IT was International Women’s Day on Friday. But it was hard for the other half of the country to stay silent for a mere 24 hours. They just couldn’t because the posters/slogans during the countrywide march were just so out there and unacceptable. Even two days later, the ‘tsk tsk-ing’ and the outrage hadn’t stopped.

What were these women thinking? How could they abuse their position by making outrageous demands? And why didn’t they understand their culture and tradition? Where were the serious issues such as rape? Why didn’t they speak for the women from the less-privileged classes? Why did they speak of silly and irrelevant issues (when there are serious issues such as ‘honour’ killings)? Of course, there was great horror for unacceptable and/or frivolous issues such as manspreading; unwanted and unsolicited pictures (as many consider this a staid family paper, I will spare the feelings of all readers by not providing more details); divorce and the price of sanitary napkins.

These were hardly rights issues, it was said.

Many Pakistani men (and even some women) are all for equal rights for women but as long as it does not translate into support for ‘behayai’ (remember the unsolicited pictures), or even slogans asking for men to heat their own food, or find their own socks, or women who want to sit like men.

It seems as if they were arguing for women to have waited — for ‘honour’ killings to end, for inheritance laws to be made equitable, for equal pay to be a reality before bringing up ‘frivolous’ issues such as taboos around divorce or judging women for their clothing choices.

In creating a hierarchy of issues, where would we begin to ask for no harassment on the street or in cyberspace?

After all, in a society where violence against women takes such heinous forms such as wani and ‘honour’ killings, it does perhaps seem out of place to start demanding that men heat their own food.

But this argument is based on the assumption that women’s rights can be listed in terms of priority, and that one can only move down the list once the item above has been marked ‘complete’.

Hence, once ‘honour’ killings are eliminated, only then can one move on to wani, and once there is a ‘check’ in front of this can one perhaps move on to domestic violence. And only after all the acts of physical violence against women are eliminated should we move on to asking for more equitable inheritance laws and equal pay.

But in creating this hierarchy of issues, where would we begin to ask for no harassment on the street (eve-teasing as it is sometimes called in our subcontinental English); would it come before or after harassment in cyberspace? And what about allowing women to decide on birth control measures for themselves? Where would this be placed on the list? And it seems that with such serious issues to contend with, asking for equal representation on corporate boards or more women in cabinets should simply be shelved for the time being.

Second, there is an argument prevalent in the privileged parts of society that if women are not being killed or beaten or stopped from studying or working, they really should not be complaining about other issues. In other words, agitating about mansplaining, sexist swear words, and social views on clothes are not ‘real’ issues when women are being killed or maimed.

But Pakistan is a society where modernity and tradition jostle for space. It’s a place where Mukhtaran Mai is still struggling for justice; where the Muslim world’s first woman prime minister was elected 30 years ago; where women (and men) were apparently killed just seven years ago because a video revealed that they were enjoying music in the presence of men; where we also have laws outlawing sexual harassment at the workplace.

There are parts of the country (and society) where women struggle to marry of their own free will or get an education but in others, women struggle with getting their male colleagues to treat them with respect. And the rights movement will and should talk about all kinds of issues.

To argue that one is more real than the other is to argue that while extrajudicial killings happen, Pakistanis should not crib about the ridiculously high prices the automobile sector charges, because the latter only concerns a more privileged section of society. It’s possible to talk about both the issues and agitate for both at the same time.

Or to use another example, there are some who say that criticism of civilian governments or questions about accountability can endanger democracy in Pakistan. It will not. We can and must work for a stronger democracy and better governance from our political parties at the same time.

Similarly, working women can talk about sexual harassment and about not being heard in work meetings; others can discuss the social taboos surrounding those who have walked out of marriages; and all of them can talk about rape and ‘honour’ killings as well as the burden of juggling work and housework, as in many households, men are not expected to lift a finger at home. These issues need not wait till what is deemed more ‘serious’ and ‘legitimate’ (by some or many) has been addressed.

As we jostle tradition and modernity in our politics and society, half of this country also has the right to talk about all the problems they face whether in the rural areas or in corporate offices.

Last but not least, if some demands seem offensive or ill-suited to our ‘culture’, we need to remember that in some parts of the country, ‘culture’ allows women to be killed. Yet we expect the men from those parts to understand that their ‘culture’ is not acceptable. So why can’t our more urbane, educated compatriots be challenged and questioned about what they deem acceptable?

Let’s not put a limit on what women can dream and aspire to. Even if it makes some of us uncomfortable, at least it’s forcing us to debate and engage on what women rights are.

The writer is a journalist.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2019

source: Dawn

Even today, a majority of Indian women cannot walk out of unhappy, incompatible or abusive marriages because they don’t have the social and economic capital to do so

An interesting statistic was bouncing around the Internet the other day. According to a 2017 report by Unified Lawyers, a Sydney-based law firm, India has the lowest incidence of divorce in the world — a mere 1 per cent. Luxembourg tops the chart with 87 per cent and Spain comes up second with 65 per cent.

While developing countries do exhibit lower divorce rates, Indians seem to have the toughest, the most iron-clad, bonds of matrimony in the world. It’s enough to make the sanskaari amongst us cut capers and rub their hands in glee. Of course, Twitter wits were soon …

source: Business Standard

The South Asian Women in Media (SAWM) is a network of women journalists based in each country of the region — that is, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. WE STAND FOR freedom of speech and expression, the fair and equal representation of women in the media, as well as equal opportunity for women in the media. Our aim is two-fold: We want to deepen our network inside our countries so as expose each other to the wide variety of stories around us as well as promote best practices in journalism; We also want to create a digital platform that will showcase our work as well as our interests and ideas across all the countries of South Asia. We believe that the right to speak freely goes hand-in-hand with the responsibility to dissent, and yet across our region, censorship and crackdowns and plain fear are being used by powerful governments to prevent the story from coming out. In these circumstances, a network of journalists — of women journalists — who demonstrate the power of cross-border networking in standing up to these values of a free and responsible media, is increasingly important.

Among these efforts to promote both national and cross-border journalism — which includes the provision of grants to women journalists to pursue their stories and arrange field visit — is a highly valued collaboration with UNICEF, which was launched in 2017. The theme of the inaugural SAWM India-UNICEF India Media Initiative was “Voices of Adolescents.” Eleven women journalists from English and regional media across the country wrote and reported untold stories of adolescent girls and boys and presented them to over 25 million readers and viewers in their respective publications.

For the second edition in 2018, SAWM India collaborated with UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Initiative (WASH), on the theme “Gender and Sanitation.” This year, our funders supported 14 journalists. SAWM India makes it a point to make the selection of these journalists diverse and inclusive. Which means that journalists from big media organisations like Times of India, Indian Express, The Hindu, Prabhat Khabar, PTI, Mirror Now, along with journalists from smaller regional language newspapers and TV, as well as independent journalists participated in this exercise.

The program enabled the reporters to travel to other states to report their stories, an opportunity often not offered by media organisations. They visited villages and towns where sanitation projects were making an impact on the lives of young girls and women. The participants were also encouraged to travel on their own.

Providing resource and other support for quality journalism is important to SAWM. As in the first year, this year too we held a pre-departure briefing. It was attended by experts in sanitation, from UNICEF as well as those seconded to the government, as well as veteran journalists who have written on gender and sanitation issues. A report on the pre-departure briefing features in this report.

The program greatly values social media posts from the field, sent by participant journalists. These capture the interface of women journalists with women in villages or slums and the impressions they make on each other. In a sense, these are “stories behind the stories,” and need to be recorded as such.

“When a Women Reports a Story She does in a Different way”. Were enough provisions are given to the Female Journalist on Ground, its a question with No answer. Every Women Journalist travels across to file a story but the basic amenity Toilet is not Provided to her in many times. Many women Journalist On Ground says she suffers from UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) it’s not the case in Chennai. Even in NCR the situation prevails. Journalist reports about the stories of Lack of Toilets, No maintenance of Toilets but she asks “where is My Toilet?”

பெண் செய்தியாளர்களுக்கு அடிப்படை தேவையான கழிப்பறைகள் களத்தில் உள்ளதா?

source : News 7 Tamil

Everytime Children are considered as the Marginalised community, the reason behind this is, they don’t have any political importance. Here the school of West Bengal sets a trend for forming a Children Cabinet. The Cabinet comprises of 5 members, the Prime Minister, Food Minister, Health minister, Education Minister and Sports Minister. These little ones have a meeting every week discuss about the problems and finds Solutions. This Helps the Children to Motivate themselves and emerge them with political and Social Understanding.

குழந்தை நேய சமூகமாக இந்தியா மாற வேண்டும் : அதற்கான எடுத்துக்காட்டாக திகழும் ஒரு பள்ளிக்கூடம்

The 88-page manual lists the rules and guidelines which schools have to follow to ensure safety of children in each category – divided into categories such as infrastructure, health and hygiene, psycho-social aspects, roles and responsibilities of teachers, child safety checklist for schools among others.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has released a manual titled ‘Safety and Security of Children in Schools’, a compilation of laws, Acts, guidelines and rules available in India, to ensure children’s safety in schools. It also deals with how teachers have to deal with girls when they start menstruating and that the girls should be provided all possible support.

Recently, some girls at a government school in Fazilka were allegedly forced to strip by two teachers after a sanitary pad was found dumped in a toilet.  The manual, under the topic ‘Behavior Change Activities’, says, “Girls must be taught menstrual hygiene management by women teachers in a sensitive and supportive manner also also take steps to encourage and support girls during menstruation so they do not miss school.”

The manual also directs schools to provide facilities such as sanitary pads and incinerators for proper disposal of sanitary napkins during menstruation. It says, “Other steps include stockpiling extra sanitary pads and clothes (such as school uniforms) for emergencies, along with enhanced training programme for teachers.”

Schools should also be equipped with other facilities such as private space for girls and disposal facilities. The manual states, “Menstrual hygiene management facilities include soap, adequate and private space for changing, adequate water for cloth washing and disposal facility for menstrual waste, including incinerators or dustbins must be provided by schools.” It adds, “Hygiene messages may be integrated into the textbook curriculum or maybe imparted through supplementary reading material, activity-based learning methodologies or even during morning assembly sessions.”

The 88-page manual lists the rules and guidelines which schools have to follow to ensure safety of children in each category – divided into categories such as infrastructure, health and hygiene, psycho-social aspects, roles and responsibilities of teachers, child safety checklist for schools among others. The manual has to be followed by all government, private and other schools across the country.

Speaking to The Indian Express over phone from Delhi, Madhulika Sharma, technical expert, NCPCR, said, “The manual has been prepared as a handbook so that schools can access all rules and laws that have to be followed for safety of children in schools. We have tried to cover all aspects related to child safety in this manual. It has to be followed by all government, private and other schools across the country and has been sent to all states.”

Many government and private schools in Punjab are still without incinerators. The promise to provide free of cost sanitary napkins to all girls in government schools of Punjab has remained unfulfilled for two consecutive financial years till now- by SAD-BJP government in 2016-17 and then the Congress government in 2017-18.

source: The Indian Express

A student of class X of Madrassa Islamia, Chahat Mohammadi is a determined girl. She sets out with her friends on a journey to educate women and girls in her locality and adjoining rural areas about the importance of menstrual hygiene. She learnt about the significance of sanitation, hygiene and maintaining healthy habits during menstruation from the Kanyashree Club in her school — “Khwaish Kanyashree Club”. An active member of the Club, she knows it won’t be easy to convince the women, who follow the age-old traditions when it comes to menstruation. However, she is keen to change their mindset. “Initially, the women, were hesitant to even talk about these issues, but we were able to convince them to adopt the proper use of sanitary pads and other healthy habits that we need to follow during menstruation,” says Chahat.

The Kanyashree Clubs comprise of 30 to 35members and there are a total of 400 clubs over 20 blocks of West Bengal’s Purulia District, the number of which is expected to increase in due course of time. The girls, popularly known as the “Kanyashree Girls” are taught about menstrual hygiene and use of sanitary pads, that are easily accessible in their schools. Moreover, the instructions received, are then carried forward by the girls to other women who are not aware about the healthy practices of menstruation.

“We buy the sanitary pads from the Self Help Groups (SHGs) in our Kanyashree Club, both for our personal use and for those, whom we sensitize. The pads are affordable and we sell them at a nominal rate. The girls are now happy and feel comfortable even during those days of discomfort,” adds Chahat.

The major obstacles to education of the girl child is absenteeism due to early marriage and menstrual cycle. Parents feel that a girl should be married off as soon as she attains puberty, thereby increasing the rate of dropouts and creating severe health problems among the girls.

Riya Chandra a member of “Pratyusha Kanyashree Club”, and a student of Class XI, was aghast when she found that girls of her age were married off and even bore children while they are still adoloscents. “We carry out awareness campaigns among the masses about the ill-effects of child marriage and encourage the parents to send their daughters to school. Here, in our club we learn about various social and health related issues, and make an effort to reform society,” says Chandra.

During menstruation, the girls usually use clothes and other primitive methods which is not hygienic and may lead to infections. “We try to sensitize the girls and women in our locality who still rely on clothes. We inform them about the use and disposal of sanitary pads and avoid unhygienic methods. Initially, they felt shy talking about periods and never dared to go to a chemist to purchase a packet of sanitary pad. However, now they feel comfortable discussing with us and frankly ask for pads whenever they need it,” adds Chandra of Shantani GirlsHigh School.

“Kanyashree Prakalpa”, is a scheme undertaken by the West Bengal Government for the uplift of the girl child. It is a conditional cash transfer method, where an adolescent unmarried girl between the age bracket of 14 to 18, receives a certain amount to continue with her education thereby making her independent and empowered. The project is not solely confined with the monetary support to the girls, rather it is also a holistic step to transform the adolescent girl into a confident person.

According to a systematic review on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) in India, by UNICEF in 2015, 24 percent of school girls remain absent during their menses. In another report by the National Family Health Survey, NFHS 4- 2015-2016, around 52 percent of girls in India were unaware of menstruation before they have their first period and only 58 percent of women were using hygienic methods.  These figures underline the importance of MHM to girls in school in support of health and education outcomes.

The adolescent girls in the Kanyashree Clubs are provided friendly counselling sessions on menstrual hygiene through Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHC) and free health sessions at Anwesha Clinic. The sessions are conducted in close co-ordination with ICDS and UNICEF members. Along with counselling session, a comic book is published for the girls, where information about menstruation and hygienic menstruation management is given as a self-reference for adolescent girls that help them prepare for the physical changes in their bodies and practice safe and hygienic ways of dealing with menstruation.

“Initially, it was uneasy to attend school during those days on a bicycle, I was obsessed with the fear of getting my clothes stained, but not anymore. In our “Sapnadisha Kanyashree Club”, we are given a detailed insight on menstrual hygiene like — maintaining proper diet and cleanliness, using and changing pads within 4 hours and this has made our lives much easier. We also have provisions in our school to change pads. Moreover, we openly talk with our instructor without any hesitation, in case if we face any problem during menstruation,” says Pompa Mahato, of Hutmura Harimati Girls’ School.

District Magistrate of Purulia, AlokeshPrasad Roy talks about the objectives of the Kanyashree project — to increase educational attainment, prohibition of child marriage and providing financial assistance to the girls. “We thrive to make them self-reliant by converging various departments like skill development and employment generation with the project. Fiscal awareness programme are also conducted in consultation with various banks for the benefit of the girls which enable them to handle their own accounts,” he says.

In yet another breakthrough initiative, the Purulia district administration has implemented its own brand, namely “Udaan”, a project on sanitary napkin for MHM programme. The pads manufactured by Udaan are totally biodegradable, quality tested and priced Rs 5 for two pads. UNICEF and the state government has supported this project of Purulia, which is now replicated in all districts of West Bengal.

“Menstruation”, is a topic which has always been a taboo subject. Not many, especially in rural areas are aware about the habits to be rigorously followed during their menses. Adding more complications to these monthly cycles are stomach cramps and discomfort, lack of awareness, and access to sanitary napkins. The most affected are the adolescent girls who tend to miss out school, thereby increasing the rate of dropouts. “Earlier the women used clothes and cow dung as absorbents during menstruation. These created severe health implications. Then we started propagating various campaigns on menstrual hygiene involving adolescent girls. At present there are 80,000 Kanyashrees in Purulia, who themselves are practicing and encouraging their family, locality and rural areas to adopt the healthy habit of using sanitary napkins,” Roy says.

Roy informs that there are around 31,000SHGs in Purulia where women are well-trained and provided with the machine for the production of sanitary napkins. The benefit of its use has reached even the most backward areas of Purulia. There are two production houses in Purulia where mass production of these sanitary napkins are carried on and supply chain are done by the women of SHGs. As per the requirements, these pads are supplied to the nodal teacher of the Kanyashree Clubs, from whom the girls can purchase.

The concept of selling the sanitary pads at a nominal rate was adopted to empower the SHG women. Kalpana Kuiry, Supervisor of the SHG, “Agragami Prathamik Samabai Samiti, says, “I have been associated with this group since last ten years where we used to produce the sanitary pads manually. After the implementation of the project Udaan, we were provided with the machine from the district administration. The raw materials used in the making of the pads are procured by us; it usually consists of non-woven fabric, wood gel, dry net, release paper and packet. The annual production capacity is 12 lakhs, and per day 3,000 pads are prepared. As amonthly incentive Rs 2000, is deposited in our bank accounts.”

Widespread awareness and ground level advocacy by action oriented Kanyashree club members in Purulia have created a strong impact in combating child marriage. Moreover, emphasis has been laid for the overall development of the Kanyashree Girls. “The girls are provided with an opportunity to explore their skills in sports like football, archery, karate, taekwondo. Under the skill development programme “Swabalambi”, they are given training in various courses like — beautician, handicrafts, catering and hospitality, and preparing organic colours from Palash flowers. Awareness campaigns are also conducted by the Kanyashree girls, against vector-borne diseases, use of plastics, and road safety,” says Leena Mondol, District Nodal Officer for Kanyashree Prakalpa.

The Kanyashree and the Udaan project is giving a new ray of hope to the young girls and women of Purulia, who are the harbingers of change in the society.

In accordance to the second edition of the media initiative undertaken by the South Asia Women In Media (SAWM) and UNICEF India, a group of journalists interacted with the Kanyashree Girls and women from SHGs about the implementation of MHM programmes in Purulia

source: Thumb Print

In construction sites, women are mostly involved only as workers, but a Women Self Help Groups(SHGs) in Purulia district of West Bengal is breaking the stereotype and making women to build Toilets.

The story features the construction site of Toilet in Purulia. The owner of the place tells she is not ready to build a toilet in her home but after her Daughter compulsion and subsidised toilet scheme made her build the toilet she adds.

Women Masons Lalmoni Soran, says initially her husband was not supportive but that did not deter her from taking up this job. She managed to convince her husband and now he works along with her in the construction of Toilets.
A toilet per home increase the personal hygiene as well as the safety of the Children. It is important to attain the sustainable Developments in near Future.

The Group of women SHGs sensitizes the Villagers by doing awareness camp. Mrs. Mahato says that she being a protagonist witnessed the illness of not having Toilets at her home. After building a toilet at her place she now sensitizes people to construct toilets.

These Rani mestris not only construct toilet alone they ensure the safety and well being of the women in the society.

கழிப்பறை கட்டுவது தொடர்பாக புதுமையை கையாளும் மேற்கு வங்க மாநிலம் | செய்தித் தொகுப்பு

The usual never interests me. I knew I would not find the elusive, colorful Palash flower at this of the year in Purulia but I still hoped to find that one fresh twist in the routine, mundane sanitation, gender stories that would make me say that not only the Palash flowers bloom here but so do the Palash flower girls and the Palash women, who are painting this district in the most vivid empowering colors. The colors that display their innermost urge to break free and chart their own route.

And just as I thought, I found that much-sought-after twist in Purulia women’s will to think out of the box, do something different from others, generate income not just for oneself but for their fellow sisters, mates in the self-help groups and most importantly not make a big deal about it. And it is not just in building toilets or creating awareness about using sanitary napkins but zeroing in on a number of other avenues, which can be eye-openers for women not only in other districts of West Bengal but other states as well.

Schoolgirls, barely 12-15 years seemed well rehearsed about sanitary napkins and their usage but what was not well practiced was their confidence in dealing with outsiders, especially the media. The Kanyashree clubs are in different forms in all other states but what outshone and was different amongst these Kanyashree girls from Purulia was their leadership qualities, their ability to tackle every tricky question with an unusual confidence that belied their age. Kanyashree clubs seem to be nurturing women leaders of tomorrow.

Women masons build toilets now, earning a paltry Rs 2,200 now. Their earnings are small but what is big for them is their family’s acceptance that no work is hard enough for women to get bogged down.

Admitting that the work is hard and difficult, mason Shikha Rani Mahato has no reasons to quit. She wants to pursue it as long as she can, be it extreme heat or chilling cold. She wants to keep building – not just toilets but her own house and her own dreams, which would never ever be trampled upon.

Not just April-May, I found Palash do bloom here in every season. Nothing to pull back Palash, power and Purulia women.

For UNICEF India – SAWM India Media Initative on Gender & Sanitation