Adolescent girls find themselves being undervalued, neglected and unloved in
their own homes and communities. Restricted mobility, low priority for
schooling, early marriage, all push them towards confining domestic roles.
The very people who should provide for holistic development, violate and
hinder access to the basic rights of education, health and nutrition to their
own girls. Boys on the other hand are expected to step out into the world,
since masculinity demands and grants them the right.
What children learn in school stays with them for the rest of their lives.
The attitudes, beliefs and understanding they display as adults are to a very
large extent, shaped by the stimuli they receive within the four walls of
their schools.
It is with this understanding that Breakthrough created ‘Taaron ki Toli’ (TKT)–
a school-based, gender-equity programme aimed at adolescent boys and girls.
TKT provides a safe platform and facilitative environment, where adolescents
can participate in decision making on issues affecting their lives. By building
their knowledge, adolescents can adopt positive practices, access preventive,
curative, protective services and enhance their skills and participation within in
their schools, family and community.
The pilot was implemented with 18,000 adolescent girls and boys in Haryana
and has now been scaled up to reach 600,000 adolescents in Uttar Pradesh,
Jharkhand and Bihar.