✔️ 2022-04-19 07:46:00 – Paris/France.
Holding her phone at arm's length, a crowd gathered behind her, Amreen Khan speaks into the camera. “Today I am in Chandpura village,” she says, “where the government is trying to drive people out of their homes, claiming that the land belongs to the state.”
Over the next few minutes, Khan details the story of this village in Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh, where she found dozens of people at risk of losing their homes. It's the kind of social injustice that the former kindergarten teacher has long wanted to bring to light, but didn't know how. Now a graduate of the first digital journalism school for rural women in India, she knows exactly how to go about it. “I always wanted to do something to improve the condition of my village. I finally feel like my dreams are coming true.
Khan, 35, is one of 270 women from villages in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar who have joined a pilot program at Chambal Academy. The academy grew out of the success of Khabar Lahariya, the women-led rural news organization that was the subject of the award-winning documentary Writing with Fire in 2021.
Amreen Khan, who is now a reporter for Khabar Lahariya. Photography: Neha Bhatt
Khabar Lahariya employs 40 women. With the academy, it will reach hundreds more women, teaching reporting skills, as well as awareness of digital safety, fake news, social media and how to document the impact of global issues, including including the climate crisis, on their communities.
“We designed the Chambal Academy training program as an online-only platform to make it accessible to more women, who can do it from home on their mobile phones at their own pace,” says Suneeta Prajapati, 25 years old, coordinator and face of the academy. Hindi video tutorials.
India is the second largest online market in the world, with half of the projected 900 million active users by 2025 expected to come from rural areas, but women are hugely disadvantaged. According to government data, only 25% of women in rural areas have ever accessed the Internet.
The Chambal Academy, which will officially launch in May, aims to fill this gap, says Priya Thuvassery, director of Chambal Media. “We're not just building journalists, but active digital consumers. It's about who has the power to tell stories. Through the academy, we can multiply our work at Khabar Lahariya and replicate this successful business model of storytelling through a gender, feminist and caste lens.
Before students are trained in news writing, the month-long course introduces the role of journalism in a democracy, as well as gender and caste biases in the media.
"I learned that the things that were normalized in our homes are actually discrimination against women," says Khan, who now works for Khabar Lahariya.
Although her mother initially opposed her joining a male-dominated profession, her mother-in-law was supportive, encouraging her to report issues such as the state of local schools and gaps in education. 'education. “We need more female journalists on the ground, so that the female population here can talk openly about the issues they face. What we bring to the table is empathy, relatability, a level of comfort and a safe space for women to voice their concerns,” Khan said.
Another graduate, Suman Diwakar, 28, from Banda in Uttar Pradesh, agrees: “Men tell stories through the male gaze, featuring the voices of powerful men. What about women's perspectives and how issues affect them differently? Now we have a chance to highlight them through a feminist lens and the change these stories can bring.
Diwakar says the training helped her overcome her shyness and gain the confidence she needs to push through crowds to get interviews. “Throughout the course, I found immense courage. I am no longer afraid of anyone. I may be small but when I have a microphone in my hand, I find my voice.
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SOURCE: Reviews News
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