Challenging Patriarchy
The on-ground campaign for gender equality was a Girls Count initiative running in select districts of Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The campaign sought to address the issue of gender inequality by engaging with panchayat representatives, community members and the youth. From promoting women’s access to safe public spaces, enhancing their mobility to enforcing joint ownership of houses, the campaign aimed at raising the accountability of different stakeholders on gender justice. The campaign began in July 2016 and concluded in December 2016.
The main objective of the campaign was to strengthen people’s accountability around gender equality and create readiness among them to take action on the ground.
The campaign was running in 70 gram panchayats of Solan and Sirmour districts of Himachal Pradesh, 50 gram panchayats of Madurai and Cuddalore districts of Tamil Nadu and 20 gram panchayats of Satara district of Maharashtra. The respective partners were Social Uplift Through Rural Action (SUTRA) in Himachal Pradesh, Ekta Resource Centre in Tamil Nadu and Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal (DMVM) in Maharashtra.
The campaign’s target groups included community women and adolescent girls, frontline health workers, young people, particularly men and boys and panchayat representatives.
To know more about the campaign in depth, click on the following links -