Village life pivots around women. And – at the same time – they are often pushed to sidelines, quietened, ignored. Here we look at how and why that happens, and champion those working to change it. We would also feature LGBTQ individuals and communities who are all too often overlooked in rural India.
Gender
Women dairy farmers ensure safe delivery of milk during lockdown
Adopting safety measures during coronavirus scare, women dairy farmers ensure supply of milk to consumers, while protecting the livelihood and economic interests of its member farmers
Women paralegals help settle disputes at community level
Members of self-help groups, trained in legal aspects, ensure that villagers, especially women, get their entitled rights without resorting to money and time-consuming legal route
Life skills education prevents child marriages among Odiya tribes
Life skills education empowers tribal girls with knowledge, self-awareness and decision making capacities, helping them rise above social customs and pressures. It has resulted in decline of child marriages
Lack of basic amenities adversely affect tribal women’s health
Limited livelihood options forcing tribal men to migrate, women bear household responsibilities. Fetching water and firewood, besides farm work being arduous in the hilly terrains, women endure health challenges
Regressive cultural practices lead to skewed sex ratio
Preference for boys disturbs expectant mothers during the very fertility rituals that are meant to bless them, affecting their psyche, besides resulting in low sex ratio and inferior status of women
Archaic customs hold community back from development
With rigid traditions and customs such as not eating food cooked by other communities, the Thottinayakar community in Tamil Nadu is lagging in social, educational and economic development
Rural BPO centers in Bihar open new doors for girls
Business process outsourcing companies in rural Bihar are providing local job opportunities for educated, computer-literate girls in their village, empowering them socially and financially
Odiya tribes shed tradition to space out childbirths
Odisha’s tribal women, suffering the adverse health effects of childbirths in quick succession combined with strenuous agricultural and household work, are breaking community norms to use contraceptives
Better awareness improves maternal and child health
Awareness meetings that equip women with knowledge on health and nutrition during pregnancy and after childbirth is helping to tackle malnutrition in rural Singhbhum in Jharkhand