Educating Adolescent girls

For a majority of children who live in rural India the transition from being a child to an adult is a quick one. Adolescence is seen as an age of taking on increasing responsibilities within and outside the house. In rural areas, children are involved in survival tasks such as collection of fuel wood and fodder, water, grazing cattle, looking after the younger siblings at home and supporting agricultural activities by the time they reach puberty.

Within this larger context, the situation of the adolescent girl is even more deplorable. She is in the process of becoming a `young' woman. She takes charge of the domestic chores, performs household work and provides labour towards supporting the family income. Despite the large contribution she makes, she is viewed as someone who does not require any investment on behalf of the family.

Adolescent girls are considered neither children nor women. Their work has never been considered "child labour". They are therefore not targeted in any programme. By widening the definition of child labour to include all children out of school, CREDA deals with the problem of the adolescent girls. This is important from the point of view of gender justice and equity.

CREDA in association with expert agencies involved with issues concerning the girl child, and on the basis of field research works to create an atmosphere for girl's education within the community. The objective is to mobilise families into investing in their daughter's and daughter's-in-law to generate an environment for education and empowerment of adolescent girls so that they can understand and demand their entitlements.

Activities include various village level meetings and awareness generation campaigns, Jathas (plays and songs) and Shivirs (camps) and educational stalls. Stalls attract attention towards identification and training of potential teachers from the community and neighbouring blocks. Educational centres are run, mid-day meals provided and requisite education imparted. These educational centres have active linkages with the community and provide a space and platform for the adolescent girls to articulate their visions, their choices and role within the community

CREDA in association with consultants and its expert team, identifies girls who can be given intensive after school training on some of these issues so that they can become future trainers and a part of the CREDA team. This process enhances their self-confidence and provides them with opportunities for employment in non-traditional activities such as para teachers, para health workers and social workers. These girls then become "mentors" for other girls in the area. By educating adolescent girls who will be future mothers, the intervention ensures that future generations will not have to go through deprivation and exploitation as child labourers.