Ever wondered who is updating the CSR Facebook page, searching for the latest statistics on crimes against women, or assisting our core team in envisioning, coordinating and facilitating our projects and programs?

We are always very proud of our enthusiastic young interns in the CSR office. Over the years we’ve had interns join us from both across the country and across the world – from Punjab, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra in India to Scotland, Germany, Canada and Georgia. They’ve worked on a variety of projects such as Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, the I Stand for Safe Delhi campaign, Human Rights Defenders training workshops and numerous research projects. We’d like to introduce you to some of our current hard working interns!

Meet Kara Brown, Media & Communication Intern at Centre for Social Research, from Edinburgh, Scotland.

M&C intern Kara on the CSR office balcony

How did you become interested in an internship with women and girls in India?

Before moving to Delhi in July to join the CSR team I was studying Law at the University of Glasgow in Scotland and working in the not-for-profit sector. I’ve always been passionate about human rights and international development but it wasn’t until the final year of my degree that I seriously began to consider a career in this field. That was when I discovered Challenges Worldwide – an international development charity that partners experienced volunteers with social enterprises worldwide. It’s safe to say, the rest is history!

What is your role at CSR?

I work for CSR’s Media & Communications Division (M&C). My main tasks include social media, writing new content for the CSR website, helping with the newsletter & annual report, plus researching and writing articles for the CSR blog.

What are you most looking forward to during the remainder of your time at CSR?

We have a blog piece in the pipelines on how corruption affects the lives of women in India. I’m also looking forward to collaborating with some film makers who have recently approached CSR to document the work being done at our Crisis Intervention Centres.

What is your favourite thing to do in Delhi?

I love so many things about Delhi, but one highlight is my morning commute. Every morning I walk past a Hindu temple where people are worshiping, singing, burning incense and presenting offerings. There are street children cooking corn by the side of the road, rickshaws tooting their horns loudly, and cows wandering through the traffic. Then I step out of the heat and into the office to begin my day’s work.

For the first time in India this Father’s Day weekend, Centre for Social Research proudly hosted Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® India, part of the first Global “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” Day. Originally founded ten years ago, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes is now a global movement of men and boys taking the renowned saying, “You can’t understand what someone’s going through unless you’ve walked a mile in their shoes,” to a literal level through organized, peaceful demonstrations of men in high heels expressing empathy towards female victims of crimes such as sexual harassment, assault, rape, domestic abuse and other forms of violence.

Weeks before the event itself, we kicked off a fundraising drive aimed at raising money toward continuing our Crisis Intervention Centres (CICs) in four of Delhi’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Proceeds from these donations will go directly toward supporting survivors of abuse and expanding the CICs’ Women’s Change Collectives and Men’s Support Collectives.

While most Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® events ask men to walk their city’s streets in women’s shoes, our uniquely Indian edition went one step further by asking guys to compete for prizes by performing different feats and tasks while wearing women’s shoes…and we even managed to get some of our own team members and spouses to step up and compete.

Initially, we were a bit nervous about the event, what with the whole “men walking in high heels…in India” thing, but we got off to a great start on June 19, thanks to our emcee, who bravely challenged men to portray the true characteristics of gentlemen: brave, tolerant, respectful, confident and secure enough to place themselves in women’s shoes.

Slowly but surely, the crowds started gathering around the registration table to sign up, donate and find out what in the world was going on! We managed to continue fundraising throughout the day, as shoppers and audience members stopped by to collect pamphlets and purchase awareness raising materials like bookmarks and postcards.

As for the main event, registered “walkers” selected a pair of (pretty fashionable, we think) heels, and off they went: First, racing to be the first to score a football goal (which out of personal experience, can be extremely painful for the feet), then attempting a traditional “housewife” activity such as peeling vegetables or changing diapers on a stuffed toy. Finally, our emcee turned up the heat by interviewing contestants, testing how well they knew their wives and their routines.

As the competition started to calm down, we gathered CSR team members and friends from the community, who performed a street play in several acts about women’s perceived inferiority in workplaces and sports and the hurdles women must overcome in their careers.

After a long run-up of fundraising, organizing and designing the event (and once we’d confirmed that none of our “walkers” had broken an ankle or foot), we were relieved to help make India’s first Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® event a success! With more than 20 competing men and hundreds of supporters and curious audience members, we reached out to more people and a more diverse group of people than we’d expected, including children, teenagers and adults of all ages.

When the walkers decided to dedicate their competitions and performances to their mothers, girlfriends, wives and daughters, we saw it as a symbol of solidarity with the women in their life and hope that the event left some members of the audience pledging solidarity with women, too.

I Stand for Safe Delhi, CSR’s latest public campaign, brings awareness and knowledge to the streets in hope of transforming the streets. The campaign focuses on socially sensitive topics of women’s safety in public spaces, sexual harassment and gender-based violence in an effort to change mindsets and urge action taking on the part of bystanders who often turn a blind eye.

We’d been preparing all week: Painting signs and designing pamphlets; calling volunteers and the media; designing makeup and props; securing police permission and scouting locations; and writing and rehearsing CSR’s first major street play appearance.

Finally, on June 2^nd, our office team joined up with volunteers and community friends to kick off the campaign in the densely populated central Sarojini Nagar (market). More than 60 volunteers gathered in “I Stand for Safe Delhi” shirts while chanting encouragement to the crowd and carrying signs with different statements, including “Safety, My Right!”, “Speak Up” and “Choose Courage”, among others. Just down the street, even more volunteers were preparing makeup, costumes and props for their secret street play.

Bearing the bold sign “Stand, Speak, Act”, CSR Director Dr. Ranjana Kumari led the procession with volunteers and CSR team members following and chanting their way down the market road. The volunteers then came to a halt and formed a large circle in the centre of the market: Covering their eyes and mouths with black blindfolds, the volunteers represented the general population in Delhi, who so often turn their eyes and keep silent when they witness someone being hurt or harassed in public.

In costumes and elaborate makeup and armed with a range of props, the I Stand for Safe Delhi acting troupe—composed of CSR staff members, interns, volunteers and friends from the community—ran, danced and stomped their way to the centre of our makeshift stage. For the next five minutes, the crowd was engrossed and quieter than we’ve ever seen 500 congregating Delhiites before! The troupe performed three lively and powerful short plays about sexual harassment of women under three common settings; a marketplace, a public transit bus and a dark street during night time.

Contrasted to a conventional theatre or auditorium, the roundabout theatre we created that day was simple and low budget, yet still able to attract a surprisingly vast and focused crowd from all ends of the street. Believe it or not, our biggest shock was just how polite and attentive our makeshift audience remained throughout: Even after the plays had ended, hundreds of observers continued standing in place while transfixed and silent, waiting for more! Equally mesmerized, to our delight (and let’s be honest, surprise), were the local police. They actively engaged in discussions with volunteers between scenes and warmly applauded at the “curtain close” marked by the fall of a bleeding victim.

To capitalize on the audience’s interest, we ended by distributing flyers and pamphlets detailing how victims and bystanders of sexual harassment can safely and effectively take action in such a situation.

Stay tuned for news about more I Stand for Safe Delhi street play performances: We’re in talks to partner up with a few of our favorite educational institutions and community-based organisations to take I Stand for Safe Delhi across the city.

Centre for Social Research (CSR) is proud to announce India’s first Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event, to be held at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj on June 19, Father’s Day and Global “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” Day. Help us make history while raising money and awareness to eliminate Violence against Women in New Delhi!

Founded 10 years ago in the United States, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes is a global movement of men raising awareness and funds toward eliminating Violence Against Women in countries around the world. It is commonly said that to understand another person’s situation, one must “walk a mile in someone’s shoes”. Therefore, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes India asks men to walk in women’s shoes and show solidarity with female survivors of violence, and to raise money for those survivors.

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes India, produced in cooperation with The Pixel Project and Venture Humanity, is a charity event which will publically demonstrate that men in New Delhi strongly support ending Violence Against Women. While most Walk a Mile in Her Shoes events ask men to walk their city’s streets in women’s shoes, this unique Indian edition will go one step further by asking participants to compete for prizes by performing athletic tasks while wearing women’s shoes. Proceeds from donations will go directly toward supporting survivors of sexual assault, rape, domestic violence and other forms of abuse in New Delhi as part of Centre for Social Research’s Crisis Intervention Centres initiative.

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes India will take place at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi on Sunday, 19 June 2011 from 5:00 to 8:00pm. Participation requires a donation of Rs. 520, and individuals unable to attend in person are encouraged to instead donate in advance at http://walkdelhi.eventbrite.com. 

We look forward to seeing you on June 19!

Yesterday, our Research team held a Community Watch Group meeting as part of our Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project at the anganwaadi (daycare) centre in the Manav Chowk and Kotwali Sarai areas of Ambala, Haryana.The meeting brought together over 30 women from the local community as well as young girls and boys.

Major issues discussed included the need for educating boys and girls so that they know more about their rights and duties as community and family members. Many women called for recruiting more men to Community Watch Group meetings to enlist their help in spreading awareness about pre-natal sex selection (female foeticide) and the need for equality between genders.

Community Watch Groups meetings are an important part of our team’s work on violence against women, female foeticide and overall efforts to promote gender equality. They represent an important opportunity to interact with local communities and share ideas on how best to move forward on these issues.

The second Interface workshop under our comprehensive Meri Shakti Meri Beti project was held at the Panchayat Bhawan of Kurukshetra, Haryana state on March 4, with thanks to our funders: WomenPowerConnect and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Bahari Mohalla(community) residents of all ages attended the meeting with aaganwadi (daycare) and ASHA workers, and students from Kurukshetra University and the Kurukshetra College of Education. The designated “Expert Group” included Dr. Sushma Saini, Chief Medical Officer, and Ms. Deepshikha Kaushik, Domestic Violence Officer.

Initiating the workshop, our own Dr. Manasi Mishra spoke about the wider social and economic implications of pre-natal sex selection (female foeticide). To successfully address pre-natal sex selection, the status of women must increase by changing the deeply patriarchal mindset in communities and families. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Saini pointed out that ultrasound technology was invented to assist medical treatment and not to perpetuate a social malice like female foeticide. Other speakers, including members of the local community, spoke about the high cases of domestic violence in parts of Haryana and the importance of taking more responsibility to care for girl children.

To date, the Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project to reduce pre-natal sex selection has organised over 40 Community Outreach Programs, nine Community Watch Group meetings, two Expert Group meetings and one Interface Workshop in the Kurukshetra district of Haryana state.

To view more photos from event, visit Center for Social Research’s Flickr account.

Continuing in our efforts to fight female foeticide, our Research department led an Expert Group Meeting in Kurushetra, Haryana as part of the Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project last week. We were honoured that our meeting was attended by both local community members and figures from the local medical community, including the Chief Medical Officer of the Civil Hospital, Kurukshetra Dr. Sushma Saini; PC/PNDT Officer Dr. K.K.Sharma; Family Welfare Officer Dr. Madhu Sharma; and the Superintendent of the Civil Hospital, Dr. Lajya Ram.

The main purpose of the meeting was to look into how ultrasound machines are actually registered, and how portable machines are being used and transported. We also discussed the follow-up of two long-pending legal cases, heard community members’ concerns about 3 new area clinics, and talked about the level of awareness amongst doctors to combat pre-natal sex selection.

Dr. Manasi Mishra, our Head of Research and the Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project coordinator, also highlighted some of the recent initiatives by the Haryana government in fighting female foeticide. They have introduced cash rewards of Rs. 5 lakhs, 3 lakhs and 1 lakh ($11,200, $6,700 and $2,235 USS) for best sex ratio state districts. Additionally, informers who can provide information relating to illegal practises will receive a Rs. 5,000 ($110 USD) reward. However, some argued that the prize money awarded from the government is much too meagre, and no one will ever risk his life for it.

Overall, the meeting provided a valuable opportunity for medical professionals to exchange ideas and discuss the problem of female foeticide: It’s heartening to be able to join forces with committed medical professionals who are as determined to end this practise as we are.

By Dr. Manasi Mishra, Head of Research and Knowledge Development at CSR

Last Friday, we headed out to Kureukshetra College of Education in Dhurala village, Kurukshetra district, Haryana state to address the issue of female foeticide. This signature campaign is part of CSR’s Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project, which aspires to create awareness of the critical problem of female foeticide and the effective implementation of the PC&PNDT Act. The sex ratio in India has largely been in favour of boys and continues to grow particularly in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

Nearly 100 students signed our petition, pledging to support the prevention of female foeticide in their communities.Many of the students were curious to know why female foeticide was still occurring in parts of Haryana. Male and female students were of the belief that they are living in a community where equal opportunities are granted to women, although they did comment on the increasing number of new brides arriving from out of state. The sex ratio in Dhurala village is approximately 600 women for every 1,000 men—an astounding figure.

On the same day, a Community Watch Group (CWG) meeting in nearby Bahari Mohalla was also conducted in the afternoon to reinforce knowledge and information about the PC& PNDT Act among community women.

See more photos from these events and other grassroots Meri SHakti, Meri Beti meetings at Centre for Social Research’s Flickr account.