As the dowry system is still very common in some areas, girls are often seen as a financial burden for their families and, since they are leaving anyway, it is not worth investing in their education. So girls cannot attend school and get educated due to their household duties and social restrictions and these again are caused by their lack of education and the resulting inability to earn their own livelihood. Girls’ being taught that the education of a boy is more important than the education of a girl and that girls are responsible for the household is a fundamental problem with far-reaching consequences.
“There is no occasion for women to consider themselves subordinate or inferior to men.” This quotation from Gandhi ji reflects the approach of GRAVIS to make women and girls feel empowered and equal to men and boys.
GRAVIS principles and aims are deeply rooted in the Gandhian philosophy and so is the practical work in the villages of the Thar Desert. Considering the philosophy of “Sarvodaya” (all rising, but the last person first) GRAVIS provides a lot of projects focusing on women empowerment, girls education and gender equality. By building Tankaas and other water collection points at or near to the villages, the time-consuming burden of walking kilometers to collect water is removed from the girls. The time gained can be invested in their education.
October 11th was International Day of the Girl child, a good occasion to reflect the progress made in empowerment of girls and women, but as well bring to mind the many hardships females are still facing in India, especially in the rural area of the Thar Desert. Raising the children, cleaning, cooking and collecting water are just some of the women’s duties, in addition there are many social restrictions, which lead to oppression and discrimination of women and make them very vulnerable. Since the household duties are too many to be handled by one person, the mothers rely on their daughters to help them.
To enable the long way to the next school, GRAVIS provided around 230 bicycles until now. But only the access to schools is not enough if the girls are not being supported by their families. GRAVIS did a lot of awareness raising programs over the last years to inform parents about the importance of education for girls and encourage a change in attitudes.
Starting with young girls GRAVIS supports women of all ages. In Self-Help-Groups (SHG) women have the possibility to encourage each other and discuss topics among themselves. There they also have access to learning materials on topics of their choice. Women who are educated themselves and sensitized for the relevance of Girl’s education also pass this attitude on to their children and create a different understanding of gender roles, duties and possibilities for girls.
A lot of progress was made in empowering women and girls and many things did improve already, but there still is a long way to go.
Every year, 12 million girls are married before their 18th birthday. Even if the number decreased already, child marriage is still very present and a huge violation of Girl’s rights. It also takes away the chance to education and leaves the girls stuck in a vicious circle of dependence. The illiteracy rate drops every year, but still 98 million girls who should be in secondary school are not. GRAVIS keeps working towards ending child marriage, providing education for girls and empowering women, always considering the teamwork with the community.
International Day of the Girl Child is a reminder to not rest on the success made until now but to continue and raise awareness until every girl has the chance to achieve her goals.
Sarah Kindel (Volunteer from Germany)
What's Going on at GRAVIS 