PLIGHT OF THE GIRL CHILDDesign for Change

Satya Elementary School Chananke

FEEL

FEEL

• List problems that bothered you– Frequent power cuts– Sisters getting married and divorced at a young

age– Rumors spread by black magic practitioners – Girls forced to do housework and not allowed

to go to school

Frequent powercuts - victims

• Students : In summers, it gets really hot and without a fan it is very tough. In winters it gets very cloudy and cold and without lights classrooms are dark

• School management : Teachers find it very hard to make the children focus when they are feeling uncomfortable. We are not able to use the computer as a teaching assistant.

Siblings marriage - victims

• Students : “My sister got married when she was 15. She came back home when she was 19. Now she and my mother are always upset.”

• Parents : “My daughter’s life is spoilt”• The girl : “I did not want to get married. They

forced me. Now I don’t know what to do”• School : “More chance for girl students to drop

out”

Black magic - Victims

• Students : “Someone told my parents something and they told me not to go to school again”

• School : “Baseless rumours are being spread by some people about the school. Villagers believe it and stop sending their kids to school”

• Community: “If someone comes and tells us they take our kids’ hearts out in school, we will obviously get scared”

Girls workers - victims

• Girl : “I want to go to school. My parents want to do work”

• Students : “Our friends and neighbour girls don’t come to school with us”

• School: “There are a lot of girls in the village who do not attend school”

Girl workers - victims

IMAGINE

• Problems chosen :Oppression of the girl child

• Why?– Two of our biggest problems had the same root

cause• Sisters getting married and divorced at a young age

• Girls forced to do housework and not allowed to go to school

IMAGINE

List of solutions

• Go to villages and talk to parents of girls who work

• Explain the problems and make the community pledge to not do it

• Make the kids do a role play to make the community realize the problems

• Involve local authorities to stop child marriage

Solution chosen

• Explain problems through a role play and make the community pledge against child marriage and send girls to school

• Why chosen: – Could explain to entire village at once

– Kids performing – generates more interest and makes sure parents remember it

– Pledging will prevent them from doing it ever again

DO

• We decided that on 25th September a campaign will be conducted against child marriage and for girl education.

• All students and teachers enthusiastically prepared banners, posters, skit, songs etc. for the occassion

Step 1 : Campaign rally

• Rally from the school to the Chananke community center

• Students marched with drums and slogans

Step 2 : Gather crowd

• Villagers were interested to see what the students were doing

Step 3 : Introduction

• Our head teacher and the headmistress of the village Government school addressed the community

Step 4: Role play by students

• The students performed a role play on what happens to a girl and her family because of early marriage and no education

Step 5 : Signing the pledge

• The community took a pledge against child marriage and for education and showed their support by signing a banner

Step 6 : Putting up the banner

• We put up the banner at the community center

THANK YOU!