End Child Marriage Through Education

The new year for Shadhika has seen a renewed commitment to our goal of supporting grassroots gender justice work, and has emphasized the urgency of this work in India. This year, Shadhika is supporting 134 young women as Shadhika Scholars. This cohort of Shadhika’s Scholars come from diverse backgrounds including young married women, mothers, transwomen, and Dalit and tribal communities.

Shadhika started the year with a reflection of 2023, and the impact created by our program partners and Scholars in India. This Year in Review video captures the highlights of Shadhika’s work, and the diverse activities through which Shadhika engaged with grassroots leaders.

India ranks 140 of 156 countries in the The Global Gender Gap Index 2021 rankings, falling 25 ranks between 2006 and 2020. India's neighbors Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar all rank above India as per this Global Gender Gap Report 2021 by the World Economic Forum. One in three child brides in the world are in India, with 216.65 million women and girls reported as first married or in a union before the age of 18. According to the UNICEF, declines in the level of child marriage need to occur at a pace nearly 20 times faster than now to reach the SDG target of eliminating the practice by 2030. Shadhika’s partners have been working towards ensuring gender justice in their communities, reaching over 11,780 girls in 2022-23. Last year, 97% of young women under 18 years of age supported by the Shadhika Program Partners delayed early forced marriage. Through community-mobilization, workshops on leadership and skill development, awareness camps, collaborations with schools and institutions, and through the innovative use of art, drama, and music, these grassroots leaders have been blazing the way for the gender justice movement in India.

This year, Shadhika has partnered with two new local women-led organizations - Faith Foundation in Meghalaya, and Centre for Women and Girls in Manipur. These organizations, both based out of the North-East of India, serve rural, tribal communities who face unique challenges in accessing their rights to education, safety, and healthcare. These organizations are striving to ensure gender justice, safeguard child rights, and serve children and women from displaced communities facing conflict. It is important to note that the work done by these organizations is set against the context of limited funding in the region, with only 2% of state-specific Corporate Social Responsibility spending in India being directed towards the North-East regions (State of CSR in India 2014-21 report, Sattva). 

With the support of our local partners, Shadhika Scholars are continuing their educational journey and growth as community leaders advocating for gender justice. In commemoration of the International Women’s Day this March, Shadhika featured artworks by 25 Shadhika Scholars to showcase the tales of collective action and the spirit of resilient leadership that our Scholars have shared. Head on over to view this virtual art exhibition on ‘Collective Art and Action’. Watch this video to listen to how Navya, a Shadhika Alum, graduated with a business degree in Aviation and found employment in her field of study, despite the immense challenges she faced.

To learn more about the impact of your support and Shadhika’s work, take a look at Shadhika’s Blog where you’ll find the work of our partners in India, our intentions for 2024, photos from the 2023 Leaders for Change Summits, and the ways in which you can talk about Shadhika’s work to your friends.

Many thanks to our supporters and well-wishers. 

Links:

• Year in Review 2023
• Navya's Story of Leadership
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