Empowered girls are a powerful catalyst to change development outcomes. The Girl Icon Program is a leadership development program that works with girls between 12-18 years from low socio-economic communities in India to empower them through experiential life-skills based journey, providing safe spaces to amplify their voices of change and opportunities to sensitize and mobilize communities through collective social action.
In Uttar Pradesh around 39.4% of adolescent girls in the 15-18 age group are not attending any educational institution, and around 65% of them are either engaged in household activities, are dependents, or, are engaged in begging,etc. As per Annual Status Education Report 2016, the proportion of girls (age 11-14) out of school (girls who never went to school) remains greater at 9.9%. The project will empower girls through life-skills education to address girls' rights and gender equality.
The project is a 2 year leadership journey that provides holistic approach impacting outcomes key to the development of adolescent girls - completion of secondary education, prevention of gender based violence, enhanced agency, improved adolescent health. Through life-skills based education and training, we enhance learning outcomes, confidence, communications, decision making, problem solving, social awareness, thus enabling girls to explore their potential.
The project will educate and empower 200 Girl Leaders in Uttar Pradesh to stand up, raise their voices and take charge of their lives. Their enhanced leadership and access to higher education will equip them to challenge discriminatory gender norms and they will be less likely to carry the burden of domestic household work and more likely to experience gender equality in their homes and in their communities.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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