As the year 2020, which will be marked in history for theeruption of global Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent humanitarian crisis, coming to an end with a hope that the worst is behind us as far as pandemic spread is concerned. But the adverse impact and the uncertainty will haunt us till the global economic recovery.
Looking back on the past few tumultuous months and the resulted havoc in the society the targets we have achieved even during the unprecedented times, I see our learning as both applicable and critical for our work with partners toward a gender-just and equitable future. We continuously launch campaigns of awareness, activism and action discourse in our fight for the girls and women of this country.
Increasing domestic violence and digital bullying have made work from home difficult for women workers. Reported incidents of domestic violence and right to live with dignity increased almost by twofold according to the National Commission for Women (NCW) during the lockdown.
With the launch of our Women’s Relief Response to Covid-19, we have strengthened our efforts to respond to gender-based violence against women not just in terms of rehabilitation and relief but also conducting regular online trainings about domestic violence, sexual harassment at the workplace, health and hygiene, the current issues of education for girls.
There is much to learn as the world rapidly shifts and responds to the consequences of staying and working from home. We continuously use our various social media platforms to launch campaigns, tweetchats, engagement with our followers and encourage debate on issues of digital parenting, the shadow pandemic of fake news in India, good news from all over the world and maintain positivity in these hard times.
Our Gender, Water and Climate Change department is dedicated to highlight the effects climate change has on women, and how crucial it is, especially now, to move towards water conservation at every level and adopt a sustainable lifestyle. This had led to the development of hygiene modules that are delivered via phone/video calls, the construction of a Kund in BhankrotaKhurd Village and the implementation of Phase 3 for restoration of water resources in Alwar.
Keeping in mind the youth inclusion in the digital world as mandatory for classes, CSR in collaboration with Facebook, launched an Online Safety and Security Training Workshops to underline the threats that are available online and how we can empower ourselves as Digital Citizens to keep our online presence safe and secure and have positive, meaningful engagement with all online users.
With this shift online, we have successfully hosted four webinars to engage with the youth who are now coming online, maintain coverage, and have important dialogues with a panel of experts from all over the world on issues related to rise of domestic violence and abuse against women in India, the need of Skill Development and employment opportunities for post Covid-19, the importance of POSH Act in times when the code of office conduct must be taken to home work spaces and the role that women play in the water crisis in India.
Lastly, at a time when social isolation and working from home has become our norm, it is pertinent to take care of our mental health as well as our physical health. At CSR, our daily log-in meetings are not just professional, work agenda discussions; but a small way to connect with each other and simply have a conversation about how we are all coping while experiencing the effects of a global pandemic.
Women’s Relief Response to Covid-19 Crisis (2020)
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19, the emerging data and reports from all the fronts show that types of violence against the women and girls have intensified among all sections of the society, therefore CSR has been conducting 24×7 E-Couselling of domestic violence survivors and their family members as National agency of NCW; training sessions on the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) POSH Act, 2013 among ASHA, ANM, Aanganwadi workers and active community members of the concerned districts. We have conducted 10 such training sessions’ trained more than 400 frontline healthcare workers. To address the health issues arising from COVID, CSR has conducted capacity-building programs targeting women and community health workers (who are primarily women. CSR has trained around 350 frontline health care workers and community members. These trainings provide WASH education related to COVID prevention.
A webinar on “Women’s Access to Public HealthCare Facilities” officiated by Indian Medical Association has also been conducted with more than 200 participants. To provide psychosocial support for the mental well-being of health care workers we conducted a 10 sessions with Dr. Nimesh Desai. Director, NIMHANS and talked with around 250 Asha , Anganwadi , ANM workers about the issues they have faced during the pandemic. 3000 hygiene kits were distributed to the beneficiaries to counter the threat posed by the COVID-19 virus. CSR with all its stakeholders also conducted an online consultation as a closure activity to review all the interventions that were undertaken throughout the program.
Women's Relief Response during the COVID-19 pandemic through advocacy, capacity building, and providing access to support services.
Centre for Social Research (CSR) in collaboration with the Canadian Embassy, New Delhi has commenced the implementation of a program to support “Women’s Relief Response to the COVID-19 pandemic through advocacy, capacity building, and providing access to support services'' in 6 districts of Delhi (North west, South East, North Delhi, Central Delhi, New Delhi & Shahdara). Through this program CSR will provide relief and redressal services to the Women, Frontline Healthcare Workers and Community Members. We have conducted Prevention of Sexual Harassment Trainings in districts of Shahdara and South-East districts and had 84 participants. In the first quarter next year we will have activities on Health, Hygiene and Sanitation Practices as well Hygiene Kits distribution.
"CSR has been conducting 24x7 E-couselling of domestic violence survivors and their family members along with training sessions on the sexual harassment of women at workplace (prevention, prohibition and redressal) posh act, 2013 among ASHA, ANM, Aanganwadi workers and active community members... CSR has trained around 350 frontline health care workers and community members in Wash education related to Covid Prevention."
"During the national lockdown, Through our telephonic outreach to the coaches of our Sports for Empowering Girls Program in Gurgaon, we were informed that there is a serious lack of nutritious food for the children, especially for the girls in the area, and though the coaches have been trying their best to distribute nutritional supplements in an equal ratio there’s a larger lack of food provisions. In light of this, we collaboration with “Mera Parivaar”, an NGO based in Gurugram, and successfully started a cooked food distribution for community members who were provided with cooked food packet meals, bananas, biscuits and water in Gurugram"
Social isolation and physical distancing are important factors for stopping the spread of the virus and due to such restrictions, we’re witnessing a countrywide lack of awareness, panic-buying, lack of food and health-care facilities for labour class, migrant workers, community dwellers who are dependent on daily wage. The community members who live in remote areas have faced several constraints because of the geographical restraints that have been applied all over the country. The community members from these areas have faced multiple crisis’ amidst the lethal wave of the virus.
Through our community outreach trainers and counsellors, we were briefed about food distribution system and the challenges faced by the needy in accessing those facilities and its limitations. Our collaboration with donors led to providing our first food distribution in Katwaria Sarai through local coordination.
With the help of data collection, our crisis counsellors identified 11 families from the community of Mahipalpur, Rangpuri and Harijan Basti who were distressed due to the lack of basic supplies and were provided with dry food provisions.
Through our telephonic outreach to the coaches of our Sports for Empowering Girls Program in Gurgaon, we were informed that there is a serious lack of nutritious food for the children, especially for the girls in the area, and though the coaches have been trying their best to distribute nutritional supplements in an equal ratio there’s a larger lack of food provisions. In light of this, we collaboration with “Mera Parivaar”, an NGO based in Gurugram, and successfully started a cooked food distribution for 40 community members who were provided with cooked food packet meals, bananas, biscuits and water in Gurugram.
Our first male community member from the Sangam Vihar has been in constant contact with our crisis counsellors and making a list of families who lack amenities and cannot acquire them through government bodies because of the lack of identification cards. Babo Khan has held food distribution drives in the area of Sangam Vihar and has been training local members to apply for a Ration Card online, or use their Adhaar Cards for obtaining government mandated relief.
As individual members of this society, all of us have been doing our bit ranging from contributing to the local RWA’s, Gurudwaras, donations to the various organisations and continuing our food distribution in various areas well. While searching for organisations that we could partner in order to sustain the distribution, we partnered with Zomato’s Feeding India initiative and successfully provided 30 families with 10kg rice and 2kg pulses.
During our discussion and daily check-ins with the women participants of our Water Conservation project, we were informed about the lack of medical kits and supplies in their area. We are currently in discussion with GVNML to partner with our project and supply health-kits which includes sanitizers and masks.
Prior to the lockdown, this year we commenced with an Expert Group Meeting with the medical fraternity of Mahendragarh district. However, since the outbreak of COVID-19 crisis in 2020, we have decided to stay virtually connected with District Appropriate Authorities (DAAs), local NGO members and community members to continue our work. Our first key activity was the Virtual NGO Chaupal; this activity got all of us together on one platform to collate suggestions put forward by all the local NGOs to structure our way forward post COVID-19 in terms of curbing sex selective activities and continuing relief mechanism for people in distress. Throughout the year, our team has been monitoring all the 25 Community Watch Groups established in the 5 districts through telephone and video calls. Based on their feedbacks, we reached out to DAAs for district level monitoring of ultrasound centres.
Even under these unprecedented circumstances we were fortunate to reach out to the Medical fraternity and ASHA workers from Gurugram and Ambala to discuss about the sex selection cases in the district, the impact of COVID-19 on the raids under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC/PNDT) Act through our online Expert Group meetings. We were also able to mobilize students from Jhajjar, Kurukshetra and Ambala districts on the online platform, with the aim of awareness generation against the practice of gender-based sex selection amongst the youth. To our pleasant surprise many girls and boys were aware about the forms of discrimination in the society and were openly voicing it. The students also shared articulate posters on the same with the team, which have been showcased on our various social media platforms as well.
“Alongside curbing gender based sex selection activities, we must simultaneously focus on girl children’s health, education and better employability. This will contribute to the empowerment of girl children and in return someday they will make their district, state and nation proud!” - Ms. Aashima Takkar; Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associate (CMGGA) at the Kurukshetra Stakeholder Interface.
For the first time ever, we conducted e-rallies against sex selection for Jhajjar, Ambala and Kurukshetra districts. These e-rallies were able to attract supporters and instill the need to educate and empower girls in the participants. Engaging in conversation with the participants in the aftermath of the e-rallies opened their perspective about the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Movement. The Stakeholders Interface was the closing activity for all the 5 districts which garnered different perspectives from all the participants. It reiterated the importance to continue working proactively for community awareness and outreach on sex selective practices and rights of girl children. The discussion mainly revolved around the core essence of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and the challenges faced in curbing practices of gender-based sex selection in the light of effective implementation of the BBBP Act.
We successfully concluded the program by building an even stronger network of key stakeholders, civil society organisations and community members from the 5 districts of Haryana. This entire year of implementation assisted in capturing direct interactions and diverse perspectives of all individual participants. Though this was the end of the program, we assured the participants that our team will continue to be in regular contact with them and support them in interventions to uplift the girl children.
"Our first key activity was the Virtual NGO Chaupal; this activity got all of us together on one platform to collate suggestions put forward by all the local NGOs to structure our way forward post COVID-19 in terms of curbing sex selective activities and continuing relief mechanism for people in distress. Throughout the year, our team has been monitoring all the 25 Community Watch Groups established in the 5 districts through telephone and video calls. Based on their feedbacks, we reached out to DAAs for district level monitoring of ultrasound centres."
"In last quarter of the year itself we were able to train approximately 20,000 students and look forward to increasing this number atleast 10 fold in the coming year.The Digital Safety and Online Wellbeing workshops have been a project that the team is proud to be a part of. We can see the positive impact of our words, on students, teachers, principals and parents alike, in real time. "
The Digital Safety and Online Wellbeing workshops have been a project that the team is proud to be a part of. We can see the positive impact of our words, on students, teachers, principals and parents alike, in real time. These workshops and their importance are well-known with many recognized educational organizations now, thanks to the efforts made by the team.
The CBSE collaboration helped us reach hundreds of schools and thousands of students. We have also made other national and international organizational collaborations through our network, because we believe each and every student, be it in villages or cosmopolitans can have equal right to and can benefit from online safety trainings.
In last quarter of the year itself we were able to train approximately 20,000 students and look forward to increasing this number atleast 10 fold in the coming year.
Module
The beginning of the project saw us, updating and streamlining the English Digital Safety and Instagram Toolkit modules handed to us by Facebook. We went a step ahead by the end of the year and for greater reach and better understanding, on the request of organizations we collaborated with. The module has now been translated in:
Hindi
Marathi
Kannada
This year we plan to add many more languages to this list like – Tamil, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Konkani, Manipuri etc.
Organizational Collaboration
We have collaborated with renowned educational and child’s right organizations like CRY, Pratham, Teach for India, Deepalya, and Wonder Parenting
For Child Rights and You (CRY) we covered their important regions like Delhi & Haryana, North East, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka. We were able to successfully train 744 children ranging from ages 10-18 years, from remote parts of the country. Sessions were conducted in Hindi, English, and Kannada.
For Pratham, we covered regions - Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. In 7 training sessions we were able to successfully train 2,161 children from age groups ranging from 11 – 17 years. Sessions were conducted in Hindi, English, and Marathi & Kannada.
Wonder Parenting, is a group of parents, teachers, schools on Facebook with approximately 19000 members. The live training session conducted there reached far and wide and was appreciated.
Teach for India (TFI), this week, we start trainings for their Delhi region this week itself.
There are many more organizations with which collaborations are in the pipeline
Social Media
Our efforts on social media with regular and consistent good content have played a big hand in garnering support in terms of spreading the message and organizational collaborations. Thousands of pieces of original content have been created/posted over the span of the projects.
Centre for Social Research has been implementing the Phase-2 of the programme; “Sports for Empowering Girls in 5 Gender-Critical Districts of Haryana '' since 2019 in collaboration with the Australian High Commission, New Delhi.
We commenced the year 2020 by conducting our first Hockey match at Kurukshetra University stadium in the month of February. Since the nationwide lockdown was imposed on India, our program activities had stopped for some time due to strict practice of social distancing and restrictions on large gatherings. However, even during those difficult times our team reached out to the girls’ sports players and their families in Gurugram, particularly those who had lost their sources of livelihood due to the lockdown; our team collaborated with other local NGOs to distribute dry ration and some cooked meals to them.
“Both Rajkumar Sir (School Principal) and I are extremely grateful to have received these equipment to prepare our girls for Khelo India 2021. As a coach, I feel delighted to see that my players had a nutritious diet during their practice sessions in the past few months.” Ms. Pooman Rani; Volleyball Coach, Jhajjar.
In the Month of June as India was eventually unlocking, our team had reached out to the District Sports and Youth Affair Officers to assist us in resuming the distribution of nutritional intake to players. Our continuous efforts helped us to successfully resume the nutritional intake in 4 out of 5 districts, i.e. Gurugram, Kuruskhetra, Jhajjar and Mahendragarh for 250 girls’ hockey and volleyball players. We were also able to conduct two zonal level competitions in the Gurugram and Kurukshetra districts. Both the events received great appreciation from the district sports authorities and the participants. At the Kurukshetra Zonal Sports meet, former international hockey players Mrs. Harjinder Kaur and Ms. Meenakshi graced the occasion to motivate and felicitate the players. The team and coaches conducted these activities by carefully following all safety guidelines for COVID-19.
“My name is Pooja, I am a volleyball player for Gurugram.My parents lost their job on the onset of the pandemic and were no longer able to provide me a healthy diet. Therefore, I would like to thank CSR for providing me a wholesome diet even during the difficult times of COVID-19. ”
We concluded the program with the distribution of sports equipment/ kits enlisted by the coaches and players of all the 5 districts. Given that Khelo India will be conducted in Haryana in 2021, the equipment will help the girls in their practice sessions. The District Sports Officers, coaches and players have informed us that the nutritional drive and equipment have acted as motivating factors for the players to resume the sports activities and they are looking forward to the next phase of the program.
"We concluded the program with the distribution of sports equipment/ kits enlisted by the coaches and players of all the 5 districts. Given that Khelo India will be conducted in Haryana in 2021, the equipment will help the girls in their practice sessions. The District Sports Officers, coaches and players have informed us that the nutritional drive and equipment have acted as motivating factors for the players to resume the sports activities and they are looking forward to the next phase of the program "
"We have transformed the traditional classroom training to online training sessions in order to continue the youth’s capacity building and safe learning from home. We have successfully trained 40 candidates and have also conducted an e-assessment for the same.CSR is focused on creating the best outcomes for the trainees. We work closely with all the concerned stakeholders."
Due to the pandemic and the lockdown imposed, 27 million youth in the age group of 20-30 years in India lost jobs in April 2020 reported by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Therefore, Skill based training programs are required to ensure the continuation of learning and provide assistance to the Indian youth to acquire skill sets to re-enter the workforce. In 2018, CSR launched the Centre of Excellence for Skill Development with the aim of providing access to skills and employment opportunities to the marginalized section of the society.
During Pandemic, we have transformed the traditional classroom training to online training sessions in order to continue the youth’s capacity building and safe learning from home. We have successfully trained 40 candidates and have also conducted an e-assessment for the same. Trainers were also facilitated with the e-certificates from MEPSC. Our teams have rigorously worked towards the placement drives and have successfully linked all the trainees to the placement opportunities. We have held workshops to groom our trainees for the interviews and have also extended post placement support to the trainees. CSR is focused on creating the best outcomes for the trainees. We work closely with all the concerned stakeholders.
The Gender, Water, and Climate Change department aims to focus on the intersections of climate change, global warming, and water and its effects on women responsible for the management of water at a household level. There have been numerous projects going on in Rajasthan districts to enable the local women to be leaders in conversations about water. With the coming of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown across the country, there was a hindrance in working locally with the women, but the project continued to its fruition with online consultations held with partner organization, Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung (HSS).
I) SHGs for Sustainable WaterResource Management and Restoration of Water Resources- Alwar, Phase 3
While remaining responsible for the management of water in the household, women lack basic technical training on the conservation and collection of the same. It is essential to make these women water conservation leaders given their local knowledge. There were capacity training sessions held in partnership with Honda and the local partner, SPECTRA, to provide an in-depth understanding of water's technical aspects conservation and gender-based learnings. Multiple modes of instruction were incorporated as a part of the training program, like games, visual cues, etc., which would help absorb the material in a manner understood easily all across.
Apart from imparting teachings, the project also focuses on infrastructure development of the water sources done post needs assessments. 2 Nadis were built in Alwar, Rajasthan as part of this project.
II) Women's Leadership and Water Conservation: Capacity-Building and Infrastructure Development in Five Villages of Sanganer, Rajasthan
In collaboration with RITES Ltd and local expertise from GVMNL, there was capacity building training conducted in Sanganer in the people's local dialect. For two days of January, Basic training was imparted, which focused on the social nature of gender, water, and questions related to the same. Another critical aspect of this training was to make the women aware of the importance, roles, and responsibilities of self-help groups.
Subsequently, in February, the training's technical aspect that focused on water conservation and management was conducted.
After completing this training and the knowledge that these women have been able to build on the ideas learned from the same, the five villages were considered for the development of water conservation infrastructure - Kund. The construction of the second infrastructure, Nadi, is currently underway.
III) Creating a Strategic Framework for Gender-Inclusive Water Conservation Planning: Rajasthan
As an outcome of the projects conducted in different districts of Rajasthan, a 12-point recommendation was developed to make water policies more inclusive. Two consultations with academicians, government officials, local experts, and various NGOs were held to improve the gender responsiveness of water conservation policies.
Suggestions from expert panels included capacity-building programs at the local level to enhance technical understanding of water and leadership capacity, developing water literacy and awareness, gender/water budgeting & auditing, and improving operationalization by looking at local needs and setting clear-cut benchmarks.
"With the coming of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown across the country, there was a hindrance in working locally with the women, but the project continued to its fruition with online consultations held with partner organization, Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung (HSS)"
Centre for Social Research conducted a training session on Gender Sensitization and the Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act) at the Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank). The training was conducted by Dr. Manasi Mishra and Mrs. Kamlesh Premi. The participants included the members of Internal Committee (IC), the bank management members, as well as other employees from the New Delhi branch.
Given the unprecedented times, similar training had to be conducted via the online medium for the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) newly inducted staff of the Office and members of Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY). The first half of the training dealt in gender concepts and the second half dealt with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act (2013). Dr. Manasi Mishra also shared a few case studies with the participants which have been discussed and briefed upon. The outcomes of the trainings were enhanced awareness of the law and an open forum discussion on gender equality and sexual harassment.
As the External Member of various ICs, Dr. Mishra has dealt with 6 cases this year and finalized the reports.
Women's access to Public Healthcare facilities- IMA Webinar
Several Reports suggested that Covid-19 is making it hard for Women’s Access to Healthcare Facilities. Women are also at the greater risk of domestic violence and sexual harassment and disruption of their healthcare services as well. Centre for Social Research Conducted a Webinar on “Women’s Access to Public Healthcare Facilities” on 14th December, 2020. The webinar included the imminent panellists Dr. K.K Agarwal, Former National President, IMA, Dr. N.V Kamat, Principal Advisor, Dr. V.K Monga, Chairman, Hospital Board of India, IMA, Dr. Ranjana Kumari, Director, CSR and Dr. Manasi Mishra, HOD, Research, Knowledge and Management Division.
Digital Well-Being and Students in the era of Covid-19
An important online discussion on Digital Well-being & Students in the era of COVID-19 in collaboration with Global Shapers and Health Set Go. Students increasingly find themselves making efforts to navigate their way through the online world, more so currently because of the lock-down. They are faced with numerous challenges from limited access, ignorance about safety and security tools available, to vulnerability to abusers/predators online which often results in negative effects on their well-being. As parents or teachers in the well-being of our children's lives, we need to step up and increase our efforts to make the online spaces accessible & safe
Discussion on Sexual Harassment at Workplace: Challenges during Lockdown
Working from home is a new normal for everyone amidst the current lockdown; however we also need to shed light on virtual workplace conduct and safety. Therefore, on International Labour’s Day, Centre for Social Research (CSR) conducted a Webinar on “Sexual Harassment at Workplace: Challenges in Lockdown”
Gender & Water : The Intersection
In working towards the aim to achieve gender justice in all spheres, the Centre for Social Research pays special focus on the area of Climate Change and Environment. To enter into the discourse of climate change through the vantage point of gendered development, CSR seeks to present women as stakeholders, decision makers, educators, and experts in the area. Once women’s roles are acknowledged in the discussions about climate change, it paves way for a gendered approach to development.
Domestic Violence : A Lockdown with a Lockdown
“Ms. Lora Prabhu talks about addressing the elephant in the room and questioning gender roles, aspirations, structures that discrimate on the basis of your biological sex.” “Mr. Adab Singh Kapoor on how important it is to sensitise men and ensure their participation to stop violence against women as well.”
Development & Employment opportunities post COVID-19
Centre for Social Research (CSR) conducted a Webinar on “Discussion on Skill Development and Employment opportunities Post Covid-19” on 18th June 2020. The conversation was on the dynamics of the Skill Development as a recovery mechanism. Our Experts panelists discussed the importance of Skill based training for the youth to secure and strengthen the future of the Indian Economy.
Snatching away Childhood: Child Marriage in India
Child marriage in India has been practiced for centuries, with children married off before their physical and mental maturity. The problem of child marriage in India remains rooted in a complex matrix of religious traditions, social practices, economic factors and deeply rooted prejudices. Regardless of its roots, child marriage constitutes a gross violation of human rights, leaving physical, psychological and emotional scars for life.
According to UNICEF report, "Ending Child Marriage: A profile of progress in India” 2019, One in three of the world’s child brides live in India and Of the country’s 223 million child brides, 102 million were married before turning 15. Additionally, keeping in mind the current there has been an increase in economic distress causing a spike in child marriage and early marriages during the lockdown, out of which 898 child marriages were stopped by CHILDLINE (1098).
The Centre for Social Research conducted a webinar to comprehend the changing dynamics of Child Marriage in India on 3rd July 2020 at 4 pm (IST). Please join to hear Experts discuss the different nuances of child marriage!
Skilling Youth to Build the Future of India
On the occasion of World Youth Skill Day on 15th July, 2020, the Centre for Social Research (CSR) in collaboration with National Skill Development Cooperation (NSDC) conducted a webinar on "Skilling Youth to Build the Future of India". The webinar focused on understanding the issues of mobilizing the candidates for skilling and upskilling during the lockdown and the readiness to provide Online Courses under Skill Development schemes.
India is going through a transition phase and Skilling youth will play a critical role in propelling industrial growth and creating a skilled workforce.
Feminar: Women's Democratic & Constitutional Rights to Represent
We, at the Centre for Social Research are the pioneer organisations advocating for the necessity of passing the Women’s Reservation Bill.
We conducted a national survey to analyse public perception of the Women’s Reservation Bill. The survey aimed to understand different aspects of the social mindset surrounding women in politics and the political scenario in India at large. As passage of Women’s Reservation Bill is directly related to “SDG- 5” and the gender equality pledge prevailing at national and international forums and with the Indian government being signatory to all international conventions, it will be able to bring about social change institutionally with an exemplary example of ensuring gender equality in India.
Documentary - Online Human Rights Violations Against Women
The Centre for Social Research launched its PODCAST series in November, 2020. The Podcast series engulfs narratives of Gender Equality, gender-struggle, women's rights and representation. The lineup of 16 incredible podcasts with issues that are wide ranging and commemorates fierce and inspiring conversations and experiences.
So turn up the sound and click on the links below - to unravel what we have in store.
PODCAST 1
"Covid 19 Impact and Area of Focus for recovery of Women"
Catch Dr. Ashwini Deshpande, Professor of Economics at Ashoka University, India. talk about women (participation) in the informal sector, and how the unprecedented pandemic of Covid-19 has had an impact on the lives of these women. Furthermore, she talks about economics, advocacy and policies regarding the areas of recovery for women.
"NHRC recommendations to address declining women labour force participation."
Catch Ms. Jyotika Kalra, member NHRC, discussing the new guidelines issued by the Commission to address the decline of women participation in the labour force and problems of work life balance faced by women.
You can access the guidelines here: https://nhrc.nic.in/document/minutes-virtual-meeting-core-group-women-held-17112020
Prof Vibhuti patel is a distinguished academician, social thinker, researcher and speaker from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. She is known for her extensive research and expertise in the issues concerned with women. Catch her on this podcast as she talks about how to actualise the dream of a female friendly future.
On 6th March, 2020; the CSR team collaborated with North Cap University (NCU), Gurugram on the occasion of celebrating the International Women’s Day. We organized a Debate competition on the topic: “The impact of Digital India on Women Empowerment”. On this occasion, Dr. Ranjana Kumari addressed the students on the increasing role of social media platforms in enhancing human capacity, capability and knowledge. Nevertheless, she requested the students to be careful while sharing personal information on online spaces and reporting any inappropriate activity immediately. Dr. Manasi Mishra also shared the dais among other dignitaries.
On 9th March 2020, the Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI) organized an event to celebrate International Women’s Day 2020. On this occasion, Dr. Manasi Mishra; Head Research and Knowledge Management from CSR was invited to speak on Gender Sensitization & Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act). As part of IASRI’s Internals Committee (IC) we were extremely pleased to hear about the topic of discussion for the event.
As part of the review of the Beijing +25 Action Agenda, Centre for Social Research’s (CSR) dialogue was a three-fold strategy to explore current developments and challenges of protecting women’s human rights in the online space. Though the event was cancelled due to the spread of Covid-19 and keeping the safety of all participants in mind, CSR took its Global Policy Dialogue online and hosted a discussion on Online Human Rights Violation Against Women.
Our short documentary that explores the role that digital technology has played for women in the 25 years since the Beijing Conference and examines the exploitation of this technology to propagate violence against women by traffickers and other human rights abusers was also uploaded on our website. The documentary shows the wide gender gap between users online and invited snippets from influencers in the field of online safety and security to discuss the pressing issues and experiences of women online.
Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the Crisis Management Centre of the Centre for Social Research (CSR) dealt with 121 cases of Gender Based Violence, Domestic Violence, senior citizen abuse, and Facebook and Instagram related online human rights violations. The department also dealt with 11 ICC Sexual Harassment Committees Cases in coordination with the Delhi Police, Air India, ESIC H.Q. and ESIC Okhla, Security H.Q. Delhi Police and DHS South.
The unprecedented year brought with itself financial crises for families. CSR engaged in the distribution of 60 raw-food material packets, and 100 cooked food packets to areas of - Rangpuri Pahadi, Mahipalpur, Harijan Basti, Sangam Vihar and Govindpuri.
This year, we took our Office Assistant Training Programme online, and further launched the Co-ed Office Assistant Training Programme. The CMC Department mobilized 9 students from Chhattarpur, Kharg, Chandanhola.
As part of its current partnership with the German Embassy, CSR participated in the #Hygiene2Health program and distribute hygiene kits and 20 masks in one of our project communities.
In 2020 itself between March 25 and 31 May, there were around 1,477 complaints of domestic violence made by women. This 68 day period recorded more complaints than received between March and May in the last 10 years! CSR hosted a Webinar, “Domestic Violence: A Lockdown within a Lockdown” with expert panellists –
Ms. Maghma Sahar (Senior Editor & Anchor at NDTV), Adv. Adab Singh Kapoor (Specialising in DV Cases), Ms. Lora Prabhu (Executive Director & Co-Founder CEQUIN) and Ms. Kamlesh Premi (Senior Counsellor at CSR). The webinar discussed the increase in domestic violence cases, and the underlying causes of the same to lay out the measures to prevent violence, and usher changes towards a respectable society.
SHAROD SHOMMAN
The age old tradition of playing the instrument has been a male dominated preserve. But in 2010, a group of women from Machlandapur in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal stepped up to break the glass ceiling and gave the dhak a new life by picking up the male bastion lead by one of the leading dhakis of West Bengal, Shri Gokul Chandra Das. Uma Das and her group of five women called the MotilalDhaki.com Lady Dhaki Team performed at the famous Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in 2009 as the first Dhaki in history, as part of the Ravi Shankar Centre Ensemble. Shri Gokul Chandra Das brings to light the dark fables of caste-ism and authority that are used to shun the dhakis away as they aren’t treated at par with other music practitioners (the latter usually come from elite backgrounds). He further says that artists have one caste, and i.e., art, further debunking all other divisions of the society. He debunked another societal categorization of the dhak being a male pursuit. He was inspired from his journey to a US Puja pandal which led him to embark on a journey of an all-woman dhaki troupe; with the light of change and hope starting from his own home.
Since the dhakis usually hail from the outskirts of Bengal, are predominantly farmers, masons, who play the percussion instrument to earn surplus money. The lineage based art is passed on from one generation to the next; but now more than ever uncertainty has also passed on due to Covid-19. Hence, Shri Gokul Chandra Das and his team of the MotilalDhaki.com Lady Dhaki Team, and are facing the brunt of the pandemic both economically as well as culturally.
Centre for Social Research along with Kaahon and Bhairavi Sabhaa organised a two-day virtual fundraising event with the help of Ketto for the women dhakis of Bengal. The event was a beautiful success as we were able to raise 24,500 rupees (and counting), further exploring the rise of women storming a hitherto male preserve.
We were able to raise: Rs. 24,000 and counting
Check out the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ8vfN0u3sc
"Centre for Social Research along with Kaahon and Bhairavi Sabhaa organised a two-day virtual fundraising event with the help of Ketto for the women dhakis of Bengal. The event was a beautiful success as we were able to raise 24,500 rupees (and counting), further exploring the rise of women storming a hitherto male preserve."
Partners Thank You
The Centre for Social Research thanks its partners for supporting our work for women’s empowerment and ending discrimination. None of our achievements this year would be possible without this commitment. We’ve covered these activities throughout the annual report, but we’d like to take a special moment here to say thank you and to highlight these important partnerships.
Through a major two-year grant, the embassy is supporting CSR’s fight again Pre-Natal Sex-Selection in Haryana in conjunction with the government’s Beti Bachao Beti Padhao program.
The German Embassy has supported CSR in its COVID recovery program in Delhi and Haryana, which is providing support for victims of domestic violence, capacity building for communities and healthcare workers, hygiene resources, and advocacy for investment in women’s health.
RITES is supporting CSR’s water conservation program in Sanganer, Rajasthan, which builds women’s leadership capacity along with local water conservation infrastructure.
In 2020, the Honda India Foundation has supported women’s leadership in water conservation in Alwar, Rajasthan, building women’s leadership capacity and creating community infrastructure.
Through the CFLI, the Canadian High Commission is supporting CSR’s COVID recovery program in Delhi, which is providing support for victims of domestic violence, capacity building for communities and healthcare workers, hygiene resources, and advocacy for investment in women’s health. We welcome the Canadian High Commission as a new funding partner.
This year, HSS and CSR advanced a long-term partnership on women’s leadership for Water Conservation and Climate Change in Rural Rajasthan by advocacy with government and hosting a state and national dialogue on mainstreaming gender in water conservation policy and programming.
The Australian High Commission continued its support for CSR’s Sports for Girls’ Empowerment program, which has enrolled 850 in school sports programs in Haryana, provided mentorship and nutritional support, and hosted a range of competitions to highlight girls’ athletic achievements.
CSR has worked with Facebook since 2016 to train students in online safety. In 2020, piloted and launched Facebook’s We Think Digital training program for students in India. This program has trained 18,000 students in digital safety and citizenship practices.
Twitter and CSR are partnering on a 2021 program to build young women’s engagement on social media, support them in practicing digital safety, and engage with regional influences on Twitter.
Looking back on the past few tumultuous months and the resulted havoc in the society the targets we have achieved even during the unprecedented times, I see our learning as both applicable and critical for our work with partners toward a gender-just and equitable future. We continuously launch campaigns of awareness, activism and action discourse in our fight for the girls and women of this country.
Increasing domestic violence and digital bullying have made work from home difficult for women workers. Reported incidents of domestic violence and right to live with dignity increased almost by twofold according to the National Commission for Women (NCW) during the lockdown.
With the launch of our Women’s Relief Response to Covid-19, we have strengthened our efforts to respond to gender-based violence against women not just in terms of rehabilitation and relief but also conducting regular online trainings about domestic violence, sexual harassment at the workplace, health and hygiene, the current issues of education for girls.
There is much to learn as the world rapidly shifts and responds to the consequences of staying and working from home. We continuously use our various social media platforms to launch campaigns, tweetchats, engagement with our followers and encourage debate on issues of digital parenting, the shadow pandemic of fake news in India, good news from all over the world and maintain positivity in these hard times.
Our Gender, Water and Climate Change department is dedicated to highlight the effects climate change has on women, and how crucial it is, especially now, to move towards water conservation at every level and adopt a sustainable lifestyle. This had led to the development of hygiene modules that are delivered via phone/video calls, the construction of a Kund in BhankrotaKhurd Village and the implementation of Phase 3 for restoration of water resources in Alwar.
Keeping in mind the youth inclusion in the digital world as mandatory for classes, CSR in collaboration with Facebook, launched an Online Safety and Security Training Workshops to underline the threats that are available online and how we can empower ourselves as Digital Citizens to keep our online presence safe and secure and have positive, meaningful engagement with all online users.
With this shift online, we have successfully hosted four webinars to engage with the youth who are now coming online, maintain coverage, and have important dialogues with a panel of experts from all over the world on issues related to rise of domestic violence and abuse against women in India, the need of Skill Development and employment opportunities for post Covid-19, the importance of POSH Act in times when the code of office conduct must be taken to home work spaces and the role that women play in the water crisis in India.
Lastly, at a time when social isolation and working from home has become our norm, it is pertinent to take care of our mental health as well as our physical health. At CSR, our daily log-in meetings are not just professional, work agenda discussions; but a small way to connect with each other and simply have a conversation about how we are all coping while experiencing the effects of a global pandemic.