Radio and society: Women's radio listening in rural areas of Manipur

Due to poor communication infrastructure, many villages in Manipur continue to rely on word of mouth or the radio for the majority of their news. Various problems including insurgency, counter insurgency operations, ethnic tension, lawlessness, kidnapping for ransom etc. afflict the civilian population in the state. Besides, villages in the state are often isolated and disconnected from the resources and information that flow into the capital city of Imphal. Nevertheless, understanding women's radio access and listening, particularly in rural areas of Manipur is an important step in understanding the impact and effectiveness of the All India Radio Imphal. The study was conducted in Thoubal district of Manipur and focuses on understanding women's radio use in the Meitei Pangal settlement of Thoubal Moijing Leingoijin. The study, which used a quantitative survey of female heads of households, concludes that there exist significant gaps between the needs of the rural Meitei Pangal women and what the AIR Imphal delivered. Besides, cultural barriers, lack of relevance of radio programming and treating the radio set as part of the man's world are some of the major factors behind the low listening pattern of Meitei Pangal women in rural areas of Manipur.