The spectacle we need

IN PERSPECTIVE

“Zindagi roz naye thappad marti hai” – “Life slaps (us) every day”.

This is not what you’d like to hear from someone who represents India’s future. But these were the words with which Sunita started sharing her life experiences when we met in Pune. Sunita was around 19, articulate and reflective. Even when everything was less certain, like the chances of getting a bed in a hospital or holding a job, atrocities against girls and women didn’t subside. Violence at home, early marriages, drop-out from schools and work, and trafficking, everything saw an uptick for millions of girls and women. No wonder 31,000 child-abuse cases were reported to ChildLine within 11 days of the lockdown announcement in 2020.

The Covid years haven’t been an outlier for Sunita and 13 million other adolescent girls. Life was tough even before 2020. They are yet to reap the benefits of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. The Sunitas of India, trying to save themselves from harm, experience life with significant deficits every day.

Girls are unable to pursue a full education. This education deficit significantly dents their potential to live a dignified life. They engage in household chores and stop focusing on their health. Anaemia is a constant companion, as they battle sexual abuse, domestic violence, early marriage and early pregnancy. Girls don’t live as they want to and, forever chasing the acceptable ‘good girl’ image, they fall silent. This chips away at their self-worth, confidence and their ability to express their concerns. Limited access to information leads to sub-optimal decision-making for their future and restricts their access to services and entitlements. As young women, they are never considered ‘breadwinners’, often ending up in exploitative and informal work.

These deficits are shaped and propagated by patriarchy, customs, religion and media. That’s too complex a mix to tackle when masculine bravado and an intense distrust of civil society organisations characterises the State. To pursue an agenda of empowerment in such a scenario, we need vibrant multi-dimensional strategies.

Schools are the only spaces where girls can engage in discovery of any sorts. But even the best schools fall short of addressing all the facets of an adolescent’s life. A conspicuous example is discussion around sexual health, which is mostly brushed under the carpet. The curriculum stops at biology and doesn’t venture into the social and cultural underpinnings of reproductive rights. More complex aspects like sexuality are out of question.

Unlike boys who congregate at tea shops and playgrounds to spend hours chatting, girls face serious mobility concerns. The burden of household chores doesn’t leave much time to gather in peer groups and spend time with themselves. Building confidence and imagination to lead happy and independent lives requires spaces where they fearlessly talk about things that are ‘inappropriate’ for others. The essence and importance of such spaces was underlined by Ankita, from an adolescent girls’ centre in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh: “Yahan hum apne baare me sochna sikhte hain” — “Here we learn to become aware about ourselves”.

Most girls are usually not happy with just a space of their own. They want to learn, grow and transcend boundaries, change their milieu. The process of collectivisation that starts with peer groups is infused with eclectic experiences. Sessions on health and reproductive right, life skills,

participation in dance, sports, social action projects in the neighbourhood, vocational training, etc., all of it prepares them for a more confident engagement with their future. These also attempt to make girls visible and help them get rid of the overarching voices that expect them to stay quiet and hidden. Mariyam, from an adolescent girls’ centre in Shaheen Bagh, Delhi, puts it eloquently – “Education (here) is not about knowledge, but action”.

One doesn’t need a social work degree to see the limits of State, market and media in advancing the empowerment of adolescent girls. We need a generation of young women, who problem-solve, mobilise, influence and set the agenda, without depending on the generosity of men in their lives. Civil society-led programmes are effective and offer possibilities for adolescent girls. To address today’s challenges, renewed focus on the following would help:

Deeper understanding of discrimination; Media literacy to decipher how lies fuel public policy; Language and ICT skills to mobilise opinion; Legal and constitutional literacy to decode everyday realities and alternatives; Art of decision-making, collective action and collaboration

Imagine Sunita, Mariyam and Ankita stepping out of the house when they want and pursuing an education and vocation of their choice. Imagine them spending time with friends without stares. Imagine them choosing whether/ when to marry. Imagine them not having to hear ‘you play like boys’ when they play well. Imagine patriarchy and customs, along with male privilege and insecurity, taking a dip and disappearing in the Ganges. That’s the spectacle we need.

(The writer works at Azim Premji Foundation)