16 Days of Activism launch event

On 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, EKTA launched its 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign in Vilacherry, a panchayat outside of Madurai. It was a fantastic event that drew over 100 participants, who signed a pledge to end violence against women and listened to speakers such as
Nirmala Devi, Chairman, Tiruparankundram union, Akila Devi, Panchayat president, Vilacherry panchayat, and Mallika, Inspector, Tiruparankundram All Women’s Police Station, who informed women of their legal and human rights regarding gender-based violence. Following the speeches, Chairman Nirmala Devi helped send off EKTA's mobile van, which will tour nearby villages and distribute information on the 16 Days campaign, gender-based violence in the area, and women's rights until the end of the campaign on 10 December, Human Rights Day.

The event received excellent coverage in local newspapers. See The Hindu's article here.

 

#33Percent

One of EKTA's primary focuses is on increasing women's political participation. Thanks to the 33% reservation for women in local governance, we have been able to help scores of women contest in elections and become effective elected representatives for their communities. For the past 17 years, the Women's Reservation Bill has been pending in the lower house of the national parliament. This bill would create a 33% reservation for women representatives in both the Lok Sabha and in state assemblies, enabling women to overcome extreme structural obstacles to political participation.

EKTA is proud to be a part of the Centre for Social Research and WomenPowerConnect's #33Percent campaign to ensure the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill during the Winter Session of Parliament. To join us in this effort, sign the online petition calling for the Prime Minister of India to pass the bill in the Lok Sabha.

State level consultation on the implementation of laws to address gender-based violence

On July 26th and 27th EKTA hosted a state-level consultation on the implementation of laws to address gender-based violence.  A new national act to prevent violence against women -- the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 -- was signed into law this past April and, as is common knowledge in civil society, effective implementation of such laws is often a greater challenge than getting the laws written and signed in the first place.  This is clearly seen with the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, which, although passed in 2005, remains inadequately implemented throughout much of the country.  With this challenge in mind, EKTA organised this state-level consultation to address the specifics of these laws, discuss the existing challenges in implementation, and develop effective strategies for correcting these deficiencies. 

Held at the ICSA centre in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, participants at the consultation included civil society activists, academics, advocates (including one from the Madras High Court), and students. Upon reviewing the state's initiatives to address gender-based violence, it became very clear that there is a significant gap in the state's efforts to educate the public (and even its own judges and lawyers) on the legal and structural changes these laws bring. It was also clear that there is a real thirst for straightforward, applicable, and experience-based sharing of knowledge regarding the specifics of these acts and their practical implementation. Some of the strategies developed over the course of the two-day consultation include creating awareness on the provisions of these laws at all levels, demanding active participation of women's rights organizations in the various institutional mechanisms created by the acts, and strengthening or further defining the necessary procedures to hold the state and national governments accountable for adequate implementation and enforcement. 

A panel of speakers

 

Sumangali scheme

EKTA has been actively trying to promote a critical dialogue with stakeholders on the "Sumangali scheme" here in Tamil Nadu. As part of these efforts, last week we partnered with the Centre for Social Education and Development and held a two-day consultation to examine this issue with students, NSS volunteers, panchayat raj members, activists, and others. 

The sumangali scheme targets young girls predominately from vulnerable or marginalized communities to enter into contractual labour (usually in textile industries) for 3-5 years with the promise of a steady salary, room and board, and, at the end of this period, a lump sum of money to be used as dowry upon marriage. The scheme thus perpetuates dowry culture and all of its harmful consequences, such as domestic violence, daughter aversion/son preference, and the declining child sex ratio. Furthermore, these girls are usually subject to atrocious working conditions -- 12-hour-plus shifts six days a week, little safety awareness, physical/verbal/sexual abuse, to name a few -- and near complete control and isolation. This bonded labour jeopardizes girls' physical and mental health; suicides are not uncommon in these facilities, and neither are crippling injuries that will affect the girls for the rest of their lives. 

Although India has child labour (and dowry prevention) laws, sumangali schemes persist. Therefore, EKTA is calling for a further ban on employing children younger than 18 years in industries, as well as free and compulsory education for all children (the girls who take part in the sumangali schemes dropout and do not finish their education). In the day-long consultation at Hotel Supreme and the subsequent workshop at our centre in Kodimangalam, EKTA team members and partners developed action plans to prevent the perpetuation of this scheme and to design rescue, rehabilitation, and redressal efforts for victims.

Below are some pictures of the two-day event. The consultation also received coverage in The Hindu and Indian Express. Here is the link to the Hindu article: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/sumangali-scheme-draws-flak/article4914353.ece

For gender equality

The Hindu recently published a fantastic article on EKTA's director, Ms Bimla Chandrasekar. Click on the link below to learn more about Ms Bimla's experiences, motivations, and goals towards achieving gender equality: http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/for-gender-equality/article4766059.ece

Child marriage programme

EKTA is currently developing a programme to combat child marriage in several districts of Tamil Nadu. This issue has been in the news a lot lately, here in Tamil Nadu and abroad as well, particularly in areas of conflict. The reasons perpetuating child marriage are many, and the harmful effects and consequences are widespread and long-lasting. Below are some statistics and stories from The Hindu to give some context to the issue. We will post updates on our specific programme as it develops. 

• More than 100 million girls in the developing world will be married during the next 10 years.
  
• Although the definition of child marriage includes boys, most children married under the age of 18 years are girls.
  
• While the practice has decreased globally over the last 30 years, it remains common in rural areas and among the poorest of the poor.
  
• In Southern Asia, 48%—nearly 10 million—of girls are married before the age of 18.
  
  
• In Africa, 42% of girls were married before turning 18.
  
• In Latin America and the Caribbean, 29% of girls are married by age 18.

Source

 Areas that experience high rates of child marriage are those with:

• High poverty rates, birth rates and death rates
• Greater incidence of conflict and civil strife
• Lower levels of overall development, including schooling, employment, health care

Consequences of child marriage:

• Large spousal age gaps
• Limited social support, due to social isolation
• Limited educational attainment and no schooling options
• Intense pressure to become pregnant
• Increased risk of maternal and infant mortality
• Increased vulnerability to HIV and other STIs
• Restricted social mobility/freedom of movement
• Little access to modern media (TV, radio, newspapers)
• Lack of skills to be viable to the labour market   

Source

The Hindu 1

The Hindu 2

The Hindu 3

Children's summer camp

EKTA recently hosted our annual children's camp in Kodimangalam. In the shade of coconut and mango trees, local children did yoga, played games, choreographed dances, and made up short skits with social justice-oriented messages (for example, one skit demonstrated the perils of child labour). 

Here are a few pictures from the summer camp:

Madurai Rising

On the 14th, EKTA and Lady Doak College's Centre for Women's Studies, along with our collaborating organizers (People's Watch, Department of Communication MKU, TNSF, Deepam, Koodu, WWSS, Vasuki Seva Nilayam, and the TN Handicapped Association-South Zone), successfully executed Madurai Rising as part of the global One Billion Rising campaign. This event has been a priority for the past several months, and we were happy to celebrate with participants from across the city, including several universities. Speakers included Our own Thirumigu Bimla Chandrasekar, director of EKTA; Thirumigu Anshul Mishra, IAS (District Collector, Madurai); Thirumigu Jacinthu Martin, B.L. (Madurai Legal Services Authority); Thirumigu R. Thirunavukarasu, M.Sc., B.L. (Deputy Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Madurai); and Thirumigu Dr. V. Chinnaiah, Co-ordinator, National Service Scheme, MKU, Madurai. We also enjoyed some wonderful cultural performances that definitely fulfilled the "dance" mandate of the One Billion Rising campaign! 

Finally, all participants joined together to release OBR balloons into the sky, followed by enthusiastic dancing, cheering, and singing. Through the event, we hope to have diffused knowledge, inspiration, and a sense of solidarity throughout the community, with a vision of a world free of violence against women. 

 

One Billion Rising short film

Here it is: our OBR short film, made by MKU students and EKTA! The video depicts some of the forms of violence that women often face in Tamil Nadu, but it also shows women standing up and joining a collective call for an end to violence against women. It's a powerful message. Watch below! 

With just two days until One Billion Rising, we are finalizing plans and gathering materials for a wonderful event at the Gandhi Museum on Thursday (from 3-6pm). Our plans include: distribution of handbills and stickers (featuring a pledge to stop violence against women and girls), a balloon release ceremony, the creation of a human chain, some cultural activities (put on by various colleges), and a candlelighting event. 

OBR short film release

Yesterday's event to launch the short film for One Billion Rising in Tamil Nadu was a great success. A diverse crowd which included journalists, students, academics, and activists attended and listened to impassioned speeches, watched the film for the first time, and honored the MKU students who wrote and produced the video. EKTA and OBR also received some great press -- you can read The Hindu's article here.
 

OBR short film launch - tomorrow!

EKTA will be releasing our One Billion Rising short film (made by students of MKU) tomorrow! We are very excited to share this video with everyone, so try and make it if you can! The event will be held tomorrow evening (31.01.2013) from 4-6pm at the YMCA Hall Madurai. Below is the official programme with detail events. 

Safe Madurai & the Southern Regional Consultation on DCSR

It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks at EKTA. After Pongal, we hosted Rejita from Sakhi, Kerala. Drawing on her experience conducting the Safe City study in Kerala, Rejita led a training session on planning, implementing, and evaluating the results for a similar study in Madurai. After a day of discussing the technical aspects of safety audits, formal and informal surveys, choosing target areas, etc., we headed to Periyar Bus Stand (the main stand in downtown Madurai) to conduct our first safety audit. Observing physical attributes and eliciting the experiences of women users of the public space, we developed a detailed, multifaceted map of Periyar's safety deficits. This map, along with similar ones drawn up by college students at other strategic locations around the city, will be used to develop specific recommendations to improve women's safety and sense of well-being in public spaces in Madurai. As mentioned previously, EKTA will release an action plan on February 14th at our One Billion Rising event, and intends to use this initial study as the base from which to launch a more comphrensive, city-wide study to assess safety of public spaces for women. 

Asking a young woman about her experiences with violence at Periyar Bus Stand

While some EKTA team members conducted further safety audits with female college students in Madurai this past week, other members drove to Chennai to facilitate and participate in the Southern Regional Consultation on the declining child sex ratio (DCSR) in India. Organized by EKTA, with support of the National Foundation for India and the United Nations Population Fund, the consultation brought together NGO representatives from 6 states (and a Union Territory) -- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. Over 3 days, participants discussed statistics, indicators, and historical trends related to DCSR, identified root causes such as son preference, dowry, and safety and security concerns, shared successful and ineffective strategies to combat sex-selective abortions and female infanticide, and analyzed the language and implementation of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act and the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex selection) Act, among other things. Participants also made plans to continue this information-sharing process in the future to build a more wide-reaching and effective effort to address DCSR. A more detailed report on the specifics of the consultation will be available shortly on the EKTA website. 

Both the Safe Cities training and the DCSR demonstrated the importance of solidarity and collective effort of women's groups. At times, it can seem as though the challenges NGOs and women's activists face are insurmountable. However, through building networks, sharing successes, and devising new strategies to address common problems, it is clear that true progress can be made.

The beautiful lily pond at CRëNIEO, where the Southern Regional Consultation was held

Happy Pongal!

Happy Pongal from EKTA! 

EKTA hosted a Pongal celebration at our training center in Kodimangalam for friends, staff, and colleagues on Saturday. Participants drew beautiful kolam designs, made delicious sweet pongal, enjoyed freshly cut sugarcane, and discussed EKTA's upcoming activities, such as Safe Madurai and One Billion Rising. It was truly a lovely afternoon spent celebrating with friends. 

 

Safe Madurai & a look back at 2012

We had a brief meeting today to discuss the safety audits that local college students and EKTA team members will be conducting across Madurai in the next few weeks. The auditors will travel 5 or 6 routes that the students frequently take to get around the city (for instance, from a busy bus stop to Periyar bus stand) and take note of safety deficits and areas that feel unsafe. These audits will be conducted multiple times. The goal is to gain similar assessments of problems and recommendations for creating a safer Madurai as presented in this study on the safety of women and girls in public spaces in Kerala.

Another on-going project is a review and analysis of all of EKTA's activities in 2012. It is astonishing what a busy year we had! Looking at our projects month-by-month really demonstrates the comprehensive and multifaceted approach ETKA takes to work towards gender equality and the promotion and protection of women's human rights. Here's a list of  some of the diverse trainings, campaigns, and initiatives we've pursued over the last 12 months:

• Participated in a national consultation on the declining child sex ratio in India
• Ran several gender equality seminars and gender & masculinities workshops at colleges and universities across Madurai
• Participated in the UN Women's Consultation on violence against women
• Launched the One Billion Rising campaign, which continues to February 2013
• Part of the People's Budget Initiative at the national level to develop suggestions for the Finance Minister
• Partook in the CEDAW Alternative Report planning consultation in Delhi
• Began and completed an extensive study on women's voting patterns in Tamil Nadu and Orissa, in collaboration with CARE India
• Continued our governance program and trainings, in collaboration with The Hunger Project, with elected women leaders
• Executed the 16 Days of Activism campaign, which included a mobile van campaign that brought information on gender-based violence to women and men in villages in Tamil Nadu
• Conducted group and individual counseling at schools for at-risk students
• Participated in South Asian Women's Day celebrations 
• Helped to launch a new initiative of the Women's Coalition for Change
• Organized and conducted a 10 day capacity building training course on gender and development for women activists from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka (with our partner SANGAT New Delhi)