International Women's Day

On March 8^th this year our partner Pepus brought together 800 women to celebrate International Women’s Day.

And there are lots of reasons to celebrate.

Since we began working with Pepus in 2003 we have seen enormous changes in the women and teenage girls the project supports.

Not only are they now speaking out with great confidence on celebratory occasions like these, they are also leading their communities towards a better future.

Growing in confidence

“We are now questioning the barriers to girls leaving the home.

I ask my parents why they discriminate between me and my brother. I am determined not to get married until I am economically independent.”

It all starts with girls like Nikhat. Nikhat attends a Teenage Girls' Centre in her village where she receives basic life skills training, basic literacy training and discusses gender discrimination.

The six months course is a life changing experience the girls. Their new found confidence means that they are quietly starting a gender revolution in their villages. In fact a recent article in an Indian newspaper called them ‘little agents of change.’ Click here to read more.

So far Pepus has supported 1532 girls to attend Teenage Girls' Centres, and a further 207 are currently enrolled on the six months courses. Many of them attended the celebrations on March 8^th to share their stories with other women and girls.

 Leading the way to a better future

“We used to lack confidence and our men folk made the decisions. Now we have developed leadership qualities and make our own decisions. We have created an identity for ourselves at a local and a national level.”  

Women like Alarkali give whole communities hope for a better future.

Before she joined the Pepus project she relied on the male members of her family to make all the decisions.  Then she joined a Self Help Group in her village where she gained new skills and confidence. Her leadership qualities were apparent and she has been elected to be the President of the Federation of 100 SHGs. 

The Federation will ultimately take over the running of the project and SHG activities so that the benefits continue long after FYF funding ends. To ensure the Federation runs well, Alarkali, together with 17 of her fellow community members, is receiving training in financial and organisational management skills.

With women like Alarkali acting as leaders the situation for many people living in rural Uttar Pradesh is improving. In fact our experience has shown us that, when women are empowered to make more decisions, their whole community benefits. Women members of SHGs are, for example, successfully calling on local government to fulfill their right to clean water, decent education and basic healthcare.

A reason to celebrate

The women and girls who have participated in the Pepus project therefore have good reason to celebrate. As they share their experiences of the project with each other through theatre, role plays and songs, why don’t you take a look at other ways that women celebrated around the world. Visit the website to find out more: http://www.internationalwomensday.com/events.asp