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Sample this. The April 2004 issue of the rural newspaper Gunagar of Jaunpur talks about the life of Bhimrao Ambedkar coinciding with his birth anniversary.
The December 2004 issue of Mitra from Oraiyya tries to focus on the problem of the caste biases
in the village primary school and even goes ahead to show the issue to the block development
officials. The development officials record the copy as an official complaint and take
action against the erring school teachers. Several other newsletters like the Purvai
of Varanasi, Bhinsaar from Pratapgarh, Dehriya from Sitapur, Bhaiyli from Mathura,
Mahila Dakiya (the very first one in the series) from Chitrakoot are also making their
mark. Mahila Samakhya, a prominent NGO working for the education and empowerment in Uttar
Pradesh, supports these. Nirantar, a support group from New Delhi, supports Khabar
Lehariya from Chitrakoot. While some of them are quarterly, others are bi-annual
and some are even monthly.
The matter in these newsletters range from local civic problems like conditions of the
hand pumps and the kharanjas (brick roads), local social issues like dowry, intoxication,
violence against women and even murders and other crimes. Household tips, gardening tips
and details about latest researches are the added features of these newsletters, which are
collected by the women themselves.
A peek into the newsrooms of these newsletters is an interesting task. The editorial
comprises of the Resource Person of the Samakhya centre, the clerk and a few of the
sangha women who are literate. Some of them are also involved with the designing aspect,
trying to merge the folk designs in the newsletters to give them a better and more rustic look.
The news is collected on the basis of the activities of the centre and also, as provided by these
women. It is compiled and written on the newspaper or even typed by the women who are best in
this work. Then, the print is carried to the printer (who is located as far as 25 to 30 kms)
by the women themselves and selected copies of the newsletter are printed. Every month or
every quarter, some 700 to 1000 copies of these newsletters are printed with an estimated
cost of around Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000, which is partially given by Mahila Samakhya and
partially by the women through various IG (income generation) activities.
According to the women who are involved in bringing out these newsletters, people
have now started coming from all over the village to give details about their
problems to be carried in the newspaper. For us, this is the most effective
medium for voicing our problems. We started them to share the knowledge between
our sangha, but now, even the villagers have got connected to these newsletters,
say Kiran and Sushma of Mahila Samakhya Jaunpur. She cites several examples where
villagers have told them about the problems and they have highlighted them in
their papers. She adds that since these are the only newsletters, which can
carry any and every news, the villagers flock to them.
Some of the issues, which have been highlighted in these newsletters,
have ended up bringing a change in the villages. Like once, one of the
villagers told the sangha women about his repeated requests to the pradhan
to get the only access road to his village repaired. The women noted the case
in their newsletter and sent a copy to the Block development officer. Reading
the news, the BDO ordered immediate construction of the road. Says Rajumari of
Ujala Mahasangh of Mahila Samakhya, We felt like real reporters, for our story
had managed to show an impact. We published the acknowledgement letter from the
villagers in an issue of our newsletter.
In another case, the parents stopped a girl from going to school. The girl came
crying to the sangha workers, and wrote an emotional poem for her parents.
We published the poem in our newsletter and sent a copy of it to her parents.
Reading the poem, the girls parents were convinced about the significance of
education for her and did not stop her from going to school, says Varsha of
Mahila Samakhya Chitrakoot.
At times, the women have even managed to solve some problems of the village
by highlighting them in their newsletters. There are several cases related
to civic problems and cases where women have been harassed. We have sent the
copies of the newsletter with the problems to the block level officials, who
tries to take quick action based on these reports, says Neelam of Mahila Samakhya Sitapur.
The growth of these newsletters has even amazed those who initiated the entire
initiative. Talking about the growth of these newsletters, Deputy director of Mahila
Samakhya, Uttar Pradesh, Dr. Kumkum Tripathi feels it is for the dedication and
sincere hard work of the women that these newsletters have scaled such heights.
They are a part of our regular publications and come what may, the printing of
these newsletters does not stop. We started these newsletters to promote the
educational initiatives amongst our neo-literates, as they served a perfect
medium to bridge the gap between them and knowledge. But after all these years
and the success of these newsletters, we are surprised to see that the latter
have now taken the form of newspapers, which even have a section for world news.
What is more, they are not only focusing on problems of women, but those faced by men too.
Its not only the Sangha women who read the newsletter. Literate menfolk of our village
too read the newsletter. Although initially it was tough for us to accept this initiative
by the women, but then, we realised that it was a boon for the entire village as well,
says Ramkishore Yadav, a village pradhan in Varanasi district. Like Yadav, many other
men too share similar views.
For the villagers of course, the initiative has become an inseparable part of
their everyday lives. It is more than a medium of communication for them,
but a powerful tool that has not only brought in changes in the respective
villages but have mobilized the communities in and around these newsletters.
What is today ironically known as an alternative media is providing the voices
to majority of the population that lives in rural India. Charkha Feature
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