From Silence to Speech: A study of How Women Journalists of Khabar Lahariya Use New Media to Amplify Rural Women’s Health Voices

This paper undertakes a systematic review of scholarly literature published between 2020 and 2024 to examine the ways in which women journalists associated with Khabar Lahariya, a women-led rural media organisation in India, employ digital and new media platforms to communicate health-related issues affecting rural women. Drawing on a carefully selected corpus of twenty peer-reviewed articles and institutional reports, the review situates the discussion at the intersection of gender, rural journalism, health communication, and digital media practices. Using thematic analysis, the study identifies several recurring analytical strands within the existing literature. These include feminist and participatory models of journalism, the capacity of digital platforms to amplify marginalised rural voices, and the persistent structural challenges posed by unequal access to technology and the digital divide. The review also highlights scholarly attention to health reporting practices, particularly in relation to misinformation, credibility, and community trust, as well as gendered dynamics within newsrooms that shape content production and editorial priorities. The analysis reveals that most existing studies rely predominantly on qualitative methodologies such as case studies, interviews, and content analysis, offering rich contextual insights but limited empirical measurement of outcomes. Notably, there is a scarcity of research assessing behavioural change, policy influence, or long-term public health impact resulting from such media interventions. In response, the paper identifies key gaps and outlines future research directions, including the need for mixed-method impact evaluations, deeper examination of caste- and gender-based digital inequalities, and the development of scalable and replicable models of alternative rural media for effective health communication.