10 Ways to Combat Gender Stereotypes in India

10 Ways to Combat Gender Stereotypes in India

Gender stereotypes shape societal norms and limit opportunities for individuals. Challenging these biases is essential for creating a more inclusive and equal society. Here’s how different sectors can contribute to combating gender stereotypes in India.

Understanding Gender Stereotypes: What Are They?

Gender stereotypes are preconceived notions about the roles, traits, and behaviours expected from men and women. These stereotypes often reinforce discrimination and restrict individuals from pursuing opportunities beyond traditional roles.

How Gender Stereotypes Impact Individuals and Society

Here are some ways gender stereotypes impact individuals and society:

  • Limited career opportunities: Women are often discouraged from STEM fields, while men face stigma in caregiving roles.
  • Workplace discrimination: Gender pay gaps and biases in hiring persist in many industries.
  • Social conditioning: Cultural norms reinforce traditional expectations, affecting personal choices and aspirations.

Also Read: The Importance of STEM Education

Why Addressing Gender Stereotypes is Essential for Progress

Breaking gender stereotypes leads to:

  • Economic growth: A diverse workforce enhances productivity and innovation.
  • Better education outcomes: Encouraging all genders to explore various fields promotes balanced development.
  • Improved societal well-being: Gender equality fosters healthier relationships and reduces discrimination.

Breaking the Cycle: How Education Can Eradicate Gender Stereotypes

Education plays a powerful role in shaping perceptions and dismantling gender stereotypes from an early age. Schools, colleges, and teachers can actively work toward creating an inclusive learning environment. Here’s how:

  • Introducing gender-neutral curricula and diverse role models to challenge biases.
  • Encouraging critical thinking so students question societal norms.
  • Training teachers to recognise and address gender-based discrimination in classrooms.

Also Read: What is Gender Inequality

Role of Parents and Families in Combating Gender Stereotypes

Parents have the responsibility to nurture an environment that allows children to explore their interests freely without being bound by stereotypes. Some other ways are:

  • Encouraging children to pursue interests beyond gender norms and develop diverse skills.
  • Sharing household responsibilities equally sets an example of gender balance.
  • Avoiding gender-biased language and reinforcing respect for all professions.

Media's Influence on Gender Norms and Ways to Create Change

The media has a significant influence on shaping societal perceptions of gender. From advertisements to films, the way gender is represented affects how people perceive their roles in society. Changing these narratives can help in combating gender stereotypes effectively.

Empowering Women and Men to Challenge Stereotypical Roles

Women are often expected to take on caregiving roles, while men are pressured to be sole providers. Challenging these norms is essential for creating a more balanced society. Here’s how you can do this:

  • Encouraging individuals to pursue careers and interests beyond traditional expectations.
  • Promoting gender-inclusive policies at workplaces and educational institutions.
  • Creating platforms for open discussions on gender equality and breaking biases.

Advocating for Equal Opportunities in Workplaces and Schools

Workplaces and educational institutions play an important role in shaping gender perceptions. Ensuring equal opportunities allows individuals to excel based on merit rather than outdated societal norms. To do this:

  • Implementing unbiased hiring and promotion policies to close gender gaps.
  • Providing mentorship programs that support women and underrepresented groups in leadership roles.
  • Encouraging schools to include gender sensitivity training in their curriculum.

Addressing Gender Stereotypes in Rural and Urban India

While rural areas often adhere to traditional roles due to cultural norms, urban spaces also face challenges like workplace biases and unequal household responsibilities. Addressing these disparities requires targeted efforts. Here’s how you can do this:

  • Expanding education and vocational training programs for women in rural areas.
  • Encouraging men to take an active role in household responsibilities.
  • Promoting awareness campaigns that challenge gender biases in both settings.

The Role of Cry America in Combating Gender Norms

Organisations like CRY America play a significant role in advocating for gender equality. Through their initiatives, they support children's education, empower women, and challenge deep-rooted societal biases. Their efforts include:

  • Running programs that provide girls with access to quality education.
  • Working with communities to change perceptions around gender roles.
  • Supporting policies that promote gender equality at the grassroots level.

How to Create a Supportive Environment for Future Generations

To ensure a future free from gender stereotypes, we must create an environment where children grow up with the freedom to choose their paths without societal restrictions. This involves collective efforts from families, educators, and policymakers.

FAQs

How can education help in combating gender stereotypes?

Education plays a key role in combating gender stereotypes by promoting gender equality from an early age. Schools can introduce gender-neutral curricula, highlight contributions from all genders in various fields, and encourage students to challenge biases. Training teachers to address stereotypes in classrooms also helps create an inclusive environment.

What role do parents play in breaking gender stereotypes?

Parents are the first influencers in a child’s life and play a crucial role in how to combat gender stereotypes at home. Encouraging children to explore interests beyond traditional gender roles, sharing household responsibilities equally, and avoiding gender-biased language help in shaping progressive mindsets.

How can the media contribute to reducing gender stereotypes in India?

The media has the power to reshape societal norms by portraying diverse and balanced gender roles. Promoting positive and realistic representations of women and men in films, advertisements, and news stories helps combat gender stereotypes. Media campaigns that challenge traditional norms and highlight gender equality can further accelerate change.

What are some examples of policies in India that address gender stereotypes?

Several Indian policies focus on combating gender stereotypes:

  • Beti Bachao Beti Padhao – Encourages education and empowerment of girls.
  • POSH Act (2013) – Addresses workplace harassment and promotes gender equality at work.
  • Gender Budgeting – Ensures government policies consider gender perspectives.
  • These initiatives work towards dismantling deep-rooted biases in society.

Are gender stereotypes more prevalent in rural or urban India?

Gender stereotypes exist in both rural and urban areas, though they manifest differently. Rural regions often see stronger traditional roles due to cultural norms and limited education. Urban India, while more progressive, still faces biases in workplaces, media, and societal expectations. Addressing stereotypes in both settings requires targeted efforts in education, policy-making, and media representation.

by Nispaara Solutions

Women Empowerment Through Education

How Women's Empowerment Through Education Creates Generational Change

Understanding Women's Empowerment Through Education

Education is necessary for every individual to strive and contribute to society. But more importantly, with women, it’s not just one person but an entire generation. As household caretakers, women are tasked with important responsibilities such as raising children, ensuring community harmony, and passing on cultural and familial values. Women's empowerment through education uplifts families, strengthens economies, and builds a more equitable society. Knowledge gives women the tools to make informed decisions, participate in the workforce, and speak up for themselves. However, women's atrocities and neglect towards them still make basic access to education challenging, curbing their potential and that of future generations.

The Impact of Educating Women on Society

The sensitivity of women is what brings a society together. Hence, educating them can impact the surroundings in several ways: 

  • Economic Growth: Educated women can find work, take care of the family, and contribute to the growth of the national GDP (UNESCO).
  • Better Healthcare: If women in the house are educated properly, they can care for the family and themselves, especially by reducing infant and maternal mortality rates (World Health Organization).
  • Improved Child Education: Learned women can make sure that their children receive the right education, helping them shape their future successfully. 
  • Social Progress: Education helps break taboos and continuous cycles of discrimination, promotes gender equality, and challenges unjust societal norms. 

Challenges Women Face in Accessing Education

Gender Discrimination and Social Norms

Words are not enough to spread awareness. As prevalent in several societies, male education still takes precedence over female education, reducing women to nothing more than caretakers suitable for household chores (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights). 

Lack of Financial Support and Infrastructure

Educating girls is still considered a financial burden. Multiple tuition, books, uniforms, and transportation costs prevent parents from educating their daughters (UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report). Many rural areas also lack proper schools and safe learning environments, posing safety concerns for the girl child. 

Early Marriages and Household Responsibilities

You might think that laws have prevented child marriage. But preparation for marriage, including teaching girls household chores or saving up for their marriage, still exists. Once married, they are expected to focus on household duties, leaving no room for them to complete their education, let alone pursue further studies.

Safety Concerns and Limited Mobility

Unsafe transportation and inadequate, below-par school facilities deter many girls from continuing their education. In several areas, harassment and physical violence further discourage families from sending them outside the home or to school (National Crime Records Bureau).

Success Stories of Women's Empowerment Through Education

Even though the world might look like lost hope, countless women have overcome these barriers, rising like a Phoenix despite challenges: 

  • Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani teenager, braved near death and life threats to advocate for girls' education, becoming a global symbol of empowerment.
  • Kalpana Saroj, once a child bride from India, pursued education and later became a successful entrepreneur, inspiring many.
  • Sindhutai Sapkal, an abandoned child, empowered herself through knowledge and then went on to educate thousands of orphaned children.

Steps to Promote Women's Empowerment Through Education

Once you educate a woman, you can see the difference they bring to society. To ensure this, we can focus on:

  • Policy Reforms: Providing free and quality education for girls and financial incentives for families.
  • Scholarships and Financial Aid: Expanding scholarship programs and financial assistance can help bridge significant economic gaps (UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report).
  • Safe Learning Environments: To encourage girls to enroll schools should install proper bathrooms, manage security, and offer transport options (World Bank).

How CRY Supports Women’s Empowerment Through Education

At CRY, we firmly believe in the power of education to transform lives. To do this, we primarily try to achieve the following: 

  • Enrol Girls in Schools: We work at the grassroots level to identify and enroll girls in school and ensure it progresses. 
  • Provide Learning Resources: We provide underprivileged girls with quality learning materials.
  • Advocate for Policy Changes: We work alongside policymakers to push for stronger laws protecting and promoting girls' education.
  • Create Awareness Campaigns: Our programs involve different communities to discuss education for women and break social stigmas.

How You Can Contribute to the Cause

Just advocating for change is not enough. If you wish to be a part of this movement, here’s how you can do it: 

  • Donate: Your contribution can help provide girls the opportunity to complete their education.
  • Volunteer: Join awareness campaigns and help encourage young girls to pursue education wherever possible. 
  • Spread Awareness: Use your voice to advocate for girls' education on every level. 

Education is the sole foundation of empowerment. When we educate women, we invest in a stronger, more equal world. For more information on what we do and how we contribute to improving the world, follow us at https://www.cryamerica.org/. 

by Nispaara Solutions

Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility

How CSR Initiatives Can Transform the Lives of Underprivileged Children

Understanding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, is extremely important in today’s rapidly developing society. On the one hand, while industries are rising and contributing to economic growth, better infrastructures, and more opportunities, on the other hand, you will see shifting economies, sabotaged lifestyles, and depleted ecosystems. In layman’s terms, CSR implies that if your business unit utilizes the resources and manpower from society, you also need to give them back something that will continue uplifting them. For example, if we consider child welfare, CSR initiatives can provide access to education and healthcare and help protect children in communities (Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India).

Under the Enactment of Companies Act, 2013, India proudly emerged as one of the first nations to make it mandatory for companies to engage in CSR projects for social welfare.

Why CSR Matters for Social Development?

Social development initiatives primarily fall under the government’s purview. However, they are often unable to penetrate societies or specific communities. Registered companies, on the other hand, have this leverage as they continuously employ people from different walks of life. They also have financial means and are morally obligated to contribute to society and the environment in which they do business. Thus, with CSR projects, social development can be achieved faster, better, and more personalized. The benefit of such acts is that they also help the company build a positive brand presence in society,  which increases its awareness. Among the most vulnerable groups, children greatly benefit from well-structured CSR efforts (National CSR Portal).

Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility for Children’s Welfare

Improved Access to Education and Learning Resources

One of the primary benefits of corporate social responsibility is providing underprivileged children access to quality education. Many CSR programs fund related school infrastructure, distribute books and offer various scholarships to children from low-income families.

Enhanced Child Healthcare and Nutrition Programs

A few well-established companies also contribute to better child healthcare by funding regular immunization programs, nutrition initiatives, and medical camps in their offices or surrounding areas. This improves overall child well-being and reduces mortality rates (World Health Organization).

Provision of Safe Spaces and Protection for Vulnerable Children

CSR-backed child protection programs successfully establish safe shelters for abandoned and abused children in different communities. They also actively ensure they receive care and emotional support during such times. These companies often collaborate with reliable NGOs to strengthen child protection policies (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)).

Skill Development and Career Opportunities for Youth

By supporting vocational training programs, CSR initiatives equip older children and youth with essential job skills like computer learning, accounts management, manual work, etc. This helps them start off with stable employment in the future (Skill India Initiative).

Advantages of CSR for Businesses and Society

The advantages of corporate social responsibility benefit both the companies and the society. Companies that actively participate in CSR are known to enjoy enhanced brand loyalty, improved employee morale, and stronger customer trust. Businesses that integrate social impact into their core operations also attract socially conscious investors, eventually helping them secure better deals and gain positive public recognition (Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India).

Examples of CSR Initiatives Benefiting Underprivileged Children

  • Tata Group: TATA Group has been widely recognized for its social efforts. Through its CSR wing (Tata Trusts), it frequently runs multiple education and health initiatives for children.
  • Infosys Foundation: The IT giant is known to support child education, healthcare, and multiple nutrition programs across India.
  • ITC’s Mission Sunhera Kal: This conglomerate focuses on sustainable education and skill development for children from marginalized communities. You can find that they contribute a percentage of their income through all their products. 

How Companies Can Implement Meaningful CSR Initiatives

If you are a business unit that wants to make a difference, here are ways for you to structure your CSR efforts effectively:

  • Identify Critical Issues: Focus on pressing challenges such as child education, healthcare, and nutrition, but pick something where your contribution can impact. 
  • Collaborate with NGOs: Find authentic and dedicated NGOs to reach the right beneficiaries and gain valuable experience through their expertise. 
  • Allocate Dedicated Funds: Budget your profits and expenses and then set aside a percentage for CSR to support your long-term initiatives.
  • Measure Impact: Regularly assess and report your CSR outcomes to improve transparency and effectiveness. Inform your stakeholders of your activities to maintain trust. 

How CRY India Works with CSR Initiatives to Uplift Underprivileged Children

At CRY India, we actively collaborate with corporate houses to properly funnel their CSR funds into sustainable child welfare programs:

  • Education: To ensure access to quality schooling for underprivileged children.
  • Healthcare: To implement proper medical aid and regular nutrition programs.
  • Child Protection: To advocate for stronger child safety laws and their implementation and create compassionate support systems.
  • Skill Development: To empower youth with vocational training and career guidance.

How Businesses Can Collaborate with CRY to Make a Difference

  • Corporate Partnerships: Businesses can join hands with CRY to fund large-scale child development projects.
  • Employee Volunteering Programs: Companies can encourage staff participation in various volunteering programs, provide volunteer hours funding to organizations like CRY.
  • Donations and Grants: Businesses can also allocate a portion of their CSR budget to CRY's ongoing projects.
  • Awareness Campaigns: Raising awareness about child rights among stakeholders can help amplify the impact of CSR efforts.

Invest in social welfare to reap the proper benefits of corporate social responsibility initiatives. As a business, you can fulfill your ethical responsibilities and contribute to a brighter future for millions of children through this. 

For more information on how to contribute to these projects, reach out to our team at https://www.cryamerica.org/. 

by Nispaara Solutions

Child Rights in India

Child Rights in India: How Far Have We Come and What More Needs to Be Done

Understanding Child Rights in India

In India, children were treated with care and worshipped on different occasions. From dressing young girls as Goddess Durga to celebrating Children’s Day at the birth of Jawahar Lal Nehru, India has set a gracious example. However, when it comes to having child rights in place, we are still far behind other countries. Technically, the rights of children in India cover survival, development, protection, and participation. Laws like the Juvenile Justice Act, the Right to Education Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO, 2012) Act aim to safeguard these rights. But in reality, many young souls still struggle to access necessities. 

Key Aspects of Child Rights

  • Survival Rights: Access to healthcare, nutrition and hygiene, and living standards.
  • Development Rights: Fundamental rights include education, leisure, and access to cultural activities.
  • Protection Rights: Legal protection from abuse, neglect, child marriage and child labor.
  • Participation Rights: The right to express opinions, be heard, and have their voice without any discrimination. 

Also Read: Quality Education for Children in Rural India

Progress in Ensuring Child Rights in India

Thankfully, social activism is growing vigilant as more children fall behind. The government, along with independent NGOs and workers, has managed to bring about some positive changes:

  • More Kids in Schools: The Right to Education Act has led to higher enrollment rates and fewer dropouts in rural and urban schools. 
  • Better Healthcare: Polio vaccination programs and nutrition initiatives like the Mid-Day Meal Scheme have made a difference and prompted parents to send their children to school. 
  • Stronger Protection Laws: Child labor laws and acts like POCSO have created safer environments for children. 
  • Welfare Programs: Government schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao are helping promote gender equality and education and limiting child marriage, which is prevalent in some areas. 
  • Reduced Child Mortality: Improvements in maternal healthcare and immunization programs have significantly decreased child mortality rates, ensuring healthier families and growth atmospheres. 

However, there is still a lot that needs to be done. 

Challenges That Still Exist

Gaps in the Implementation of Child Protection Laws

Legal provisions often don’t reach remote areas, leaving vulnerable children unprotected because of poor monitoring and awareness.

Issues of Poverty and Lack of Access to Education

Despite free schooling issues like lack of access to schools due to, distance, transportation & poverty keep many kids from getting the education they deserve and eventually force them to take up odd jobs to support their families. 

Gender Discrimination and Its Impact on Child Rights

If you search, you will find reports showing that a significant percentage of girls still drop out of school due to societal pressure, early marriage, or lack of sanitary facilities in schools, especially during their monthly cycles. 

The Need for Greater Awareness and Advocacy

Many people simply don’t know about child rights in India. Government and non-government organizations can collaborate to spread awareness among parents, teachers, and children through grassroots campaigns, digital platforms, and educational programs. 

Also Read: Barriers to Quality Education

Steps Needed to Strengthen Child Rights in India

Now that we have discussed the problems, what steps can we take to change them? 

  • Enforce Existing Laws: Law enforcement agencies must be trained to handle child protection cases sensitively.
  • Expand Education Access: More programs, scholarships, digital learning tools, and school meals can help underprivileged children. 
  • Fight Poverty: Providing marginalized families with financial assistance or work opportunities can prevent child labor.
  • Improve Healthcare: Expanding child nutrition programs, neonatal care, and mental health support for children can benefit their holistic development.

Our Role in Protecting Child Rights

At CRY America, we work towards bringing about the change these children deserve. 

  • Provide Education: We strive to help underprivileged kids stay in school by ensuring better infrastructure, linking children to scholarships programs, and providing learning materials.
  • Maintain Healthcare: We constantly run several programs to improve child nutrition and well-being, including frequent vaccination drives.
  • Protect Children: Most importantly, we take strict action against exploitation and abuse by working closely with law enforcement and child protection agencies.
  • Empower Communities: As a society, we partner with local communities to ensure long-term solutions for child welfare.

How You Can Support Child Rights in India

Every child is precious, and if you want to contribute to this cause, here is how: 

  • Donate: Small, big, or massive, every dollar counts and will make a difference in a child’s life. 
  • Volunteer: We need your presence to spread awareness and help raise funds. 

For more information on what we do and how you can make a difference, check our website at https://www.cryamerica.org/. 

by Nispaara Solutions

Education and Child Marriage

How Education Can Break The Cycle Of Child Marriage

To unlock the power of education in breaking the cycle of child marriage, it’s critical to reassess who we are educating and what we are teaching them. As education is synonymous with awareness, will it suffice to simply provide educational resources as child marriage solutions without educating parents and families on their value? Child marriage is never a child's dream but an unchosen reality imposed by societal and financial circumstances.

To drive sustainable change that eliminates child marriage, we need to focus on the root causes that give rise to this issue, robbing children of their childhood. This article explores the reciprocal relationship between lack of education and child marriage, how education can combat it, key implementation strategies, and the challenges that remain.

Understanding The Relation Between Child Marriage And Lack Of Education

Child marriage is a human rights violation that hinders girls from realizing their full potential. This harmful practice is strongly linked to a lack of education, poor health, limited access to resources, and gender inequity. One of the most significant consequences is the abrupt end to schooling that often follows child marriage.

In many developing countries, marriage and education are seen as incompatible, with decisions to withdraw a girl from school and marry her off frequently occurring simultaneously. These choices are largely shaped by societal perceptions of education’s value and the availability of job opportunities for educated girls.

Education as a tool to prevent child marriage

The concept of using education as a tool to prevent child marriage is twofold. While it is important to ensure access to education for girls so they can enroll and complete their studies, the first step begins with educating their families and communities, who serve as key decision-makers in underserved households.

Educating parents and households

To determine what parents and households need to be educated about, we must first examine the underlying factors that compel families toward early marriage. Deeply rooted in harmful gender norms and widespread poverty, child marriage often becomes a survival strategy to escape from financial burdens.

Empowering communities through education, economic support, and awareness programs can help break the cycle of child marriage. It can only be achieved by educating them on the long-term consequences of child marriage, highlighting the health risks that could be involved. Providing financial incentives for girls’ education, linking families with livelihood opportunities, and ensuring legal enforcement against early marriage, alongside shifting societal norms through advocacy, can create sustainable change and protect girls' rights and futures.

Educating girls and adolescents

According to UNICEF’s 2022 global report, The Power of Education to End Child Marriage, completing secondary school could reduce child marriage rates world-wide by two-thirds (66%). Keeping girls in school is a proven strategy for child marriage prevention.

Empowering girls with education about the health risks of early pregnancy and the cycle of poverty linked to child marriage is crucial in helping them make informed life choices.

Key Strategies For Preventing Child Marriage Through Education

To end child marriage, girls and their families must envision a brighter, more promising future. Education, widely recognized as the most effective factor in delaying marriage, provides this opportunity. The key strategies to combat child marriage through education are:

Ensure girls complete secondary education

While primary schools are still abundant in underserved regions, access to secondary education remains a significant challenge for girls. Quality education, particularly at the secondary level, imparts knowledge, develops skills, and empowers girls to pursue employment.

We must ensure the availability of quality education resources and the efforts needed to enable girls to attend secondary school through mass awareness campaigns and targeted interventions.

Provide vocational and life skill training to girls

By linking girls to vocational programs like tailoring, nursing, driving makes them financially sustainable to support their own education. Besides this, teaching girls basic skills like literacy, numeracy, communication, health management, problem-solving, and financial literacy, they can become more confident and capable. Connecting with peers through capacity-building initiatives and mentors also helps reduce social and economic isolation.

Educate and engage parents and community members

Families and community leaders typically decide when and whom a girl marries. Educating them through meetings, door-to-door visits, or public announcements about gender equity and the impacts of child marriage on a girl's health and future can drive change. With this knowledge, adults' attitudes shift, making them more likely to challenge traditional expectations.

Provide economic support and incentives for girls and families

Parents may marry off daughters early for financial reasons mainly to reduce household expenses. Economic support for low-income families can help reduce child marriage. Offering incentives like educational loans, scholarships, or employment opportunities for parents can provide immediate relief and increase a girl's perceived value through skills that lead to future income.

Challenges Of Preventing Child Marriage

The biggest challenge of child marriage is the lack of educational awareness in communities, perpetuated by deep-rooted poverty. While child marriage prevention strategies, targeted interventions, and quality education can help stop forced child marriages, they have limited power to prevent early marriages resulting from mutual understanding between families. These practices can only be uprooted when there is a dynamic shift in community attitudes through constant awareness sessions, allowing them to break free from the constraints of gendered parenting. Another significant challenge is the presence of societal traditions that pushes parents to marry off their girls early led by the fear of community judgements. It can only be eradicated when the entire community is enlightened on the consequences of child marriage including health-risks, and the opportunities the girls are missing out when they stay out of schools.

Cry America’s Efforts To Combat Child Marriage Through Education

By empowering communities and families through education, awareness campaigns, and engagement, CRY America aims to break the cycle of child marriage and create opportunities for children to lead independent lives.

  • Adolescent girls' collectives: Forms collectives to educate communities on the health, social, and legal impacts of child marriage.
  • Awareness campaigns: Organize targeted campaigns to raise awareness about the consequences of child marriage for families and children.
  • Connecting to government programs: Links children to government initiatives, providing them with educational opportunities.
  • Empowering families with employment opportunities: Guides families toward income-generating options like kitchen gardening and other employment programs to reduce financial pressures.
  • Enrolling and re-enrolling children in schools: Counsels families and potential child brides through targeted interventions to enroll or re-enroll in school and organizes support classes to help children bridge the educational gap.
  • Conducting vocational programs: Links adolescent girls with different vocational programs to groom them with essential skills and provide them an exposure. 

Cry America Preventing Child Marriage Through Targeted Intervention

While working with the Kalapandhari Magas Vargiya and Adivasi Gramin Vikash Sanstha (KMAGVS) project in Maharashtra, CRY America encountered an adolescent girl, Nandini*, who had been forced to drop out of school in 9th grade and marry early due to financial constraints.

As a member of KMAGVS’s children’s collective, she was counseled by the team to participate in community radio broadcasts on Akashvani, organized by the project members. Gaining confidence and support, she began advocating for girls’ education and sharing her views with her community. The project team also worked with her parents, emphasizing the importance of education, eventually convincing them to cancel her early marriage and re-enroll her in school.

The 16-year-old girl went on to excel in her 10th board exams, securing the first rank in her school.

Name changed to protect child’s identity.

Conclusion

India has made significant progress in reducing child marriage, with the percentage of child marriages falling from 49% in 1993 to 22% in 2021, according to Harvard School of Public Health. However, the journey is far from over. CRY America continues to tackle the cultural, financial, and social barriers that sustain child marriage.

By supporting CRY America, you can help protect children from the harmful effects of child marriage. Donate now to make a lasting impact and help us end child marriage together.

by Nispaara Solutions