On March 8, IMAGE celebrated International Women’s Day by conducting a session with 135 early married girls, Civil Society Organisations and other stakeholders. Held in the districts of Belgaum and Bidar, the session revolved around the theme of ‘Women in Leadership’ as given by the United Nations to create a Gender-Equal world.
Through different activities and group discussions, the participants highlighted the root cause of problems like Child Marriage, Gender-based Violence, Female Infanticide, etc. as discrimination based on gender. The girls shared their experiences of how since childhood, they were treated differently than boys. While the boys were seen by their families as an asset to invest in, girls were viewed as a liability. The girls were made to brainstorm on effective ways through which they could bring about a change in gender-based perception in the average rural household.
Despite being in the 21st century, the world has a long way to go in building itself to be gender-equal. While our communities begin to raise a generation based on gender-equality, they also need to enable older generations unlearn gender-based stereotypes. IMAGE is doing so by creating a movement of young girls to fight for their rights and involving their families via counselling and awareness sessions.
By Vaishnavi , Communication Associate.
