Challenging traditional scripts for girls
and breaking down gender
stereotypes: Community Engagement
Why community engagement is important in
girls education program?
Community engagement in girls education program is widely
recognized as a vital force in the effort to remove barriers to
achieving high retention of girls in high school as well as
continuation
Where traditional practices or beliefs prevent marginalized
populations, particularly girls, from attaining education,
government mandates alone are not enough to remove these
barriers.
Communities themselves must address the underlying factors
that prevent girls from accessing education and then develop
solutions that are relevant to their particular situation.
What are the prevailing beliefs and norms ….
In a patriarchal society where social norms are much more
stronger and powerful several norms operates to restricts girls
retention in school:
– The key responsibility of women and girls are within
household.
– Public space is for men
The existing norms manifests several beliefs which reinforces
and determines girls education:
– Even if a girl is educated her primary role is to take care of
her home
– Instead of spending money on a girl’s education, it should
be saved for her dowry
– Girls who are highly educated indulge in improper
behaviour
The context…About Parivartan
Urban slum of Shijavinagar in Mumbai.
Composition of the community:
 Population of 8.09 lakhs
 Muslims make up 87% of the total population
Facts about the community:
 35% children out-of-school
 HDI:0.05
 Rank: 24 out of 24 wards
(Mumbai Human Development Report 2009)
Challenging traditional scripts for girls and breaking
down gender stereotypes
Involve parents
Involve stakeholders
• Identify parents of
athletes to form a
‘reference group’
that will help
address the barriers
to girls’ participation
in sports
• Identify influential
community leaders,
other NGOs/CBOs, and
educational
institutions
Engage men and boys
• Engage them to
reflect on norms
• Making them
gender equitable
• Involve them in
creating a safe
space through
community
mobilization
Rolling out of community component
 Partnered with Independent Television Services‘ (ITVS) on-going
global project, Women and Girls Lead Global.
 Engaging male mentors from the community who were part of
men and masculinity sport based program
 Gender equitable, going through transformative process
 Trained on film facilitation and community mobility
 Mobilizing men and boys as well as women from the community
through their personal contacts by involving CBOs and
stakeholders from the community
 Films identified by ITVS, ICRW and Apnalaya were screened in the
community
 Mentors facilitated the discussions as well as commitment on the
issues by the community
The process of involvement and change
Critical
thinking
Connection
& Reflection
Commitment
What has happened till now…
10 film screened in 06 different pockets of the community
The issues touched upon in these screenings were
 Girls education and child marriage
 Substance use and VAW
 Girls and sports
 Issues in the community – WHAT??
 Issues community could connect??
 Commitments
What’s working….
 It is becoming easier for the people to identify issues in the
community through the medium of films
 Helping to form a group within the community to address
issues
 It is giving the participants a line of thought to think about
how to reduce the issues that are affecting the
development of girls in the community.
 The picture of the community perception on the
addressed issues is becoming clear through the screening
and the reflection process that follows.
Key lessons for better implementation….
Engaging the community was not an easy task.
The challenges face include:
 Mobilisation
Availability of space
Controlling the conflicting discussions
Getting the participants to concentrate and
prioritise one issue