Gender & Health for Rural Women: An initiative by One Billion Literates Foundation

Date: 2023 - Currently in Progress

Location: Anekal, Bangalore, India

 

One Billion Literates Foundation works with rural women in Anekal Taluk on skilling & employing them as community teachers in government schools & as frontline health workers running Public health programs. Despite improved financial conditions, these women's lives continue to be plagued by patriarchial restrictions, double burden of work, domestic violence & substance abuse issues and lack of control over their own finances and decision-making. Therefore as a recipient of the BUMBLE Next Movers 2023 Grant, I am designing and spearheading a program that seeks to equip them with critical knowledge around sexual reproductive health, safety & rights and create safe spaces for women to come together and organise.

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The first phase of the program is exclusively focussed on capacitating and knowledge building among rural women on gender & health. A theme is chosen and explored in depth for the year. Last year, the focus was on menstrual health management (MHM). Using the Knowledge-Attitudes-Perceptions model, the women and a cohort of male field staff explored reproductive processes, hygiene products, menstrual disorders and language around menstruation. A period policy was developed and has been operationalised in April 2024. This year the Gender theme is a blended mix of mental health basics & sexual reproductive health concepts. This builds on the idea of health, rights and bodily ​autonomy.

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The second phase of the program is community outreach. Gender based games and toolkits will be designed and the women will be trained on how to use them to have conversations with their children and peer women in the community. The women will kickstart and spearhead a collective socio-cognitive shift within community sentiments and practices.