Creating space for girls to aspire, negotiate and grow - Shweta Bankar and Martine Collumbien
Themes:
Once reaching puberty there is little, if any, opportunity for girls in India to play sport as their access to public spaces is severely restricted and gender norms render them invisible. This Learning Lab shares key findings from the STRIVE study Parivartan Plus, conducted by the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW-ARO). The programme uses the sport of kabaddi to empower young women and adolescent girls in Mumbai’s Shivajinagar slum community. Fifteen participating girls were interviewed three times over the period of two years – their voices tell the story of being recruited into the innovative programme, learning negotiation skills and working as a team. In particular the presenters discuss:
- What strategies were used to claim space at home and in the community?
- What support mechanisms were created?
- What inevitable challenges did they face?
- Are changes sustained beyond the programme?
- Have competencies transferred into supporting education and delaying marriage?
Shweta Bankar is a Technical Specialist at the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), with a keen interest in programmes empowering adolescent girls. She currently works on Parivartan and other gender transformative projects engaging various stakeholders across Government, corporates, CBOs and communities in Maharashtra, India.
Martine Collumbien is an Associate Professor in Sexual Health Research at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She works with STRIVE partners in India analysing the processes of change in Parivartan for Girls (ICRW) and the qualitative research nested within Samata and Samvedana Plus trials (KHPT).
Download the pdf of the presentation here.
Resources
Parivartan for girls project page
Parivartan for girls programme tools
