Gender Equality India Project #17809

Empower Girls in India Through Sports

by CREA

Project Report | Jan 16, 2024
Empowering Voices Through SELF Academy: A Dive into Digital Storytelling

By Valleri Sharma | Manager, Programs and Innovation

Girls in SELF Session

The SELF Academy Experience

The SELF Academy, organized by CREA in August,2023 unfolded over 10 days in Delhi, focused on "Digital Storytelling." With 30 enthusiastic young women from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand, the sessions delved into crucial themes such as gender, sexuality, consent, and bodily autonomy. These engaging discussions covered power dynamics, gender-based violence, and digital storytelling skills. Notable sessions by Chambal Media, Haiyya, Nazariya, and Agents of Ishq empowered participants with diverse perspectives. The Academy had introduced English language skills and basic computer proficiency.

Beyond SELF Academy – Social Action Projects

Post SELF Academy opened an opportunity for the participants to take up social action projects, fostering leadership and leveraging digital platforms for amplified voices within their communities.
Participants during follow up calls post the academy expressed their eagerness to contribute to partner organizations' events.
Post-SELF Academy, 4 participants from Jharkhand went back to their communities and initiated a project discussing online gender based violence in school.
4 SELF Participants from the East Singhbhum, Potaka block, Jharkhand organized themselves, and decided to take a session on Online gender based violence and ways to prevent and protect oneself while navigating the social media platforms. The session, led by SELF girls, involved activities learned during the Academy. The project aimed to foster leadership, amplify voices, and promote digital safety.Feedback received from the participants in the meeting show that they appreciated the knowledge shared by SELF girls. The hands-on session with their own phones was beneficial in helping them grasp how to adjust their privacy settings and use social media platforms securely.

Navigating the Digital Landscape – Challenges and Solutions:

The objective of one of the sessions was to educate participants on using social media safely and securely.

During this discussion at the school, participants shared challenges faced in the digital world, emphasizing the importance of responsible internet use. Sessions covered topics like online violence, consent on social media, and privacy settings. During the SELF Academy, the participants engaged in a unique activity where they passed a ball of wool to share their thoughts about the Internet. This activity created a visual network, symbolizing how the Internet connects us all, despite our diverse backgrounds. The SIMILAR activity was done by SELF girls in their workshop where they emphasized the importance of staying connected, especially in times of need. The ensuing discussion explored challenges on social media platforms, such as viral videos and hacked accounts, delving into the concept of consent online. Many participants shared their struggles with random calls, leading to discussions on blocking contacts.

In meetings with women, girls, and stakeholders, a storytelling approach encouraged open sharing. A teacher bravely recounted her challenges commuting to school, facing harassment and fear of being followed. She overcame this ordeal by confiding in the school headmaster, emphasizing the need for a safe environment.

Another participant shared the story of a disabled girl unaware of digital violence, experiencing anxiety from persistent calls. The fear of family misunderstanding added to her distress, highlighting the necessity for digital safety education and support mechanisms for individuals with disabilities. The discussions emphasized that rather than fearing the internet or social media, individuals can learn to use them safely and securely for their enjoyment. During these conversations, SELF girls shared valuable insights on maintaining online privacy while browsing and uploading pictures on social media platforms. They stressed the importance of having strong passwords, offering examples for social media accounts, and discussed privacy settings to protect profiles and stay discreet on platforms like WhatsApp. SELF girls conducted these informative sessions in schools, villages, and communities to reach a broader audience, providing effective guidance on using social media and addressing online violence.

Success story

Illustrating the impact, a story from a village session featured Pushpa* (name changed), a disabled girl from Sarjomdih village. Due to her physical disability, she rarely left her house and had few friends. The meetings organized by SELF girls became a source of joy, allowing her to express herself and learn. She disclosed her fear of the internet during one session, sharing her loneliness at home. Using her phone, she had started using WhatsApp, and the SELF girls taught her how to maintain privacy regarding her internet usage. Pushpa not only made friends through these interactions but also gained confidence. Despite the fear that her disability might lead her new friend to stop talking to her, the supportive environment of the meetings helped her navigate the internet responsibly and confidently, finding pleasure in her online activities.

Photographs : SELF girls engage in transformative activities within schools and their communities

Activity during SELF Session

Group Photo _ SELF Session

Group work _ SELF Session

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Jul 5, 2022
Young girls affirm their right to mobility

By Valleri Sharma | Manager, Programs and Innovation

Young women organized to operate a public toilet

Young women in Ichak Kala and Bara (in Hazaribad district of Jharkhand) restored a dysfunctional public toilet as a part of their action projects within CREA’s It’s My Body (IMB) program.

The IMB program advances sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), builds knowledge and understanding on issues around gender and sexuality, and builds leadership and life skills of young women and girls using curriculum-based learning and sports. The action project, a component of the program, is designed to give young women the opportunity to use their learnings to bring attention to the challenges related to their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Lok Prerna Kendra is one of CREA’s IMB partners that conducts curriculum-based sessions with young girls within their district. During a group discussion with IMB participants of Lok Prerna Kendra, the young women and girls shared about the mobility restriction created by the lack of access to a public toilet, especially while menstruating. As a part of their action project, they wrote a collective letter to the Block Development Officer (BDO), requesting the restoration of a dysfunctional public toilet. The collective (group of young women and girls) visited the BDO to raise their concerns, only to get ignored, rejected, and disappointed. The collective then escalated the matter on local media channels and local newspapers. Within a week after that, the collective visited the Sub–Divisional Magistrate (a higher ranking officer) and shared their concerns along with the response of the local officer. The Magistrate quickly accepted their request and the public toilet became operational.

As a result of the action project, young women and girls were able to assert their rights and hold the local governing officials accountable for providing a functioning public toilet. The new functional public toilet and the restoration of young women and girls’ access to mobility and comfort is a testimony to the capacity of the girls to demand and establish their rights.

Links:

News coverage of the problem escalation by young women

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Mar 8, 2022
IMB participants creating dialogues about Power

By Valleri Sharma | Manager, Programs and Innovation

MMS trainers facilitating the discussion

Kripa (name changed) is an It’s My Body (IMB) program participant who now works as a trainer with Mahila Mukti Sansthan (MMS), one of the organizations that implement IMB. The IMB program advances sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), builds knowledge and understanding on issues around gender and sexuality, and builds leadership and life skills of young women and girls using curriculum-based learning and sports.

One of the most significant initiatives taken by CREA to ensure sustainable change in our communities was to mark 16 Days of Activism in 2021 by launching a campaign titled “Your Protection Doesn’t Protect Me”. An event planned for the campaign was an engagement with the local news channels and the print media. The objective was to begin a conversation about different issues and representation in the news and the implication for people reading them. Kripa played a critical role in carrying out an engaging dialogue with the attending media representatives.

One of the many discussions at the event was about mainstream media’s portrayal of short clothing as a possible cause for rape. When trainers explained this was not true and in fact harmful, few of the participants questioned the legitimacy of the claim by asking if the trainer’s argument was supported by law. The trainer responded that while the law never connects clothing to sexual abuse, the constitution protects the rights of a person to wear anything. They also presented the factual argument of how, if clothing affected sexual abuse occurrence, children would never suffer from sexual abuse or harassment.

The trainers, including Kripa, focused on the unequal power structures and their role in inciting violence. In another attempt, one of the participants compared a new mobile phone covered for protection, to protect women and girls by avoiding short clothes. The trainers responded by condemning the comparison and asking why the same rule doesn’t apply to men, who are culturally and socially accepted to bathe in public. This was concurred by a few participants, adding that the confusion and bias arose because of the way that the current social structures have shaped their perspectives. More discussions came around the notion of women being women's worst enemy, to which the trainers responded by again focusing on the role of power in these exchanges that imitate or come out of patriarchy.

Some participants also shared hope over the positive trend of women getting empowered through education. The trainers replied that while it is a celebratory thing, there is still a lack of freedom for young women to pursue higher education. Poverty and poor economic conditions push many young women to drop out of school and fall into early and forced marriage. This power is also exercised by the families where they restrict the mobility of young women on the basis of financial control. The trainers also talked about young women having minimal to no access to sexual and reproductive health services because of this power dynamics. An example was presented of Adolescents Friendly Health Clinics (ARSH), an important component of Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (National Adolescent Health Program) that hasn’t been able to function to its best capacity and ability due to lack of trained nurses. Unfortunately, many participants did not even know about the clinic.

It is important to note that questions coming from participants, who are engaged in the media, are representative of the patriarchal narrative built around SRHR, gender-based violence, and women’s rights. They do not reflect an individual’s bias. It was important to not tackle the questions in an accusatory manner; the trainers, including Kripa, responded to each question by developing a healthy dialogue and unpacking the issues with care. While there were definite pushbacks during the conversations, the participants ended up requesting MMS to continue to organize similar discussion events for them and their colleagues, so that more people could develop a nuanced understanding of gender and sexuality.

Participants asking questions to the panel

MMS's event featured on a local paper: Azad Sipahi

Links:

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