Khabar Lahiriya is India’s only women-run brand of ethical and independent rural news. Today, it
reaches 5 million people every month through multiple digital platforms. It has a network of 25
women reporters across 16 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, who run a
hyperlocal, video-first news channel, broadcasting news primarily to audiences in remote areas
of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Its journalists are women from Dalit, tribal, Muslim and backward castes. They have been referred to as a powerful local watchdog, reinforcing grassroots governance and accountability, as well as exposing the acts of omission and commission by the local bureaucracy/political class.

What excites us about their work:

• A pioneering effort of rural journalism that is feminist and centred on issues of violence against women as situated within gender and caste structures
• Reporting in regional languages using various digital media
• A women-run effort that gives voice to women to speak up and question power and inequality in the public realm across regions
• Empowering rural communities to question the government on issues of rural development and empowerment.
• Uses digital technologies to disseminate awareness across languages and translates lesser-known experiences across contexts and brings issues to the mainstream.
• Gives voice to people who are usually represented by others.