To address the issues faced by women in India, UNESCO New Delhi joined hands with UN Women and Seeking Modern Applications for Real Transformation (SMART) to provide timely information on pressing issues through creative community radio programming.
The nine-month-long project titled “Awareness raising and capacity-building on domestic violence during COVID-19 pandemic” aimed at addressing three important issues in the recent aftermath of the first wave of the pandemic:
- Awareness raising on the COVID-19 related information
- Gender-related violence
- Women health and nutrition
The programmes were broadcasted on SMART supported community radio station Radio Mewat. Radio Mewat is heard by approximately 0.7 million people across 180 villages in Haryana's Nuh district. Nuh in Mewat has been categorized by the government of India as the most backward district in the country.
Bridging the information divide
As part of the project, UNESCO has supported the broadcast of 140 bulletins on COVID-related information. This included content on facts, transmission, symptoms, preventive measures, dos and don’ts, misinformation, and stigmatization. Radio Mewat also shared the government advisories in the local dialect.
Battling gender-based violence, taking toll of women’s health
A prolonged lockdown caused by the pandemic also brought the spotlight on a very important issue of domestic violence against women. Within a fortnight of the first phase of the lockdown in India, the National Commission for Women (NCW) reported a 100 per cent rise in complaints of violence against women.
In a bid to stir conversation in this direction, Radio Mewat did a sustained campaign called Salaamat Mewat Sashakt Mewat (safe Mewat, empowered Mewat). Under the campaign a total of 300 programmes were broadcasted, including: 140 COVID information bulletins, 72 episodes on domestic violence, and 36 episodes on women’s health and nutrition.
During the project period, over 150 cases of violence were registered with the station.
As part of a UNESCO supported rapid response programme, following the first wave of COVID -19 in the country, Radio Mewat also played a huge role in debunking misinformation on covid. The station aired a show called Corona se Jung, Radio Mewat ke Sang (Fight the battle against corona with Radio Mewat) with an aim to provide critical information to the listeners and serve as a key link between the local administration and its listeners.
UNESCO’s Media Development Indicators highlight that while the media is a platform for democratic discourse, the proximity of community media to citizens often allows to reflect social diversity more comprehensively than the mainstream media. Thus, the community media has emerged as an essential service in allaying fears and disseminating credible COVID-related information.