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
Adolescent girls progress towards complete empowerment
Repressive norms pushed adolescent girls to poor health and early marriage. Bringing them together into groups has helped them improve their health, stop child marriage and learn vocational skills
Women use mobile phones to maintain land records
Over half a million women, trained to access and maintain their land records through mobile phones, have learned to complete documentation, so that they are registered as owners
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