Empowering Young Women in India

"There are more than 300 million people living below the poverty line in India. The majority of these people are rural and female. Girls are a critically vulnerable group and a keystone of development in the country. Freedom from Hunger believes an investment in girls is an investment in the future." Alay Barah, CEO, Reach India (Freedom from Hunger's India-based office).

Did You Know?

  • More than 300 million people in India live in absolute poverty-a number equal to all the people living in the United States of America.
  • More than half the girls in India marry before the age of 18. The younger the bride the greater her chance — and her child's chance — of being trapped in poverty and becoming malnourished, anemic and at risk for maternal mortality.
  • More than 45% of women in India have no say in decisions about their own health.
  • 70% of the school-aged children who are not enrolled in school are girls.

A New Path to Self-Reliance

Freedom from Hunger strives to empower girls to make health, education and financial changes today that will have lasting impact and give them real options for their futures. This special program gives young women access to:

  • the opportunity and discipline to save money,
  • education to build life skills, and
  • social support—something critically important if they are to stand up for their rights and make their own choices.

How it Works

Adolescent and teenage girls are invited to participate in Freedom from Hunger's "Learning Conversations," an empowerment model proven successful with women in rural areas around the globe. The method employs dialogue-based education that builds on the wealth of experience these women already possess.

The girls join groups of women, participating in the program alongside their mothers and mothers-in-law, sharing information and fostering dialogue amongst the entire matriarchal unit of these families. Together, they create change for themselves.

"Learning Conversation" topics addressing this audience include:

  • Health, such as malaria and HIV/AIDS prevention.
  • Social empowerment, such as self-esteem, leadership in the community, and having a voice in local government.
  • Economic empowerment, such as accessing financial services, managing money and improving livelihoods.

Working with Partners

As with all our initiatives, Freedom from Hunger is collaborating with local organizations already existing in-country. From our India-based office, Freedom from Hunger provides training to local organizations to implement sustainable services that meet the needs of the rural poor. These organizations are permanent resources in the region, serving as a network of service providers to the rural poor. These partnerships are a rich exchange of ideas and innovation for improvements.

This strategy also enables Freedom from Hunger to achieve extraordinary leverage. Although our full-time staff is around 70 people, through partnerships in India and around the world we can directly benefit hundreds of thousands of women and their families for a total impact reaching millions of people.

Achieving Lasting Outcomes

Empowerment of adolescent girls can take many forms. Through Freedom from Hunger's initiative, multiple results occur, including:

  • Enhancing girls' capability to demand and secure better services in such areas as health, education and family infrastructure.
  • Increasing solidarity: women and girls forming a unified voice and support for the changes they seek to implement in their families and communities.
  • Raising awareness about key health, education and financial practices.
  • Building confidence to influence family decisions and the community.

Outreach Goals

By the year 2009, this initiative will reach 25,000 girls directly and a half million mothers education themes that focus on empowering, protecting, and educating girls.

Regions Served

By working with partner service centers, Freedom from Hunger will reach girls in some of the poorest rural communities of the poorest states of India, including Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.