As of recently, IGP has a new partner who is making incredible progress in combating the horrifying practices of female gendercide. This partner, based in the state of Maharashtra, has reached over 22,832 people in a four month period (from July to September 2023). They have achieved over 65% of our target goal! Their work has not only impacted many communities across the state, but it has also bolstered local girls to raise their voices.
In one of the villages, school girls, between the ages of 13 to 18 years old, attended our partner’s sessions on ending female gendercide. After learning the life-saving information, the girls initiated a school-wide campaign, which started on October 26th! The goal of their campaign is to garner support from the adults in their village, through:
- Promoting Education – Early marriage takes away a child’s right to pursue quality education.
- Gender Equality – Ending Child Marriage can give girls equal opportunities along with boys which will help to end gender inequality.
- Improving Health Outcomes – Early marriage and teenage pregnancy can cause damage to girls overall physical and mental health. By ending child marriage, the health of girls will be improved.
By ending child marriage, girls can continue being educated, leading to more opportunities alongside boys, and have increased physical and mental health. The girls will use skits, a rally, and pledges to help achieve their mission. Their hope is to reach over 250 people in their own community!
Once this campaign is over, it will be taken to the next village. They plan to campaign in at least three more villages!
The girls are very passionate about seeing real change take place in their community as they are working alongside their school, the village administration, and our partner to end child marriage in their district.
We are so excited about this! Because of our donors’ generous support, we are able to continue reaching hurting, broken families, and impacting communities across India! You can check out our social media pages to be on the lookout for campaign updates and more information coming soon.
