Lending voice

A journalist in Malkangiri, Odisha, helps tribal girls and women take charge of their own health and share their stories ISHAN KUKRETI

- ISHAN KUKRETI

IN 2015, Jayanti Buruda became the first tribal woman to join Kalinga TV, a news channel based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, as a reporter. “I wanted to be a journalist so I could bring to light the problems faced by tribal women. My parents did not support my goal, so I left home and completed my journalism degree from the Central University of Odisha, Koraput with financial help from my friends,” recalls the resident of Serpalli village in Malkangiri district. However, Buruda soon realised that mainstream news did not fully understand the problems of tribal communities or cover them comprehensively. “Malkangiri was only looked at for Maoist stories,” she claims.