The problem: Gender-based violence targets 50 per cent of our society and holds back women from truly achieving their full potential. Be it a baby girl denied the right to be born, or a young girl denied schooling so that she can work at home, or a woman married off early, raped by her husband, or assaulted, taunted and teased in public. Haryana, one of the most developed states of our country, has earned the dubious distinction of a carefully fortressed patriarchal and feudal society where gender discrimination and inequality are the norms. Caste based and gender based violence, honour killings and female foeticide are regular and common occurrences here. The gender-based differences in power and resource-access, though are felt most by women, and have consequences on the quality of life of the population at large, including its economic and social life.
Obviously, children are also brought up in an environment where gender discrimination and inequality are the accepted norms and the tendency to imbibe the culture and mindset is high as they grow up to be adults. Hence, one of the most tested ways to build a gender responsive society is to sensitize children, both boys and girls, from a very young age about the various shapes and forms such violence takes in homes, communities, and public spaces. Interventions, particularly with adolescents, hold significant relevance as they are at such a crucial stage in their lives and sensitising them with the right perspective will have a lasting impact by moulding their thought process and mindsets towards an inclusive society.
The Intervention: Realising this, TRF implemented an ‘Awareness drive’ to sensitise adolescent boys and girls of Gurgaon Block in Haryana on violence against women and girl children and emphasising the role of every citizen to become the change in their community. Through this initiative, TRF covered 48 Senior Secondary Schools and High Schools in Gurgaon block targeting around 35,000 adolescent boys and girls. The project was implemented in collaboration with the office of the Block Education Officer – Gurgaon and Asmita Theatre Group; and was funded by CREA.
Activities: The awareness drive involved organising performances of the street play, ‘DASTAK’ in all 48 schools. Through intense performances by about 45 actors, the play DASTAK highlights the heinous violence and harassment faced by women at working and public places and analyses the dominant ideology of patriarchy in our society.
TRF also used this opportunity to bridge the initiative with the adolescent-targeted radio program Bavra Mausam aired through Gurgaon Ki Awaaz; and the CREA infoline Kahi Ankahi Batein (KAB) towards continuous dialogue and engagement with the adolescents. In Bavra Mausam, a trained counsellor is in the studio to answer questions from callers. In Kahi Ankahi Batein, users can call into an IVRS system and access a database of information in audio format as well as record questions and their own experiences.
Results: In implementing the project, TRF received tremendous cooperation from schools, the Principal and moreover, the Block Education Officer. This has not only facilitated the process, but also helped to realise the output better.
- Large coverage/reach out (48 schools, 500 teachers and 35000 students) within a short span of time and with limited investment.
- A first time intervention of such nature in schools with this age group. Many even expressed that though there have been several fliers, written communications and lectures on campaigns like – Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save daughters, educate daughters); such live performances were first of their kind in the schools. There have been requests by many schools to repeat the performances in other schools as well as in communities.
- Very well accepted among the children as well as teachers, in terms of appreciation and willingness of the target community to be part of the change process. Impactful presentation of the play and subsequent discussions on gender-based violence and the patriarchal ideology has helped develop better understanding among children about patriarchy vis-a-vis unequal gender behaviour. Many stories of violence came out and children learnt how to address them.
- Linking the initiative with radio (Bavra Mausam) created enormous interest and curiosity among the students and gave them a platform to voice their concerns/questions through numerous phone calls and Whatsapp messages.
- It provided TRF a bigger platform and greater understanding of the geography as well as sociocultural context with particular reference to adolescents vis-a-vis the gender scenario in Gurgaon and understanding possible areas of interventions with respect to the subject and the target community.
This document was last updated on August 17, 2020
It was first published on March 25, 2020 . Filed under: #gender,