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16 Days of Activism on Gender Based Violence

16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM ON GENDER BASED VIOLENCE

Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!

Introduction:

Odisha is the 8th largest state by area and the 11th largest by population. As per 2011 census the total population of Odisha is almost 42 million. Women who constitute half of the population, play as important socio-economic role towards the nation’s development. They are instrumental in building up a new social order of a country. Despite such a huge involvement, her role and dignity has yet not been recognized. Women are facing problems in their daily lives and severely the rural women are facing more drastic gaps of inequality. The dalit and tribal women are excluded from the country’s social, economic, education and political process. This is true that the large sections of dalit and tribal women in the state who have not benefitted from the society. Atmashakti trust, a right based organisation has been working in Odisha since 2008 through its member organisations to ensure the constitutional rights of the most marginalised communities such as dalit, tribal and women.  As per a recent data by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) the state has recorded second-highest number of crimes against women in the country after Asam in 2017, crimes against women are on the rise in the state. In the NFHS-4 report, 35.2% of women in the state reported having faced spousal violence.

Contextual Background:

16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is a global campaign calling for an end to violence against women and girls. It takes place every year and begins on the 25th November, the International Day of the Elimination of Violence Against Women and finishes on Human Rights Day, the 10th of December. The 16 Days Campaign has been used by individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls. Atmashakti Trust and it’s member organisations observed 16 days campaign as a unique moment to advocate the women and girls issues at state and national level. The organisation had planned the activities very innovatively putting some creativities into everyday activities to make them fun and entertainments to the participants.

Key Objectives:

Atmashakti Trust developed a detailed plan of activities to be carried out both in rural and urban areas in the state of Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. The events and activities were designed to target different groups, including our team members, women, adolescent girls, men, school going children, Sangathan members of the communities with a message to end gender based violence. Moreover the team conducted two orientation sessions virtually to better explain gender inequality, gender based violence and the 16 days plans with field teams both in Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. Our key objectives are:

 

  • To sensitize more than 400 team members about the gender based violence, women rights and entitlements.
  • To educate and sensitize the people from rural communities and urban slums about the all forms of gender based discriminations as well as violence against women.
  • To identify gender based violence cases at grass root level in all 84 blocks during the 16 days campaign.
  • To explore strategies for changing social expectations for improving behavioral change communication.
  • To provide global platform to the local level gender based violence cases through extensive use of social media and technology.
  • To explore the women policy issues during the campaign and make strategy for future policy advocacy.

 

Activities conducted and key achievements:

Atmashakti Trust and it’s member organisations launched the campaign through an “Oath taking ceremony” on 25th of November in all 84 blocks and the State’s capital where more than ten thousand people get sensitised on gender based violence

The activities included:

  1. Team orientation and training programs
  2. Launching the program
  3. The rights and place of women in family and society
  4. The ideal family concept.
  5. Swabhiman (self- respect)
  6. Sharing responsibilities at home
  7. Male and female both are same why to differentiate based on gender
  8. Handover the mic- giving space to women in office, home and in communities
  9. 12 se uppar, haemoglobin campaign launching.
  10. The rights of informal sector women workers
  11. E-Chaupal on storytelling by the experts, eminent personalities
  12. Women’s rights and entitlements
  13. We have right
  14. Speaking your heart out
  15. Women in the process of decision making
  16. Let World hear your voice
  17. Make your demand

These activities were executed through several methods:

  • Displaying banners, placards, posters
  • Wall writings, slogans, theatre, song, palm stamps
  • Social media, electronics media, print media highlights
  • Twitter storm, twitter chat
  • State and district level webinars
  • Policy consultations, drawing competitions, making phone calls.
  • Postcard stories, personal interviews, outdoor games
  • Rallies, dharanas, demands, submitting memorandums

Our achievements:

Mobilisation: Atmashakti Trust organised a series of activities and events including oath taking ceremony, awareness generation activities, empowerment activities, launching haemoglobin campaign, celebrating Human rights day, policy level interventions among others. The most successful activities were Oath taking ceremony, drawing competition, wall writing with slogans and palm stamps, post card stories, submission of memorandums and state level webinars which were organised by our local sangathans reaching around 20000 people (65% women, 20% girls and 15% men and boys) including members from State Women Commission, staffs from Women helpline, prominent activists, members from women rights organisations, senior journalists, experts from various NGOs across different locations.

Participation: Women and girls were participated in “BINGO” activity, which is a western game but it was introduced purely as a local form, reaching 7200 people (60% women and 40%girls). Again a unique 16-day women Gramsabha was organised, reaching 3743 women in rural parts of Odisha.

Sensitisation: Children and girls were also engaged in activities and awareness programs. A drawing competition was organised in different locations on the theme of “ideal family”, reaching 2000 school going children. In this activity the children expressed their ideas on ideal family through their drawings. Also our cadres and volunteers could reach to the communities in raising awareness on violence against women. In addition to this wall writings with awareness messages and slogans against gender based violence including palm stamps with orange colours were done in rural parts of Odisha, reaching 10000 families.

Media highlights: Organisation used different media platforms including social medias, TV news highlights. In social medias we conducted twitter storm and twitter chat to raise awareness against gender based violence. Mainstream print medias highlighted our everyday activities covering our programs, stories, personal interviews and events. 14 mainstream medias have published our 16-Day campaign.