Gender Equitable Boys

“Achieving gender equality requires the engagement of women and men, girls and boys. It is everyone’s responsibility.” — Ban Ki-moons

1. Nearly 1 in 3 or 30% of women have been subjected to violence.
2. Violence against women remains a major global public health and women’s health threat during emergencies. Covid-19 has brought up many instances across various geographies where women have faced this threat of violence.
3. Gender inequality and norms on the acceptability of violence against women are a root cause of violence against women.
4. One of the important aspects while we focus on Violence against women/women empowerment is the need for meaningful engagement of men and boys to advance gender equality and equity. This is essential for holistic development and advancement as a society which ultimately drills down to advancement of communities and families at ground level.
5. This requires a firm understanding and grooming of future men who are boys today. They need to be effectively engaged to bring about the desired gender equity. Not all men are part of the problem but all of them can be part of the solution, to bring about a behavioral change leading to equality and equity. 
6. All these factors have made it all the more important to the work towards addressing this area.

Equal Community Foundation (ECF) works in the area of educating boys, has a model and wants to scale it and spread this message widely, Hariraj has good reach locally, experience in this domain, so this works well for both to address the issue of women empowerment, gender equity, gender equality through the medium of educating the mindset of young boys.

This collaboration ECF in academics and Hariraj with implementation - as a team will help to attain the behavioural change in young boys. The aim is to bring an understanding in young boys to take a stand for themselves while not accepting gender discrimination and Violence against women.

Objectives

1. Focusing on only rural geographic - to develop better society for girl child and women (where certain factors like low level education, harmful use of alcohol, child maltreatment etc. play a major role in violence against women)
2. To provide emotional support to young boys in their sensitive age - To mould their behavior, understanding and mindset through various activities and program.
3. To develop the society which is gender equitable instead of male dominant
4. To know and resolve the issues and discriminations of society that people are facing in rural.
5. Transformation into the society, from the individual to the family, small groups and into the society.

Project Activities: Foundation Course - 15 module - 4 months and Action for Equality - 15 modules - 4 months

•1st month = training of staff, material development, and selection of the boys

• From the month 2nd to 5th = Phase 1 foundation course will be implemented (15 module)

• 6th month = Graduation process (Analysis and evaluation of the program, Boys will be selected for second phase)

• From the month 7th to 10th = Action for Equality course will be implimented (15 module)

• 11th month = = Graduation process (Analysis and evaluation of the program)

Targeting to educate 560 boys through this program in 10 month span

Creating a team to spread this awareness and act as a catalyst towards bringing the change of gender equity.

Transformation into the rural society will be possible with these baby steps, from the individual to the family, small groups and into the society.

Creation of a gender equitable atmosphere: These boys are the future men of the society, and they are going to be messengers, leaders who will shape the upcoming time and generation.

Result will be qualitative not quantitative (Change in behavioural aspect)

Gender based discrimination can be reduced.

To build a society where gender equality is a norm, working with only women is not the solution and doesn't help as a holistic approach. Participation from men and boys is one of the aspects that must be taken into consideration and can't be ignored.

However, working with boys towards developing thoughts, attitude, behavior and approach towards girls and women is a change evoking step. This helps to shape their minds to be able to take a stand of their own, develop an understanding of the prevalence of gender based violence and discrimination against women, the participants probe deeper into social issues pertaining to gender in their communities. They are driven towards finding solutions through collaborations with women and girls.