The project aims at empowering 30 women and 70 girls from the most backward and vulnerable communities of rural Tamil Nadu (India) through the medium of sports. The medium of sports will help create a safe platform and encourage increase in female participation in sports, which has always been a male dominated space. The project will also facilitate overall physical and emotional development of participants by giving them the opportunity to build their skills and achieve self- independence.
Women and girls from the target communities face rampant gender-based violence and are often victims of extreme patriarchy and misogyny and are deterred from being decision holders of their own lives.They have poor or limited access to education and financial means. Sports is a particular domain where women and girls have been excluded, typically after attaining puberty. It is assumed that women gaining exposure through sports can challenge the cultural values and traditional social order.
The project aims to break gender barriers in a rural setting by giving women and girls access to sports and increasing female participation at a village level. Through sports, we also aim to create a safe space and create awareness on topics like Gender Sensitisation, Sexuality, Women's Rights, Autonomy, Domestic Abuse, Legal Aid.Sports will also empower girls to improve their physical and mental health, challenge gender norms and helps them get a sense of ownership of their own lives.
The women and girls will have increased autonomy to express choice, have a voice to demand rights, access to health and educational services and resist negative discrimination and violence against them. The program would enable women to access their human rights and live lives free of violence, stigma and discrimination. Increased participation in sports will help them to express their freedom of choice.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
