A radio station in the north of the country, “The Voice of the Mewatis”, fights for the liberation of women in a region where early marriages are common and violence against them is the norm. Gradually the lives of her listeners change.
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Radio is still the favorite media of millions of Indians, and in the north of the country an NGO has been able to use this passion to support the emancipation of women. To the point that the New York Times recently devoted an article to a community radio station in India that has changed the lives of many women.
The name of this radio is Alfaz-e-Mewat – literally “The Voice of the Mewatis”, named after the people who live in the northern part of the state of Haryana, in North India. In this region where early marriages are common and violence against women is the norm, every day for thirteen hours, journalists offer “a blend of entertainment, education, group therapy and female empowerment” to 225 villages. Programs broadcast in Hindi, Urdu and Mewati.
Little by little the radio is making things happen
For these women, just hearing programs on the radio that are designed for them and that talk about their problems represents a huge change. The correspondent of New York Times tells the story of Bhagwan Devi, who received a radio as a wedding gift when she was 16 years old. Today she is campaigning for the construction of toilets inside homes, so that women no longer have to go to the fields to relieve themselves in front of men.
At low noise, the codes are reversed. Some listeners contact protection services against domestic violence, others dream of going to work abroad or encourage their daughters to study so that they can access positions generally occupied by men. So who said that radio was no longer a medium of the future?