Empowerment of Girls Through Education

Empowerment of girls through education: supporting girls who are victims or at risk of commercial sexual exploitation

1. Summary

 Progress Report: Empowerment of girls through education: supporting girls who are victms or at risk of commercial sexual exploitation

Reporting period: 1st April 2016 - 16th April 2016

2. Activities conducted

In total, 415 girls were reached at 8 different institutions (rehabilitation centre, government institutional care facility, two drop-in-centres and four high schools) during the reporting period, 1 - 16 April 2016. Two different methodologies were used: one-day session for the school children and a four-day session for the children in shelter homes and drop-in-centres. The sessions were simple and enjoyable for the children. The emphasis was placed on screening the film, ‘He named me Malala’, as well as presenting and discussing Malala Yousafzai’s main message about the right to education at empowerment workshops. For both the one-day and four-day sessions, the following key modules were included:

• Introduction by the Facilitators
• Storytelling on Malala Yousafzai: A one-page write up on Malala and her journey so far was developed and distributed to the children. It was noticed that 95% of the children were unaware about Malala (through interaction) before the session was conducted. So it was important to conduct this session before showcasing the film, 'He Named me Malala'.
• Screening'the film, ‘He Named me Malala’: To ensure that the film was understandable to the children, the film was divided into 10 chapters and in between most chapters, an interaction and discussion was undertaken.  The interaction was required to clarify the journey, messages of the film to the participants. 
• Informing the children about 'Right to Education Act’ and 'Kanyashree' instruments in West Bengal: Right to Education Act is to ensure the rights for all children to get education until he/she reaches 14 years of age. Kanyashree is a scheme by the Government of West Bengal. This aims to help girls to continue studying and also to prevent the early child marriage among girls under 18 years of age. Raising awareness on the legal instruments available is vital to explaining the importance of education. A two-sided handout was distributed to the children.
• Participatory and interactive activities during workshops aimed at raising awareness and empowering girls: Group activities and exercises such as ‘successful Indian women’, ‘successful women and the importance of education in their lives’, ‘girls in our society’, and ‘story-building sessions’ took place during all the four-day workshops at the Sanlaap rehabilitation centre, government institutional care facility and drop-in-centres.
• Feedback session:  Feedback is essential to assess the success of the workshop and to learn from participants themselves. Instead of verbal feedback, a one-page written feedback form was developed and distributed to the participants. A process to analyse the results systematically is also being developed.