Community Radios Means Of Reforms

World Radio Day-2023 is being observed even in Nepal today (February 13th). This is a special day for radio workers. Various forms of discrimination prevail in Nepali society. Human trafficking, domestic violence and discrimination against women are still rampant. Many organisations have been working on these issues. Despite this, real change is yet to be noticed.  

The history of community radio started in 1947 when Bolivian Labour Association operated the radio for the benefit of their community. In Nepal, the history of community radio began in 1996. Currently, as many as 355 community radios are operating in 77 districts of Nepal. 

These radios are operated by women, Dalits, Janjati and other communities in rural communities. They have been shifting the power paradigm from elites to the poor. Community radios are addressing diversities of the country in a proper manner as they generate awareness among the target population through a myriad of programmes.

Social transformation 

Local radios have been playing an important role in disseminating information and creating awareness at the grassroots level.  Through different programmes in various languages, such radios have made it possible to share information with a wide range of people throughout the country. This has been helpful for bringing about social transformation. Though problems are not resolved by radios themselves, they challenge traditional thought process and help generate changes in the grassroots level. The reach of the media has also ensured that many incidents are not hidden or sidelined but are featured nationwide and leave the authority with no other option but to take action for positive changes.

Discriminations based on caste, creed, gender and class are still prevalent in the country. The feudal social and cultural practices have deprived the marginalised and poor communities of development. With the emergence of local and community radios, people are more concerned about their daily needs and their supply chain. Community radios are organised, operated and managed by the people in the community. They protect, promote social, economic, cultural and political values locally and nationally. 

Community radios serve as a basic medium of communication for the promotion of the right to information and freedom of speech. They aim at changing the lifestyle of their audiences through effective programmes. Such radios seem to have been picking up community issues. Their efforts are having direct impact on the lives of people. Community radios are producing and broadcasting programmes on various social, political and economic issues in various languages. In Nepal, they are broadcasting radio programmes in more than 40 languages.  

In Nepal, community radios are a reliable source of information for the elite as well as the marginalised sections of people. Various awareness programmes and public service announcements are broadcast every day. Participation of women and people from the marginalised communities has increased in development, political and economic activities. In the rural areas, women have started small enterprises either from their homes or rented spaces. Service providers are giving quality services to the right holders. Community radios have also been empowering local people and making policymakers accountable. 

In the April 2015 earthquake and flash floods during rainy season, community radios were the only means of communication at the local level. The Nepali society is very diverse, with 125 ethnic groups speaking 123 languages. One can see different cultures, geographies and languages in every three-hour walk from north to south or east to west. Mainstream media and national radios alone cannot unleash the potential of diversity of this magnitude. 

The country remained poor as the people were not adequately aware in the past. In Nepal, about 65 per cent of the total population is literate. The number of literate women stands only at 42 per cent.  Community radios have the capacity to reach out to the entire population of the country. However, other media have very limited reach and basically serving the elites. In this situation, community radios are considered as the absolute means of communication for rural communities. Community radios have been connecting the community with the state. 

Sources of hope

Community radios are the sources of information for the people from rural to urban and poor to rich. They are more than mechanical equipment, studios and frequencies. They are the means of hope, aspiration, security and future of their audiences. They broadcast pro-poor contents mostly overlooked by the commercial or mass-media. Community radio is an approach rather than a physical asset. This is because such radios are operated by communities to supply their informational needs for transforming their life and society. Community radios are not-for-profit institutions. They are operated by the community-based organisations for their social benefits. These radios are working to eliminate different socio-cultural evils such as witchcraft, untouchability, chhaupadi, dowry and child marriage.  Furthermore, community radios have also prioritised skills and entrepreneurship development programmes to generate income for the communities with low income.

(Acharya is the Manager of Network of Community Radios (CIN). cindeepak@gmail.com)