Socio-Economic Profile of Rural Women in Nearby Areas ofPantnagar Janvani: A Study in Tarai Region of Uttarakhand

ARPITA SHARMA* AND SK KASHYAP1

Department of Home Science Extension, College of Home Science, G. B. Pant University ofAgriculture & Technology, Pantnagar – 263145 (Uttarakhand).

ABSTRACTThe community radio acts as a medium for providing a voice to the voicelesspower to the powerless. It caters the needs of rural women by giving the way ofbottom up approach. Before designing and developing community radioprogrammes, study of audience profile is very important. Thus, a study wasconducted to assess the socio-economic characteristics of rural women. A sampleof 1000 respondents was selected through Census method in Rudrapur Block ofUdham Singh Nagar District in Uttarakhand. Data was collected through semi-structured interview schedule, observation and focused group discussion. Thecollected data was analyzed through Frequency, Mean and Percentage. The resultsindicated that the rural women belonged to middle age group, could read andwrite, had joint family, were of middle income group and had no formal socialmembership. Majority of rural women attended mela and went to their neighbors’home at the time of festivals.

Keywords : Community Radio, Socio-Economic Characteristics, Rural women

1Department of Agricultural Communication. College of Agriculture, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar – 263145(Uttarakhand).*Corresponding Author E-mail : sharmaarpita35@gmail.com.

INTRODUCTIONA community radio station, by its broad baseddefinition, is one that operated by a community,in the community, for the community and aboutthe community. The community for the purposeof community radio can be territorial orgeographical - a township, village, block, tehsil,district or island. It plays a central role incommunity development (Fraser and Estrada,2001). To play this role they need to provide qualityprograms to ensure continued audience andsupport from the community. Community radioplays a very important role in social, economicand psychological empowerment of rural women.According to Ullah et al., 2011 community radiocontributes to social change by initiating oraccompanying communication processes andshould carry responsibility for being effective infacilitating rural development through womenempowerment. Pantnagar Janvani CommunityRadio Station is licensed to Govind Ballabh Pant

University of Agriculture and Technology(GBPUAT) and based in Pantnagar. PantnagarJanvani was launched on 8th August 2011 andinitiated its service from 15th August, the sameyear. It is running at 90.8 MHz and programmesare being transmitted thrice a day. Presently it isworking on voluntary basis, getting theprogrammes from the local people of Pantnagarand of nearby area and the students of theUniversity.

Studies aptly showed that audience profile isimportant in context of development ofparticipatory media. Community radio is anexample of participatory communication in whichmore than fifty per cent is expected to come fromthe community. Therefore success of adevelopmental media like community radiodepends on proper understanding of communitywhom the community radio programmmes areexpected to cater. It caters to different types ofinformation needs such as economic, social andcultural. Future programmes, plans, successstories all these aspects cover community radioshowcasing overall society. The judges of socio-

ISSN : 2348-8808 (Print ), 2348-8867 (Online)Journal of AgriSearch 1(2): 117-121

ARTICLE INFO

Received on : 14.03.2014Revised received on : 17.04.2014Accepted on : 23.05.2014Published online : 03.06.2014

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economic profile become important but it wasinadvertent. Thus, for the success of communityradio audience profile is important. According toSingh (2011) Community Radio is a ParticipatoryInformation Communication Technology. It mayprove more effective in an urban as well as ruralsetting if CR programmes would be based onaudience profile.

Past researches showed that audience profile isimportant before developing community radioprogrammes. CEMCA (2011) reported that amongthe Vasundhara Vahini CR Station listeners morethan 19.2 per cent of the respondents belonged tohouseholds with monthly income below Rs. 1,500.Around 30.6 per cent of the respondents felt thatwomen did not have enough employmentopportunities. The community is essentially Hindu(90 per cent) with a percentage of 6.2 per centMuslim families living in the villages. Over 93per cent of the houses showed presence of malemembers as the head of the household andpresence of the female members as the head ofthe household was merely at 5.9 per cent. Singhet al., (2010) reported that most of the communityradio programmes in the developing countrieshave started with the support from some outsidedonor either national or international.Community voices are struggling at the peripheryof a contrasting and often iniquitous medialandscape.

Community radio can be used as a tool for womenempowerment but only broadcasting of variousprogrammes for rural women is not sufficient.Rather there is need to develop programmes basedon the audience researches for improving theeffectiveness of community radio programmes. Incontext of programmes on women empowerment,it is necessary to know the socio-economiccharacteristics of rural women (Suman, 2014). Itrequires formal research on audience analysiswhich is lacking in context of most of thecommunity radio stations of the country.According to Sharma and Kumar (2010) for theWomen Empowerment, Community RadioProgrammes should be deigned on the basis ofgeneral profile of rural women. Keeping in view,the present study was undertaken with mainobjective to study socio-economic characteristicsof rural women.

MATERIALS AND METHODSRudrapur block of Udham Singh Nagar District wasselected purposively because Pantnagar JanvaniCommunity Radio Station is situated in the

Rudrapur block. There are 69 villages in Rudarpurblock of Udham Singh Nagar district. Out of thesesixty nine villages, three villages viz;Jawaharnagar, Shantipuri No.2 and Gokulnagarwere selected purposively. The main reason toselect these villages was that a Community radiois confined to a small geographical area. Itdepends on low power transmission covering byand large not more than 20-30 Km. radius.Pantnagar Janvani covers the villages whichcome under the 20-30 km periphery of Pantnagar.Samples of 1000 respondents were selectedthrough Census method. Data was collectedthrough semi-structured interview schedule,Observation and Focused Group Discussion. Priorinterview respondents were taken into confidenceby revealing the actual purpose of the study andfull care was taken in to consideration anddeveloped good rapport with them. The collecteddata was analyzed by the help of various statisticaltools i.e. Frequency, Mean and Percentage.

RESULTS AND DISSCUSSIONAge, Education, Caste, Family Type, Occupation,Income, Social Participation were considered associo-economic characteristics of respondents.Foresaid characteristics were processed, analyzedand is presented in table 1.

Age

As revealed in table 1, maximum number ofrespondents (42.8 per cent) belonged to middle agegroup (25-35 years) followed by young age group(32.5 per cent) whereas, only 24.7 per centrespondents belonged to old age group (35-45years). From the overall view, it can be concludedthat in the area studied, maximum number ofrespondents belonged to middle age group category.

Education

Data reveals that maximum number ofrespondents (48.5 per cent) could read and write,while 21 per cent respondents had education upto intermediate level. 15.1 per cent respondentshad education up to high school. A limited numberof respondents (2.5 per cent) had studiedgraduation. Still, only ten respondents were postgraduate. It is interpreted that women understandthe need of education. It indicates that the contentof the community radio programmes should belucid and must be understood to a layman or aperson who can read and write.

Caste

The table 1 reveals that maximum respondents

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(40 per cent) belonged to Other Backward Castefollowed by Schedule Caste and Schedule tribe (35per cent). Only 25 per cent respondents were ofGeneral Caste.

Table 1 : Distribution of respondents according tosocio-economic characteristics (N=1000)

Category No. of Percentagerespondents

AgeYoung (15-25) 325 32.5Middle (25-35) 428 42.8Older (35-45) 247 24.7EducationIlliterate 119 11.9Can read and write 485 48.5High School 151 15.1Intermediate 210 21.0Graduate 25 2.5Post Graduate 10 1.0CasteGeneral 250 25.0Other Backward Caste 400 40.0Schedule caste/ Schedule tribe 350 35.0Family TypeNuclear 150 15.0Joint 850 85.0OccupationLabour 90 9.0Farming 240 24.0Business 10 1.0Service 10 1.0Animal Husbandry 320 32.0Income LevelLow (Less than Rs 3,000/) 249 37.16Medium ( Rs 3,000-Rs 6000/) 321 47.91High (More than Rs 6000/) 100 14.92Social ParticipationInformal Social ParticipationNo membership 920 92.0Membership of one organization 50 5.0Office holder 10 1.0Formal Social ParticipationMela 900 90.0Natak/Katputli Nraty 150 15.0Mahila Baithak 50 5.0Festivals 735 73.5Religious Ceremonies 505 50.5Folk songs 60 6.0

Family Type

The data enclosed in table 1 depicts that thepercentages of respondents in nuclear family (15per cent) were less as compared to percentage ofrespondents in joint families (85 per cent). Thus,it can be concluded that in the villages, still jointfamily system is dominant over nuclear family.

Occupation

33 per cent respondents were engaged in unpaidhousehold work. Maximum numbers ofrespondents (32 per cent) were engaged in animalhusbandry as a main occupation followed byfarming (24 per cent) and labour (9 per cent). Equalpercentages (1.0 per cent) of respondents wereengaged in service and business. The womenunder study area were working as anganwadiworkers, Asha workers and also as teachers inprimary school of the village and there werewomen labourers engaged in agriculture farms ofPantnagar University. Such community radioprogrammes should be made which can giveinformation on the various occupations such as:animal husbandry, agriculture etc.

Income

Income level differs according to the occupationof the respondents. Out of One Thousand women,Three Hundred thirty were not gainfully employed.Only Six Hundred Seventy respondents wereearning. Perusal of table 1 clearly denotes thatamong the six hundred seventy women who weregainfully employed, majority (47.91 cent) fell inthe category of medium income group followed bylow income level (37.16 per cent). Only 14.92 percent respondents fell in high income group. Thisis attributed to the fact that those women whowere gainfully employed were engaged in low ormedium salaried occupations. This indicates thatsuch community radio programmes should bemade which provide methods of increasing incomelevel of rural women.

Social Participation

It is defined as the voluntary sharing in person toperson and in group to group relationship beyondthe immediate household.

Formal Social Participation: Formal socialparticipation refers to membership in anyrecognized organization like Self Help Group,distinctive feature like Gram Sevak of village.Office bearer like anganwadi workers andteachers in school. It was found that majority ofrespondents (92 per cent) had no membership,

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while only fifty respondents were found be havingmembership of one organization (Self Help Group).Ten respondents were office holders. Thissignifies that women under study were not muchaware of the various social institutions. Thus itcan be concluded that selected village did not havesocial activity hence the social participation ofmost of the respondents were negligible. Therespondents who belonged to formal socialparticipation were the member of Self Help Group,but these women do not know about the otherorganization. This indicates that community radioprogrammes should be developed whichencourage formal social participation of ruralwomen in the formal organizations.

Informal Social Participation: Informal socialparticipation refers to the participation infestivals, religious Ceremonies, dramas, puppetplays, fairs etcetera. From the perusal of table 1it was found that large proportion (90 per cent)visited mela. Melas are a part and parcel of thecultural heritage of India. Traditionally, suchmelas are held at temples and other places ofworship. It will indeed be very commendable ifthese melas can be organized at the new templesof scientific learning like agriculturaluniversities and colleges which are the seats oftechnology and innovations. Women attendedmelas in the temples or farmers’ fair organized byPantnagar University. These Melas of the templesdid attract a sizable gathering, but the chief pointof attraction, in due course of time, turned out tobe cultural programmes rather than anyeducational content. These villages are nearerto GBPUAT. Respondents were visiting farmers’fair in twice a year. The farmers’ fair devotedtowards a visual portrayal of the salient aspectsof scientific and improved methods of agriculturaloperations for the benefit of the tillers of the soilis, indeed, one of the most welcome steps towardsestablishing an effective lien between thescientists and the farming community. About 15per cent attended Natak/ Katputli Nraty. KatputliNraty (Puppet play) is one of the features offarmer’s fair of Pantnagar University. Women liketo see these puppets play. Sometimes dramaswere organized by the university students of HomeScience College in the study area. Five per centwomen attended Mahila Baithak. Mahila Baithakwas organized once a week by anganwadi workers.Women were gathering in a common place ofvillage and they discussed their problems. About73.5 per cent respondents visited their neighbourduring festivals followed by religious ceremonies

(50.5 per cent). They were meeting each other inthe festivals like Holi, Diwali, Chut, Makarsankranti, idh. They attended the religiousceremonies like Havan, yagh. Only sixtyrespondents celebrated festivals with folk songs.Folk songs are an inseparable part of our life. Theyare main source of entertainment, self expressionand inspirations. All social events, marriages andbirths, religious and seasonal festivals arecelebrated with songs and dances. Folk songs anddances are the most potent sources ofentertainment and also provide space networking.Women in study area had more informal meetingsrather than formal meetings or memberships.From the overall view, it can be concluded thatmaximum respondents attend informal meetingsas mela, festivals and religious ceremonies. Thisindicates that community radio programmesshould be developed which encourage informalsocial participation of rural women in the mela,religious ceremonies etc. Maximum women likefolk songs and Katputlai Natray, so the informationthrough the CR programmes should be given inthe formats like drama, folk songs.

CONCLUSIONSocio-economic profiles of audience becomeimportant in context of development of communityradio programmes for women empowerment. itwas concluded that the listeners of PantnagarJanvani were mostly from middle age group andfrom that segment were simply literate, thereforeit was assessed that community Radio profileshould specially cater to the needs of middle agegroup rural women having efficiency of merelyread and write. The listeners were mostly fromjoint family background and were gainfullyemployed. Majority of them belonged to mediumincome group. Community Radio Programmesshould be formed for this segment is supposed tobe listeners to the profile of the audience. Thelisteners were found to be having less associationof formal social organization. It was found thatmaximum women interested folk songs andKatputali Natry. It revealed that format like dramaand folk songs are the preferred format for mostof the listeners of community radio servicesPantnagar Janvani.

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Therefore it seem apparent and essential that thesocio-economic profile of the listeners emerge asa critical component to be analyzed beforeconceptualizing the community Radioprogrammes for enhance effectiveness accordingto the community Radio objectives.

REFERENCESCEMCA.2011. Science for Women Baseline Study

Report for Vasundhara Vahini CR Station (90.4Mhz) Vidya Pratishthan’s Institute ofInformation and Technology, Baramati.

Fraser C and Estrada RS. 2001. Community Radiohandbook. UNESCO, Paris.

Sharma A and Kumar B. 2010. Audience profile ofwomen community radio listeners. Journal ofCommunication Studies XXVIII (3):50-59.

Singh A. 2011. Audience Profile of rural women inKarnataka. Journal of Extension Education.32(2):14-16.

Singh BK, Kumar RK, Yadav VP and Singh HL.2010.Social Impact of Community Radio in Karnataka.Indian. Res. J. Ext. Edu. 10(2): 10-14.

Suman RS. 2014. Attitude of Farmers towardsSustainability of Vegetable Cultivation. Journalof AgriSearch 1(1): 1-3.

Ullah MS and Chowdhury AA. 2011. Community RadioMovement in Bangladesh: In Search of LobbyingStrategies. The Journal of DevelopmentCommunication 24(2):12-14.

CORRECT CITATIONSharma A and Kashyap SK. 2014. Socio-Economic Profile of Rural Women in Nearby Areas of Pantnagar Janvani: AStudy in Tarai Region of Uttarakhand. Journal of AgriSearch 1(2) : 117-121.

Socio-Economic Profile of Rural Women