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“ Nurturing Movement of Girls and Young Women as Agents of Change to Ascertain their Rights”

Project Goal

To empower girls and young women, who are victims and survivors of early child marriage to improve their access to rights, opportunities and services in Karnataka, India.

Operations and scale

In 5 years, the project will work among 15000 EMGs and survivors from 15 districts across Karnataka.

Key results

-At least 15,000 target girls and women are enrolled/ on-boarded in the movement by end of the project 

– At least 100 change agents (representatives of target girls and young women) capacities are build to self-advocate effectively and to shape the broader dialogue around their rights and access to services

 – At least 100 personnel from Government – education, health, women & child development, social welfare, law enforcement and judiciary sensitised on the representation and respond to voice of these women in Karnataka 

– At least 50 Civil Society Organisations are sensitized and engaged in Movement building

Geographic location

At present through the IMAGE project, our presence is in 5 districts of Karnataka (Bidar, Bagalkote, Belagaum, Chamarajanagar and Chikballapura). These 5 districts will be the regional movement unit, they will cover another 10 districts adjacent to them where the child marriage is high. It works through a consortium.

About the  Consortium

It is a consortium of 7 organizations. Where Vidyaniketan (Lead of Consortium, Secretariat of proposed movement) and 4 NGO partners are REACH in Bagalkot district, SEVAK in Belgaum district, PMSR in Chamarajanagar district and ARPANAM TRUST in Chikballapur district. CRT is the Advocacy and Communications Resource partner and Terre des Hommes Netherlands is the Co-funding and technical assistance partner. The major funding is being done by the Comic Relief Fund(CRF), UK. 

OUR REACH

ARPANAM TRUST presently covering 2 more districts (Kolar & Bengaluru Rural) in addition with Chikaballapura. 1499 No. of young girls and women, who are victims/survivors of child marriage, organised and are part of the movement.

Project Interventions across five thematic areas

We are working on five areas of project interventions with EMGs and Survivors, which are as follows

  • Movement building and strengthening: The project builds a strong and growing movement by identifying and organizing EMGs and young women married before 18 years through a membership drive and strengthen them on child marriage issues.
  • Norms and Behaviour Changes at Family and Society level: Awareness and sensitization to families of target population on gender, SRHR, health and nutrition of girls and young women through the campaigns and meetings.
  • Leadership development and capacity building: Identify and strengthen selected girls and women leaders as change agents to spearhead the movement
  • Engagement with Government and other stakeholders: Interface between girls & young women and Government & other stakeholders with the active participation of Government and CSOs on issues that are being strategic to the project.
  • Evidence gathering and communication strategies for influencing Government, community and other stakeholders: Studies to gather pieces of evidence around the issues faced by the target population, their needs, and demands, and landscape of existing interventions

Our Target

  1. We will enroll at least 3,000 target girls and women  in the movement by end of the project
  2. We will build the capacities of  at least 20 change agents (representatives of target girls and young women)  to self-advocate effectively and to shape the broader dialogue around their rights and access to services
  3. We will sensitize at least 20 personnel from Government – education, health, women & child development, social welfare, law enforcement and judiciary  on the representation and respond to the voice of these women in Karnataka
  4. We will sensitize and engage at least 10 Civil Society Organisations in Movement building