Global temperatures are rising and pollution levels are on an increase everywhere . It has been estimated that each year 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage is dumped into the ocean. Pollution is one of the biggest global killers that exists, impacting over 100 million people. The dangerous levels of pollution have put our future generations at severe risk. In order to meaningfully combat the menace that is global pollution, we need to sensitize our children to the importance of waste management and focus on the 3 Rs; Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Including children in the process and teaching children that every little contribution counts is important.
Learning Waste Management at Home
One of the first lessons that we impart to our children is to practise what we preach. The most common example to set is to use eco friendly alternatives to disposable plastics. Instead of using plastic bags that choke the seas, we can use cloth bags for groceries. Instead of buying single use plastic bottles for drinking water, we can carry water from home in when on the move. Vegetable peels and fruit peels can be used as manure for plants and water used for washing and other activities can be recycled for further use.
Upcycling waste into Art
Children are naturally curious and creative so we must engage our imagination and start looking at waste and recyclables as useful materials and give them a new life. Turning plastic bottles into planters and starting an herb garden, creating mosaic art from bottle caps and turning cereal boxes into a periscope or a kaleidoscope help kids think creatively. Activities like these are fun and engaging. They also aid in the learning process of the children and make them more conscious from a very young age.
Eating Healthy
When we eat healthy we not only have a chance at improving immunity against diseases but it is also a step towards a more sustainable living. Adding more fruits and vegetables in a child’s diet aid in their growth and reduce plastic waste which comes in the form of packaged and processed food. Healthy food is also a mood booster because in a healthy body lives a healthy mind. Maintaining a kitchen garden and involving children in the day to day activities for growing one’s food helps children understand responsibility from caring for the plants. For children, gardening can also support emotional functioning as they express delight or disappointment when plants grow or struggle.
Waste management is beneficial for both children and adults. When a child is raised in an environment where people know how to reduce and recycle he/she becomes a responsible and thoughtful member of the community. As the leaders of tomorrow, children need to be well-equipped to safeguard the planet. By making them more environmentally conscious, we can give them the keys to make the world a better place.
In our quest to touch the lives of as many students as possible digitally while schools remain shut due to the pandemic, we at Child for Child have realized that teachers are proving to be the pillars of e-learning. They have adopted unknown platforms, adapted to the new normal, mentored their students while also working from home. They may not be the frontline warriors technically, yet they have during these unprecedented times stepped up and picked up the mantel of continuing with education that had completely stopped due to closure of schools. Come rain, hail or sunshine, teachers have continued in their tryst towards spreading knowledge from home, under tents or even going to school and taking online classes from computer labs if there was poor net connectivity at home.
At CFC we decided to support the teachers if not physically then mentally. We wanted to ensure that they in their journey of spreading the light of knowledge were also looked after. So we felt that we should assist them in their mental wellbeing.
World Health organization defines Mental wellbeing as the state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work fruitfully & productively, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. Going by this definition we felt that stress is what needs to be eased for the teachers. They are surrounded by house work, school work and multiple chores as also, preparation for their e-classes.
To facilitate this we spoke with Isha Foundation and asked them if they could be our partners in organizing sessions for teachers across different schools. Isha Foundation under the guidance of Sadhguru has become over time a support stem for many people across the world. The volunteers at Isha Foundation while continuing with their daily lives diligently devote few days and certain number of hours to “Sadhana”as well as organizing sessions for their audience online globally.
They provided us with a repertoire of programs for the wellbeing of teachers, students and parents. We then started to reach out to schools with our programs such that they can choose what is best for their teachers & school staff. And, Yoga for Peace was one such program that clicked well with teachers.
This is a one hour session which has certain pre requisites like being on a relatively light stomach before doing the kriyas as also being in a setup where there is no disturbance of any kind. It involves nadi shudhi and meditation for close to 45 minutes interspersed with Q&As so that participants are able to perform the asanas with ease.
We had some teachers who felt very relaxed after the session, some who wanted to know more about it & to make it a part of their daily practice, while some due to prior health issues found the going tough. Whatever the takeaways, the session on Yoga for Peace, true to its name, successfully for over 45 minutes, provided peace & calm to all participants. Those who were finding it tough were provided solutions to make it simpler for them. Then those teachers who felt that it was time to start focusing on their self wellbeing were inspired by the session to pick up the journey of Yoga as a way for life for themselves.
We,at CFC, believe that if we can help in bettering the lives & state of mental being for even one person we are successful in our endeavours and efforts to reach out to our beneficiaries.
“Education is the passport for the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepared for it today.” – Malcolm X
One of the most important requirements of current times is education during early childhood. As rightly said by Malcolm X, it is a passport to a better future and the one that needs to be provided to every child by the authorities.
The Problem in Education Sector
In India, a country of 1.35 billion people, there are over 472 million children making for the 39% of the country’s population. Out of this number, over 35 million children have never been to a school as per National Sample Survey Office (NSSO, 2014). Even with more than 1.5 million schools, early childhood education is a neglected topic for children living in urban slums and remote rural areas.
The problem isn’t just with poverty and ignorance when it comes to child education, but also the lack of infrastructure and adequate resources in the schools. While 29% of the schools are private, they are inaccessible to the 22% of the people who are below poverty line (Census 2011). Over 92,000 elementary and secondary level schools in the country have only one teacher in the school.
A large number of schools do not even have basic amenities like water supply, toilets, and even blackboards or a roof over the classroom at times. For a wholesome development of a child, a wholesome curriculum involving academics, sports, and recreational activities is necessary. However, in a scenario where children do not even have water to clean and drink, access to everything else becomes a luxury.
While the attendance in schools has increased significantly, the major reason for which is the mid-day meals offered in government schools. However, the environment and infrastructure required for the wholesome growth of the children are still missing in a significant number of these schools.
Smile Foundation’s Intervention
In a bid to provide the children the relevant requirements to develop in a safe and healthy space, Smile Foundation has associated with government authorities to improvise the learning conditions in the government schools.
The intervention includes providing students with books and uniform to installing water purifiers, building toilets as well as providing teachers to fill in for the deficiency of qualified and trained staff.
One such association current active is in a small heavily industrial town of Dahej, 55 kms from Bharuch in the state of Gujarat. With the entire area housing some of the poorest families, the need of children getting quality education becomes even more crucial. Smile’s intervention has been in terms of building toilets, setting up water purifier, and providing teachers for three subjects in this school.
Sensitizing Parents and the Community
Besides providing resources, sensitization of parents towards children to school is also regularly conducted by the Mission Education representative. More than half the children belong to extremely poor household where both parents work as daily labourers. Parents are reluctant to send children to school, specially girls, for they can contribute as an income source and assist in bringing one more plate of food to the family.
Most children drop out of school after class 8th from this government school since the nearest higher education government school is in the city at a distance of 20 kms from the area. The parents are also encouraged by our agent to let the children continue on to higher education so that they can have a stronger and brighter future.
With each intervention, no matter how small, we are bringing a change that we hope to turn into a wave of transformation in the lives of the poorest. The best means to break the cycle of poverty is by educating the young and the same requires the support of both the teachers and parents, as well as authorities entrusted with the responsibility of providing opportunities to every child in the country.
Kindness is a global religion, it is a language understood by all. In a world filled with different world views, it is kindness which brings us all together.
Every year November 13, is seen and celebrated as the World Kindness Day. The day is celebrated with the aim of spreading kindness through small gestures and creating a positive environment. It is celebrated to end the notion of hate against each other and to promote peace.
Be it volunteering with an organization to teach underprivileged children, helping the poor by providing them with basic requirements, feeding a stray, helping a specially abled cross the road; every act of kindness matters in this world filled with inequalities.
Smile on Wheels doctors, nurses and volunteers have been helping the poor and underserved before and throughout the pandemic. These brave-hearts travel to the most remote and rural locations in the country to provide relief in the form of free and accessible doorstep healthcare services. All precautions are being taken and to ensure safety for all.
During the pandemic new mothers and young girls from underprivileged families faced a hard time. To take care of a new born in conditions when unemployment was rampant and a lot of misinformation was spread, navigation through first days of motherhood posed a great challenge for many. For young girls it was difficult to obtain sanitary pads, counselling about menstruation and proper information about nutrition. But ground workers from the Swabhiman programme came as messiahs for these underprivileged women and girls. They helped them understand the basics of caring for a child, the precautions to be taken to keep oneself and the newborn safe from Covid-19 and also provided girls with sanitary napkins and counselling.
Teachers had a difficult time during the lockdown; to learn to teach through online mediums and to constantly encourage children to keep them motivated became a huge task for them. But their zeal to serve and educate children in any way possible kept them going. Mission Education teachers from all over the country helped the students with their studies through online mediums and later through cluster classes, constantly holding their hands in every step of the way.
With have many such great examples in our everyday society; of people who show kindness in various forms. These are the people whose examples can inspire children to be kind and teach others the language of kindness.
Rote Learning or Learning by Repetition is a technique which focuses on learning through repetition and memorization. It is a technique which is mechanical in nature, deploying the use of memory usually with less intelligence. German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) devised 2,300 three-letter nonsense syllables for measuring the formation of mental associations and carried out much research on rote learning and memory. He concluded that memory is orderly which is important in some cases when knowledge needs to be drawn upon in various different real-world situations. Learning alphabets or numbers in the early stages of education are some important and necessary examples of rote learning. It helps develop foundational knowledge, but at the same time using it as a method to be regularly inflicted upon students in a classroom environment instead of meaningful learning for children is incorrect. It has now become a basis for schools in India to carry out educational activities following the rote method which clearly spells out discouragement of creative or critical thinking.
Intelligence is mainly considered as the ability of a person to efficiently memorize things. Instead of reasoning and using analytical skills a student simply memorizes answers or if required the entire course book and appear for exams. The speed at which a child can recall their answers is seen as a parameter of their intelligence. This kind of learning does not allow a child to fully understand what they are actually studying and eventually the child falls into the vicious cycle of memorizing before examinations and forgetting lessons with the passing of time. The content heavy curriculum minus practicals, the idea of competition based on scoring marks only has completely taken over the system of learning for children. This method multiplies our production of a workforce that neither has a complete understanding of their own subject and nor are they completely skilled.
The alternative to Rote learning is Meaningful learning wherein the students are fully engaged in the process of learning. Meaningful Learning deploys the methods of gaining knowledge through understanding, asking questions, being actively involved in piecing a puzzle together to get the correct desired outcome. Meaningful learning encourages understanding first and focuses on the constructive outcome of the learning process. The focus on underlying skills such as comprehension, problem solving, critical thinking and logical reasoning through meaningful learning ensures that the children are adept at complex problem solving for all their futures.
When the process of meaningful learning leads children to analyze and question it also gives rise to critical thinking which helps children think with more clarity and make smarter choices in the future. Critical thinking is a concept that has been developing throughout the past 2,500 years and has its roots in the mid-late 20th century. When a child grows up to be a critical thinker he/she thinks with an open mind, raises relevant questions and communicates effectively. Many Universities in India and the world have started holding open text book exams in an attempt to test critical thinking of students.
The recently introduced New Education Policy can be seen as a welcome change against the old system of learning based on Rote. The new policy promises to bring changes and revolutionize the Indian Education system. One of the most significant changes of the policy is the extension of Right to Education from age 14 to the age of 18. It would be compulsory for the schools to engage students in active learning through class participation by focusing more on dialogue exchange, case studies, and practical on and off-campus; to gain experiences that make learning meaningful and fun along with more focus on vocational subjects. There will be more focus on digital learning across all institutions. This integration will be done to improve classroom processes and enhance learning and assessment.
To conclude it can be said that the New Education Policy is a welcome change for students as the idea is to encourage them to understand concepts, engage with the lesson, and prepare them for implementation. We can only be a progressive society if our goal is to educate children for them to adapt and thrive in the world outside and be well equipped to solve any problems that come their way.
Creativity can be described in many ways but the most common and universal meaning is turning new and innovative ideas into reality. In other words creativity is defined as the tendency to generate ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others. Encouraging creativity in children from a young age is very important as it is not something that can be learnt in the latter stages of life, but can only be developed gradually as a child grows.
Children should be let to explore and self-express, it is the first step towards creativity and it also helps in the mental growth of a child by providing new ways of solving a problem and trying out new ideas.
It is also important for parents to be involved in the process of trying out new ideas ones child has, it acts as an encouragement even in the face of failure sometimes. Children who are afraid of failure and judgment curb their own creative thought making the role of an encouraging parent all the more important. When parents share their interests with their children be it their interest in different kinds of music, instruments, sports etc; it gives a child more courage to explore different things.
Limiting screen time in order to make room for creativity in children has become more important than ever. Instead more time should be spent on reading stories to children, making up stories with the children and possible acting some of them out with or without costumes.
Encouraging children to ask questions and also asking them questions about their projects/ choices is a great way to stoke their creative thinking. Most of the times in describing what they were trying to do, children often recognize where they went wrong, or what else could be done with their projects without any input from their parents.
Considering time as a valuable resource and allowing space for crating without limits will help our children grow with a creative bent of mind and promote creativity in children and help nurture their varied differences.
The pandemic has had a huge impact on the way learning methodologies have been disrupted. Where earlier, children were dissuaded by parents from spending time online, where a mobile phone if brought to school would be confiscated, now it is a necessity for a child to successfully partake online classes arranged by their respective schools. The quantum of time spent by children on digital devices has seen an exponential increase, and we are looking at a continuing surge even if schools reopen and children do go back to their classrooms. As per this news report by The Economic Times there has been a 100% increase in the screen time for children due to the Covid-19 pandemic, hence it is also important for us to monitor cyber safety rules for our children.
Digital is a new way of life and devices with good wifi connectivity the magic wand for a seamless entry to that life.
While the world is at its creative best in creating & adopting disruptive technologies, it is also the time to be wary of this new way of life, of the impacts of increased screen time & of the adverse effects of cyber activities. The flip side to technology assisting us as we got locked down in our homes is the increase in cyber crimes. According to the United Nations there has been a 350% increase in cyber crime due to the use of digital platforms by all & sundry during the pandemic making cyber safety rules all the more important for children.
While adults are exposed to increased digitization of work due to the #Stayhome #Staysafe policy, there’s an urgency to be specifically protective about children who are now attending classes online via different platforms. Be it WhatsApp, Google classroom, Google meet, Microsoft teams, Zoom, Zoho , etc..the platforms are multiple and so are the vulnerabilities.
October was the month of Cyber Safety Awareness, and so the Child for Child team decided to reach out to schools and conduct sessions for children who while staying in the safety environs of their homes where increasingly being exposed to a vast unexplored digital world with its own foibles. And, before we see children going down the path of uncensored screen views we started conducting sessions with schools on Cyber Safety Awareness with the help of senior management from Smile Foundation, and also by tying up with Nex Schools from Pune & Banjara Academy from Bangalore.
The aim of these sessions have primarily been to show the bigger picture of internet where over 50% of the world’s population is online and hence the danger to a child sitting at home is from a substantial number of unknown & unscrupulous strangers. They are apprised about the damage done by cyber criminals and the different types of online crimes like phishing, virus attack, malicious software, fake information and harassment.
It is imperative that parents and guardians are always monitoring the online activities that their wards are participating in and to install strong anti-virus software and passwords. They need to protect their children and not always worry about violating their privacy. Since children are now online for at least 5 hours daily, they are taught about self-protection. It was found during these sessions that most of the children were heavily into video games. According to one of the researches there is an all time hike in online gaming and, chances are that this could be a permanent phenomena as children are increasingly getting addicted. There is a spike partly because there has been an increase in investment on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, Gaming Apps, Gaming arcades by parents. Our job & responsibility towards students is to alert them and make them knowledgeable about the precautions they need to take, about the type & amount of personal information to share while downloading apps, about reaming alert while chatting with virtual fellow gamers, as also while watching videos to up their gaming skills.
And last but not the least, children are also made aware about types and fallouts of cyber bullying – another phenomena that has seen an unfortunate drastic increase. Students are told to be careful of unsolicited advances made towards them digitally, of online harassments, of different threats like dissing, trolling, outing, excluding, etc.. Researches have suggested, that while schoolwork has moved home so has the bullying and there has been a 70% increase in cyber bullying due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Our mission remains to continue to work with children even as schools go online. So long as we contribute to the wellbeing of children especially during these unfortunate times of a surging pandemic, we believe that when make children more and more aware about cyber world and the safety issues, we will see more Smile Cyber Champions emerging.
We would like to thank all our school partners, principals, teachers and parents who have supported us in this mission of generating cyber safety awareness amongst students. We are also ensuring that every child receives a Certificate of Participation as a Smile Cyber Champion, whatever part of the country they are from. While we have reached out to over 400 children across schools pan India, in the past few sessions, we aim to reach out to many many more in the weeks ahead.
Today, as the world is evolving to adapt and innovate to the new normal environment, children have been severely affected in terms of their education, schedules, practices, learning process and social interactions. New hygiene practices, daily schedules, restrictive movement and the general observations related to COVID-19 have more likely made the children experience various degrees of anxiety, worry and uncertainty. This in turn has also changed the dynamics at home with parents being at the forefront to support the children’s online education process. COVID induced lockdown and the times that followed have been very harsh especially on the vulnerable communities living on a minimum daily subsistence.
In order to understand the challenges and status of children and their families on ground in these pandemic times, a survey was conducted in July-August 20’ amongst the beneficiaries of Smile’s Mission Education programme to assess the needs and understand the challenges faced by children in terms of health, nutrition and education during Covid19 situation in operational locations of Smile Foundation (Pan India). Here are some key findings from the survey:
Health and hygiene awareness and practices
One of the most crucial measures to avoid infection of COVID-19 is to be aware and practice good hygiene at all times be it inside house or while going out for important work. However more than 60% in general, across all regions do not follow the new COVID induced social and health practices issued by government to curb the incidence of virus infections.
As per the data, 84% in South and West, 68% in East and 61% in North do not follow the necessary norms regularly. 85% of respondents in South do not follow the practice of regularly washing and cleaning hands along with 79% in West, 56% in East and 47% in North. With regards to use of masks, 76% of people in West don’t practice and think it necessary to wear masks while going out along with 72% in South, 55% in East and 48% in North. 91% in South do not think maintaining social distance is an important factor to avoid getting affected by the virus while 83% in West, 63% in East and 49% in North also feel the same.
Besides only very few people consider taking immunity boosting food can help them prevent or reduce the intensity of the virus attack with 99% not taking any kind.
Nutrition status and lifestyle
Nutrition is key component, especially in children in their growth years to develop and nurture a healthy body, mind and soul. It is vital in order to aid them in adapting to the neo normal life with its challenges in leading a healthy life, new learning processes and social norms with more vigour, alertness and focus.
The survey data reveals that more than 50% of households still do not have access to proper nutritious food. It is observed that more than 51% respondents acknowledged that children feel hunger pangs occasionally as well as quite often. Almost 20% of the households are not able to have 3 full meals a day owing to the current situation. Around 53% face difficulty in accessing homemade food with 21% finding it challenging to have access to nutritional products like full meals, pulses, etc.
Also, up to 77% of the respondents felt that their children’s lifestyle had changed either completely or partially, in terms of eating, sleeping and other regular routines. The reason could be that they are out of schools and not active enough during the day with less play, physical and mental activity, indicating the importance of schooling for every child.
General well-being of the children
It has been observed that 85% of the children felt bored, worried, angry or confused during the survey that calls for attention and action. This entails for scope for proper counselling, activity based learning and more engagement of children which is possible by supplementing with learning resources for children to use and work with. Of these 46% respondents accepted that they had insufficient teaching learning resource while 69% expressed that better guidance and support to access online classes and platforms would help ease the process. This would in turn aid them in guiding their children through online learning process.
The data shows that 14% of the respondents are trying to share news that induce positivity and imbibe with information on care, with the testimonials of people who have recovered from the virus attack while 30% try to filter the news and provide selective information with the children. But over 56% of respondents follow unofficial information from various sources and are on constant update with news feeds which could pose serious mental and anxiety issues for the individuals and in their behaviour towards others around them.
The need to disseminate proper information sources, counselling opportunities and more interactive sessions with parents and children seems to be inevitable to mitigate the fear, worry and concern brewing in the little minds and also in adults related to the effects of the prevalent situation.
Challenges in the neo normal learning process
Children are attending online classes
There have been tremendous efforts put in initiating online and other modes of classes for children to continue learning within the purview of existing limitations in different areas. Regardless, there are still gaps and needs felt by the beneficiaries in effectively accessing online learning. This section was aimed at understanding the gaps in the ongoing alternate learning process and ideating on probable interventions to address them adequately.
With only 51% of the respondents satisfied with the current learning methods, 80% are waiting for schools to reopen after the lockdown is lifted, as they are inclined to send their children to school. Almost 68% feel that the online/tele-calling classes are very rarely (sometime/never) scheduled as per parents availability since most of the parents having started going out for work or they have one mobile for both their work and their child’s study. Moreover 95% of the respondents have two or more children at home which could also pose challenge in providing mobile phones to each one of them, with almost classes scheduled at the same time for all children. Regarding accessibility to mobile phone with ease, 68% of respondents expressed that they need guidance or they are not able to access properly while 74% are not able to guide their children regularly. Furthermore, 44% mentioned that they do not have adequate availability of educational resources to facilitate home-based learning for their children.
Interestingly, 52% of respondents were ready to learn to support their children to adapt to the new learning process while 48% felt that they are not prepared or equipped to help the children. This manifests the glaring need for more orientation and support in terms of digital literacy for the parents and guardians to support their children academically. For 48%, online learning is considered as the most effective learning method with the help of tools like Zoom, Google Team, WhatsApp, etc. where the children are connected to their school, teachers and learning content through live as well as recorded classes.
The other most effective methods according to the respondents are sharing worksheets (44%) over WhatsApp or handing over to parents at the centre/home besides tele-calling parents and teachers visiting homes to meet beneficiaries. A very small population of around 8% even explore other education based apps and this is probably because majority of the parents are not aware about how to use applications appropriately or it could be also due to lack of space on phones and limited data pack. However, the primary support indicated by 53% of surveyed respondents is the need for adequate educational resources inclusive of books and other teaching learning materials with 53% while other kinds of support mentioned include mobile phone, internet support and related accessories to continue the learning process with the desired results.
The survey indicates that Covid has intensified the vulnerability of the less privileged communities with lack of regular income and employment opportunities affecting the people’s mental, emotional and physical well-being. It is crucial to address these gaps, advocate for support services and bridge the development gaps to bring every child closer to a healthier learning and growing environment.
The biggest treasure a human possesses is their health. The importance of health is continuously stressed upon by the government and various NGOs. The most urgent need in the country is to have healthy women force, as due to the biological differences they are more prone to the health problems faced in the country.
There exists a necessary to raise awareness about the basic healthcare needs as many parts of the country register cases of malnourishment along with deaths due to the poor sanitation and female health issues. The problems are more widely spread in the rural parts of the country where lack of medical services, illiteracy and safe drinking water make it more difficult to sustain lives.
India’s high infant mortality rates stems from two basic reasons. The first is the lack of nourishment that the parents fail to provide the child with and the unawareness about the importance of breastfeeding. This leads to a stunted growth in the child. The other main reason is the use of other supplementary food sources to substitute the breastmilk since the mother is malnourished. the best remedy for these problems is to provide mother with proper nutrition and she should continue to breastfeed as breastfeeding itself cures the problems such as malnutrition in the child and lowers risks of cancer for the mother. Breastfeeding also improves the immunity level in the child to provide healthier life, in line with the motto healthy women for healthier children.
The sanitation problems in the country are vastly overlooked as the absence of toilets and garbage disposal is a major issue. However, for women the monthly menstruation cycle makes the needs of toilets and garbage disposal vital. But before that the most basic article of need- sanitary napkins or tampons are unheard of in villages. Women use alternatives such as unclean cloth and some women shockingly enough use husk sand for the same purpose. The great deal of risk that they cater to by using these alternates are unknown by these women. Recently the surveys have marked a descent improvement, from 12% in 2010 to almost 58% in 2016 usage of proper sanitary napkins or tampons has led to the betterment in hygiene of women.
The health care sector has noted a high maternal mortality rate. Women during pregnancy requires nourishment and nutrients adequately, but the poverty struck households fail to provide the women with the needful. However, maternal mortality is not identical across all of India or even a particular state; urban areas often have lower overall maternal mortality with to the availability of adequate medical resources. For example, states with higher literacy and growth rates tend to have better maternal health and also lower infant mortality.
The healthcare sector in India has revamped over the last few decades. With the various plans executed by the governments and NGOs such as Smile Foundation, the awareness about healthcare has been widespread. The efforts put together through various sources shall benefit the healthcare for women and children, eventually leading to better economic growth and better growth rates. With healthy women and a healthier youth, the nation will have the potential to reach new heights.
The newspapers are teeming with stories of violence against women. Abductions, rapes, murders, acid attacks, honour killings, dowry deaths, female foeticide, maternal mortality, the list goes on. There are questions being asked on where we continue to go wrong as a nation and society and if at all at some point we will be able to achieve gender equality.
Existence of legislations and laws alone are not abetting the problem of violence against women and girls. India is ranked as the worst place for women among all the G-20 nations by a survey that not only looked at violence but also empowerment.
There is a shift underway in the way gender relations and women’s rights have been addressed through government policies and civil society actions. This relates to recognition of the role men and boys play in changing mindsets and creating an enabling environment.
In a society under transition from tradition to modernity, the gender relations undergo numerous strains and challenges. While women are joining workforce in big numbers and charting new areas, the mindset that sees them through stereotypes of the past continues.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment can only be brought about by changing the mind-set of people and breaking the societal norms to involve men in the process. This also means that more men would have to start talking to other men about need for change in gender attitudes.
A young man from a slum in Delhi is an inspiring example of how to break barriers and win men for the cause of women’s rights. Mohammad Alam, 29, is father of two girls and uses traditional inter-personal and behaviour change communication methods to connect with men in his community.
“I was blessed with two daughters and as a father I felt the need to work towards making our country a better place for daughters…I want them to grow in a better and safer society,” says Alam explaining his motivation for setting up a group of community facilitators who work with him. They motivate community members and also perform street plays with colloquial scripts, travelling across Delhi and sensitising people on the need to make the society a better place for girl children.
Alam’s change journey started with a visit to local community centre of Swabhiman, Smile Foundation’s programme on women and girl child empowerment. “When we become living examples, it is easy to bring change,” Alam concludes.
Swabhiman programme enables women and adolescent girls, from the lower socioeconomic strata in and around Delhi, by empowering them to lead a life of dignity through realisation of their self-esteem and inner potential. It follows a tailor-made strategy called the ‘4 S Model’, which is an acronym for four novel approaches, namely Seeking Healthcare as a Behaviour, Support for Education, Supporters in Men through Male Involvement, and Sustaining the Change in Communities.
Learning from the experiences of past interventions, Smile Foundation adopted an innovative model of involving men in the intervention areas for creating an enabling environment for women. Exclusive counselling sessions are held with men to encourage them to be more participative and actively involved towards the issues concerning maternal and child health.
Ideas about masculinity are deep-seated in our society. From an early age, boys are socialised into gender roles designed to keep men in power. And they grow up believing that dominant behaviour towards girls and women is part of being a man. Since gender stereotypes are pervasive and operate throughout a lifetime, a life cycle-based approach is required to transform the way men and boys socialise in their surroundings – home, education, workplace, economy, etc. Life cycle-based approach should start with early childhood education and care. Here, mothers have a crucial role in educating boys in how to treat their female partners.
Men play a significant role in many aspects of social and political life. Husbands often make decisions about family planning, their wives’ economic activities and the use of household resources for healthcare and education. These decisions have a direct impact on the wellbeing and prospects of the whole family. The care and support of an informed husband improves pregnancy and childbirth and has a positive outcome for maternal mortality. Supportive fathers play a larger role in the nurturing of their children. Fathers with gender-equitable and responsible attitudes towards family are more likely to pass on those values to their sons and daughters, thus empowering a whole generation and working towards gender equality.
Violence against women is one of the most pervasive human rights violations across the world and especially in India. It is rooted in problems of gender equality and discrimination against women. Any effort to eliminate such violence must focus on the achievement of substantive equality between women and men and on promotion and protection of women’s human rights. The involvement of men and boys in the struggle to transform gender relations and eliminate violence against women is essential.
