Interpersonal communication network of rural women

Effective and efficient interpersonal communication of developmental information is one of the concerns of extension and development communication functionaries to accelerate the proces of growth of rural India. In the absence of any system to recruit women extension workers, the very fabric of women's life, which is embedded in a rigid and highly stratified social structure is not fully understood and hence, women development programmes have failed to produce the desired impact. It is a common knowledge that women spend most of their time living and working in their communication networks. So, an understanding of women's preferred style of communication, interaction and Ipadership will provide useful guidelines in designing effective communication strategy. The present study entitled "Interpersonal Communication Network of Rural Women: A case study" was thus, taken up. The investigation was carried out in Sarauli village of Ghorawal block of Sonebhadra district in UP. Data was collected from 217 married women through structured interview, observation and key-informant interviewing over a period of four months. For all the questions asked related to various engagements of women, only one network was delineated. There were 28 groups and 55 bridges. The sociometric stars were not over chosen persons. However, 4 respondents got very high score and were thus, the opinion leaders of the village. All leaders were OBC, Hindus. Most were of middle age, illiterate, middleincome group and had middle level of socio-psychological characteristics. The existing network was not efficient but was found to be stable