is to disseminate locally relevant information about and among village people, particularly women. It is in simplified Kutchi and Gujarati and designed to be easy to read. Approximately 2500 copies are circulated in an effort to both inform sangathan members of sangathan activities and to provide Kutch's people with perspective on the experiences of rural women.

However, KMVS members found that low literacy, the remoteness of Kutch's villages, and poverty made it difficult for villagers to take advantage of media like the Ujjas newspaper. A survey conducted during 1998-1999 indicated that radio was the primary medium being used in Kutch; KMVS decided to extend its work into that medium by partnering with Drishti, a group of media professionals working on issues of gender justice, human rights, and development. KMVS was attracted to this group's "firm faith in the ability of...media and the arts to...document alternative histories, give expression to voices on the margins, create public awareness and build public opinion, mobilise people to action, and lobby with structures of authority", as well as its belief that "social communication need not be dry, boring, pedantic or depressing".

This partnership consolidated its efforts in 1995, when the government made a provision that 33% of the members of panchayat bodies should be women. In an effort to meet women's demand for training for that role, and to make the environment more conducive for a woman sarpanch, KMVS and Drishti developed a docu-drama called 'Kujal Paanje Kutchji' ('Sarus crane of our Kutch'). Broadcast on All India Radio beginning in December 1999, this serial focused on the participation of women in political processes, specifically village-level panchayats. This theme was explored through the character of Rani, the first woman sarpanch of Ujjas village. Initial publicity for this programme was carried out through posters in 408 villages and road shows in some villages; Kunjal drew more than 1,400 letters from its audience.

Radio, this time featuring interviews rather than dramatic characters, was also used as a medium for 'Kutch Kuchhato', a 5- to 6-minute documentary module that aimed to provide information and to offer "a committed space to the voices of people from Kutch". Organisers explain that "The regional identity of Kutch in Gujarat is distinct and well defined....Hence, this programme was consciously planned as a vehicle for public articulation and expression of Kutchi identity. The Kutchi dialect has no written form. A preliminary village-based survey conducted by KMVS...revealed that there was a great demand amongst audiences for listening to Kutchi programme. Hence, our choice of language was Kutchi." KMVS and Drishti trained a team of 14 village-based reporters, introducing them to development, social justice, and gender issues; journalism techniques; technical radio production skills; and interviewing methods.

KMVS and Drishi's subsequent radio programmes again highlight the strategies of reinforcing regional identity through local-language programmes. In March 2001, the partners began bi-weekly broadcast of a 15-minute radio programme called 'Tu Jiyaro Ai' ('to be alive'). Developed to provide a channel for citizens to air their concerns about rehabilitation following a major earthquake, the programme was in a magazine format and featured interviews, songs, and profiles. Organisers drew on the village reporters, sangathan members, newspapers, and phone calls to find details and figures regarding the damage and the reconstruction activities. Village reporters visited villages, meeting with the people to learn about their concerns and to cross-check the information they had gathered "again and again".

The next programme produced for broadcast on All India Radio, 'Kutch Lokji Vaani', is another example of the participatory nature of this project. "This programme conceived the way that could present a mirror to the society and remind people of their uplifting past" while also providing a platform to question government malfunctioning. Three separate capsules were designed: 'Pardafash' (Expose), 'Musafari' (Travelogue) and 'Lokvani' (People's Voice). Localised research was a key approach in developing these capsules. Through many visits to far-flung villages, elders and poet-historians were consulted to learn their views about a particular legend or folktale and to help identify songs, proverbs, and anecdotes for each episode. Music trips were carried out to record songs sung among different communities on different legends and historical figures. (Music for a few was composed and recorded in-studio.) For the Lokvani segment, first-hand information by the reporters was generated based on issues that arose during their routine village visits. "In most of the stories the reporters played merely the role of compere and the participants' views got preference."

Throughout the above process, organisers say that they have "realised radio's affinity with oral, non-literate cultures; it can easily reflect and generate debate on local concerns, needs, priorities and issues. This highly localized programming brings pluralism into our broadcast culture; it gives a sense of selfhood and how a radio programme in local language affirms local cultural identities. This type of programmes are participatory in contrast to the alienated spectatorship on the part of the audience in mainstream media."

Literacy, Women, Gender, Political Development, Emergency.

Kutch, the largest district of Gujarat, has distinct geographical features. With 51% of its land covered by desert and with scant and irregular rains, Kutch is under constant threat of drought. In absence of perennial water sources, the region is arid and unproductive. Lack of education and inadequate nutrition, early and frequent child bearing, and the double burden of household responsibility and wage labour are factors contributing to women's marginalisation. Further, "A tremendous rise in the incidence of violence against women has occurred in this area....Already severe patriarchal norms and behaviour take perverse forms in the face of greater economic pressures, and greater resistance from women." It was in response to the situation faced by the women during the droughts of 1985-1988 that KMVS was set up in 1989.

With 10,000 members as of September 2004, KMVS has helped women to "become more able to access and define their own and communities' needs. Their ability to analyse their own situations and take ownership of programmes is definitely a positive outcome of a long process of education and conscientisation....With the empowerment of a network of women's groups at the village level (sangathans), women are articulating the need to equip themselves with more information and skills in order to intervene successfully in the larger social and political process." KMVS was awarded the Chameli Devi Award 2000 by the Media Foundation, New Delhi for its overall media efforts, including the Ujjas newsletter.

Organisers claim that 1560 postcards were received in response to Kutch Lokji Vaani, 16.55% of them written by women. "This large number of postcards, received from women is more encouraging as the literacy levels amongst women in Kutch is 26.5 per cent (including urban population)." Village-level surveys developed by the Centre for Alternatives in Education found a 6% listenership after the broadcast of 12 episodes - which rose to 66% after 10 months of broadcast. Listenership amongst radio owners in Kutch rose to 80%. Some of the publicity efforts carried out to encourage citizens to listen to and participate in the radio programmes include:

• letter writing (organisers respond to letters written in response to one programme by informing citizens about upcoming serials)
• radio promos and jingles
• sangathan members' efforts to inform the villagers about the programmes when they return to their villages
• visits by the reporter team to selected villages, where they encourage community listening
• announcements on megaphones, postering, wall writing, street meetings, and road shows.