Cracking the glass ceiling in the media: rural women in community radio

Rural women in India have begun to successfully usealternate media networks to promote gender justice and sustainable development. Community media in various forms-radio, video, television, information and communication technologies such as the Internet and web based networks-are enabling rural women to debate about their rights and empower them through knowledge about different social, political economic and environmental policies and programmes. This paper traces the emergence of a new breed of barefoot journalists-the rural women who have begun to participate in media production and management to promote women's empowerment. Community radio initiatives endeavour to bring in grassroots development while building solidarities among the rural women. This paper presents examples of how rural women are attempting to crack the glass ceiling in the communication media through community radio to bring India closer to gender equality and empowerment that is at the core of sustainable development