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The youth core group in Sonepat met on 11th and 12th April to ideate, brainstorm and prepare an Action Plan for the Kadam Badao Campaign. âKadam Badaoâ is a youth led campaign to address the growing incidences of violence against women both within and outside the workplace. The campaign is in its initial phase being piloted in Bareilly, UP and Sonepat, Haryana.
The core group consisted of a bunch of young, enthusiastic and vibrant boys and girls in the age group 15-21. A team of resource persons from PRIA facilitated the core group interactions where they engaged with the youth on meaningful discussions on Gender and the socio-cultural dimensions of gendered ways of thinking. The idea was to make the group aware of their views, beliefs and attitudes towards being a woman or man which have resulted from their experiences, the social structure that affects and perpetuates traditional gender norms, how traditional gender norms affects the relation of women and men in the households, workplaces and organizations.
The interaction was also aimed at giving leadership skills to the group members, and helping them enhance their confidence so that they can carry on similar discussions in their sub groups in the community.
The two days of interaction was more of interactive group activities and discussions rather than lectures and theories. Participants were asked to write their personal Gender history on what they have been taught about being boy or girl, what gender norms did they pick up from home, school and society. Since they were writing about their own life, they could relate to the concepts better. When asked about their childhood some of them wrote "I was not allowed to play with boys; Girls were given dolls to play with but boys were given whatever toy they wanted; Boys were given cars, cycle, cricket bat; boys were not asked to work at home;â
From their personal gender history the discussion was moved to the social structure which affects their thinking, how the rituals, role models, values and symbols influences our thinking and behavior. Participants were engaged to create an Hofsteadâs onion model.Diverse images emerged when the participants were asked to draw an image of the society they live in, from images of house, trees, animals to women, drunkard etc. There were innocent giggles in the room when the participants pasted their images on the wall one by one.
In the process they could relate their gender history to the multiple layers of values, rituals heros and symbols and how each layer affects and perpetuates the gender constructs. They could understand the layers they have to fight to change the mindset.
In another exercise they were asked to create a tree at the roots of which were the myths about how men and women should behave and what their role and responsibility are, the trunk consisted of the agencies through which these myths are enforced and the fruits and branches symbolized the effects of these myths.
The participants identified several myths â Women shouldnât laugh too much or too loudly, they shouldnât talk back, they should have long hair, shouldnât wear boys shoes, should seek parentâs permission before taking any decisions, they shouldnât drink, shouldnât stay out at friends place at nights and so on. The list of restrictions was endless and it came out of their own gender histories.
The results of such restrictions as articulated by them were shocking and speak volumes about the deep gender discrimination experienced by them. Women are beaten, killed, killed by pouring kerosene on them, killed by poisoning, cut to pieces and buried, tortured by hot iron rod â and when asked they revealed these were not incidents they have seen in movies but heard of within the society they live.
Finally the participants made an Action plan for themselves to be followed as part of their campaign in the community. They were encouraged to take initiatives in calling meeting
Closing statements from some of the participants on being asked what they learned at the interaction:
"I learnt that how women have been dominated by the society from the very beginning and that we should change the mindset at the earliest.â
"From the gender history I learnt that to end violence against women we have to change the societyâs mindset.â
"After today, I would not allow anybody in my presence to pass any comment (eve teasing) towards any girl and if they do, I would take them to the police.â
The members of this core group are now expected to reach out to their sub groups in each village and mobilize them and run the campaign, PRIA team would continue to assist them in the campaign.
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PRIA’s MobiliseHER team traveled to Bangalore during the week of June, 10 – 14, 2024. The aim of the visit was to gain relevant insights into the civil society ecosystem in Bangalore and meet different organisations to understand the city through a lens of gender and inclusive mobility.
Working at PRIA, often leads us to various cities across the country. Each trip is an opportunity to witness firsthand the challenges and triumphs of different communities.
Mr. Yedukrishnan V has recently joined PRIA after gaining valuable experience in the development sector. Drawing from his journey in the social sector and personal encounters in Kerala, he emphasises the importance of participatory governance and research in empowering marginalised communities.'
