Girls from villages around Patna are breaking new ground by playing football, a traditionally boys sport without parental or social interference. They are playing the game, breaking taboo and making it a weapon to fight for their rights in a state notorious for human trafficking and child marriage.

All this because, Pratima had been married at a tender age and had to face several hardships in her marriage. Then she’d made a promise to herself – to try and save as many girls as she can from the atrocities of child marriage. In 2008, she initiated Gaurav Gramin Vikas Manch and went from village to village in order to educate parents and young girls about how difficult child marriages can be. She’s been able to stop numerous child marriages with her relentless efforts.

PratimaKumari, the brain behind introducing football among village girls said, “We have started an initiative called ‘It’s My Body’ amongst girls to promote football in order to create awareness against child marriage. It was not only difficult, but impossible to get sufficient time and free space to talk to these girls and inform them about bad the ill effects of child marriage on their health, education and lives. So, we decided to bring them to the field to play football to boost their confidence, increase their willpower and fill them with awareness to take their own decision in life.”At the club, girls meet, communicate, interact and create awareness. Perhaps most innovative is that they are using the game of football to build confidence and stand up on their own to say no to marriages before the age of 18.

Nearly 500 girls in 25 villages have been successfully trained to play football. Thanks to the game, these girls have got incredible self-assurance to move ahead in life. It is something that provided them with acceptance and invigorated them to say no to child marriage. PratimaKumari, a Krritikaunder the helm of Kutchina Foundation has been promoting football through her organization, Gauraav Gramin Mahila Vikas Manch.

Pratima Kumari, a Dalit admits that child marriage is a massive social problem among Dalits, Other Backward Classes and Muslims due to low literacy rate. Keeping education as the main agenda in mind, when Pratimastarted working among Dalits and other marginalized sections, she requested and convinced parents during meetings in villages to let their daughters complete higher education. She and her associates have used football as a tool to reach out to the root of the problem.

Gaurav Gramin Manch gives them power, both physically and mentally, a feeling of accomplishment and a platform for social development as they challenge the widely held idea that girls belong at home. Pratima’swork has been recognized by CREA, a feminist human rights organization based in New Delhi which also helped her organize regular training for the girls. She’s been able to stop 100+ child marriages with her relentless efforts. Way to go girl!

Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hu! a show on empowering women and the girl child, has reached 400 million people, been dubbed in 11 languages, aired on 239 radio stations and given saas-bahu entertainment serials a run for their money. Take a look.

The show, launched in 2014, has already had a run for two seasons, completing over 170 episodes. It has been translated into 14 languages and is broadcast on 240 radio channels as well as over the Internet. The third season’s filming is on the way.

This television show is aimed at targeting social issues like gender discrimination, child marriage, domestic violence and extends to protecting women’s rights and understanding issues pertaining to them in a patriarchal society.

The show has been partly funded by UK foreign aid Department for International Development and conceptualized by the Population Foundation of India, an NGO that works towards promoting gender-sensitive population policies and programs.

Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon is the story of a young woman named Sneha Mathur, who is a doctor by profession and how she quits her job in Mumbai to go to her native village Pratappur and work there. She comes across many challenges and addresses various taboos like menstruation, contraceptives, and masturbation. Through this show, the audience vicariously sees and understands the plagues of the society around them and how they need to be looked at and dealt with.

According to a report by The Guardian, the makers of the show spent an entire year traveling across the country’s rural parts and researched the social problems that exist and plague the country, more notably the villages.
The spectacular success of the serial is a case in point that education through entertainment is one of the most successful ways of bringing about a positive change in the attitudes of people around difficult social norms. People have grown to trust the powerful messages of this programme.This fact, coupled with Doordarshan’s phenomenal penetration in rural India, leaves little doubt that this show can be a game-changer in the field of media-based social action.

Sources: Indian Express, DD, First Post

The West Bengal government has received the prestigious UN Public Service Award for its initiative to combat child marriage and ensure education to the girl child in the state. West Bengal’s ‘Kanyashree Prakalpa‘ initiative rigorously seeks to reduce the high child marriage rates and low female education rates in the state.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee received the honor at a ceremony held in The Hague, Netherlands on behalf of her government for the initiative. Started in 2011, Kanyashree Prakalpa is a conditional cash transfer scheme aimed at educating and empowering girls and it bagged the award for proving efficient in reaching the poor and vulnerable sections of the population.

Citing the impact, the initiative had, the UN said it led to a “drastic reduction in child marriage, increase in female education and female empowerment.”The UN Public Service Awards are given by the world body to institutions from across the world for their innovation and excellence in providing public services. It highlights the pivotal role of public services in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The West Bengal government was among the 12 institutions from 11 countries that were recognized by the world body on UN Public Service Day. Speaking at the ceremony, Mamata Banerjee said “Public service is service for all; it means continuous monitoring and regular service for the people.”

She constantly emphasized that her government is focused on empowering the girl child from all sections of society and simultaneously outlined measures taken to ensure basic amenities, healthcare, food support and education to people in her state.

Way to go!!

The history of women’s movements in India still remains patchy and unfamiliar to most. An Instagram series by Delhi-based illustrator, graphic designer and comic book creator Kruttika Susarla traces important moments in the history of women and gender equality movements in India. Susarla highlights the role of some significant organizations, individuals and movements who changed the terms of debate around gender equality in India in different ways. The series has been careful to focus on intersectionality, by including the stories that reveal how caste, class and religion affect women in India.

Take a look!

The Pink Chaddi Campaign

In January 2009, a group of right-wing activists from Sri Ram Sena attacked women and men in a pub in Mangalore. Pramod Muthalik, the founder of the group claimed that it was a violation of Indian culture and announced that they would forcibly marry off unmarried couples seen in public on Valentine’s day. This caused nationwide outrage that eventually led to the Pink Chaddi Campaign—a non-violent protest where a group of young women sent pink briefs to Muthalik’s office. The campaign was started by Nisha Susan who is a writer, journalist and one of the founders of The Ladies Finger, a feminist online magazine. Muthalik received over 2000 ‘chaddis’ from across India and abroad—he and his supporters were held in preventive custody on Valentine’s eve by the state government.

Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Aandolan

BMMA is a secular, Muslim feminist voice that emerged in 2007. Activist Zakia Soman founded the organisation to advocate for Muslim women’s equality and rights. Their focus is specifically to make reforms in the Muslim Personal Law in ways that would not oppress women and save them from marginalization. They seek to repel the practice of verbal Triple Talaq and polygamy + amend clauses in the Muslim personal law that not only leaves women at the mercy men in the family but also prevents them from inheriting any property. A draft for ‘Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act’ was released in June 2014

Anti-Dowry Movement

Delhi saw one of India’s first anti-dowry movements with the formation of ‘Shakti Shalini’ an NGO jointly set-up by Satyarani Chadha, feminist, artist and activist noted as the face of the anti-dowry movement in India along with Shahjehan Aapa, a middle-class working woman who would eventually become the face of the 1970s feminist movement in India. Satyarani’s 20-year-old 6 months pregnant daughter was burnt alive in her in-laws’ home following harassment for dowry. Following this, Satyaraniset on a 21-year fight against gender related harassment and violence and helped survivors empower themselves. She spoke about what kept her going and she says, “Every time a girl in a village dies in a dowry related incident, I see my daughter die!”

1stwomen’s school in India

Savitribai Phule and her husband, Jyotirao Phule set up India’s 1stwomen’s school in BhideWadi, Pune in 1848. She’s considered one of India’s first modern intersectional feminists and a lot of organizations focused on working for gender equality follow the footsteps of the duo’s work. Through their efforts, they fought to represent minorities, educate women and fight gender and caste based oppression. At a time when it was uncommon for the girl child to go to school, she and her husband campaigned and convinced their community to encourage educating girls—they opened many schools for women and minorities and protested against ill-treatment of windows and rape victims.

Even after moving centuries away from the stone age, why is it still so much of a taboo to talk about child sexual abuse? Why do family members in the know not help a child in distress? Why is the honor of a family so important that it prompts many to brush things under the carpet even if it means compromising on the well-being of a child?

Kutchina Foundation Women Empowerment Centre recently collaborated with RACSHA to commemorate its 1st anniversary. RACSHA that stands for Rise Against Child Sexual Harm & Abuse is an advocacy network of individuals and organizations fighting to prevent the mincing child sexual abuse that’s eating at the very core of our superfluous societal values! West Bengal’s State Minister for Information & Culture and the Chairperson of West Bengal Child Protection Committee were honorable speakers and guests for the evening.

The case of child sexual abuse in India
According to a research done by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in India, 53% of children are victims of child sexual abuse in India. Globally speaking, India ranks second in terms of the highest rate of child sexual abuse. What is more worrying is the fact that mostly child sexual abuse is incestuous in naturewhich means that it is committed by a person who is a family member and has an easy access to the child.
About RACSHA
To address the child sexual abuse hogwash, RACSHA was born. RACSHA is a network of organizations and individuals working for the prevention, recognition, addressing and healing of victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. RACSHA is based in Kolkata and they have teachers, activists, lawyers, doctors, psychologists, social workers, special educators and corporates on their team.

RACSHA’s primary aims are – campaign, prevent and intervene to fight the root cause of child sexual abuse and collaborate with the Government to prevent such crimes. RACSHA comprises lawyers, doctors, teachers, activists, software professionals, social workers and others who are helping the programme to grow.
RACSHA completed a year on June 3rd 2017 and to mark the occasion, they celebrated the evening with Kutchina Foundation Women Empowerment Centre. Kutchina Foundation Women Empowerment Centre relentlessly works towards identifying, empowering and rewarding women of substance from the disadvantaged sections of our society.
Kutchina Foundation aspires to extend all round care and support to the disadvantaged girl child and women, thereby creating a pool of empowered and talented women activists and workers who would be the force multipliers in our society. For Kutchina Foundation, CSR is an inner calling carried forward with utmost passion, professionalism and care.