“We are facing challenges at every level,” said founder Kavita Devi. UN News. “People would say that women cannot be journalists, but we went to the villages, we persisted and showed that women can not only report but also tell stories that others cannot.”
Long before global conversations about diversity entered newsrooms, these women were building their own.
From illiterate to multimedia producer
Initially, villagers doubted that women could be journalists and educational barriers made recruiting reporters a daunting challenge, Devi said, recalling the skepticism they encountered.
At that time, female reporters were virtually absent from newsrooms in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Many of the women who joined Khabar Lahariya had little formal education.
One such journalist, Shyamkali, rose from being illiterate to becoming a senior reporter.
Khabar Lahariya reports in local languages, including Bundeli, Awadhi and Bhojpuri, rejecting the idea that legitimacy requires Hindi or elite urban English.
Report from the margins
“I didn’t know how to write a resume or operate a camera, but with training and guidance I was able to learn everything from interviewing to mobile journalism, and now I report stories that the mainstream media ignores,” Shyamkali said. UN News.
Khabar Lahariya’s reporting also goes beyond mere representation. Shyamkali told the story of a woman who, driven to desperation, acted violently against her abusive husband.
Mainstream media outlets reported the incident without context, focusing solely on the shocking act, he said. But Shyamkali’s reporting brought to light women’s perspectives and underlying social realities, demonstrating how women journalists can add nuance, empathy and depth to stories often ignored or misrepresented.
Women “see their own image in the news”
Language plays a fundamental role in Khabar Lahariya’s mission. Publishing in local dialects like Bundeli, Awadhi and Bhojpuri ensures that news is accessible, relatable and empowering to rural communities.
“When we explain problems in their language, people understand better,” Devi said.
“They see their own image in the news, especially women.”
Game-Changing Digital Media
The transition from print to digital platforms has been a game-changer for Khabar Lahariya, as its staff embraced mobile journalism and learned how to present, produce and share news on social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
Technology has allowed us to amplify the voices of communities that were always ignored.
“Technology has allowed us to amplify the voices of communities that were always ignored,” said Shyamkali, recalling the initial fear and excitement when approaching digital media.
“I never imagined handling a camera or sending live reports from a phone, but now I can.”
This digital expansion not only increases visibility, but improves women’s agency, confidence and economic independence, demonstrating that technology and training can transform social realities at the grassroots level.
Founded in 2002, Khabar Lahariya is an all-female media organization run by rural reporters, many of them Dalit, Adivasi and Muslim.
Telling the whole story
Women remain just one in four people seen, heard or read in the media, according to the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) 2025 report.
When women’s voices are missing, the public is denied half the story.
Kalliopi Mingeirou, head of UN Women’s section on ending violence against women and girls, said UN News “This is not because women lack experience or leadership,” but because the media continues to rely on the same limited set of voices, and too often defaults to men as experts and decision-makers.
Indeed, democracy depends on informed debate and inclusive decision-making, he said.
“When women’s voices are missing, the public is denied half the story,” she said. “This distorts reality, weakens accountability and narrows the democratic space. In the current context of backlash against gender equality, the exclusion of women in the news is not just a gender issue, it is a democratic deficit.”
‘Radical rethinking’ required
According to the new report, progress in gender representation in the media has not only stalled but is threatened.
“These findings are both a wake-up call and a call to action,” said Kirsi Madi, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women. “When women are missing, democracy is incomplete.”
Despite making up half of the world’s population, women today represent only 26 percent of global news subjects and sources, a figure that has barely changed in the last 15 years, according to the report.
“A radical rethink is needed so that the media can play its role in promoting equality,” said Ms Madi. “Without women’s voices, there is no complete history, no fair democracy, no lasting security and no shared future.”