By Kate Unsworth – Intern, Development Division

World Health Day is an annual commemoration of the founding of the World Health Organisation (WHO). This year, Centre for Social Research and Fortis La Femme hospital celebrated World Health Day by organising a comprehensive health camp for 1000 women and girls at the CSR Crisis Intervention Centre in the Sangam Vihar community of New Delhi. In addition to providing healthcare to an underserved population, this event incorporated the theme of Ageing and Health. Health experts educated the community about how individuals’ healthcare needs change as they age, and explained how older people can continue to be active and productive if they are healthy and have the support of their family and community.

This health camp positively impacted women’s lives by directly addressing their unique health concerns. Several gynaecologists, endocrinologists, dieticians, orthopaedists, and other medical specialists:

• Provided confidential, free, and easily accessible medical consultations for women and girls;
• Recommended treatments for gynaecological issues and concerns;
• Provided quality medications and dietary supplements to those in need;
• Indentified the most pressing medical concerns faced by women and girls in the community, in order to target these needs in future initiatives.

The health camp was a great success, and we look forward to organising similar events in the future.

We’re excited to announce CSR’s annual event for 2011, Bring Her to Light, celebrating 28 years of efforts toward empowerment of the women and girls of India. Do join us on Thursday 15 December from 4-9pm at the India Habitat Centre, Delhi for an unforgettable evening of celebration through music, film, art and dance!

Bring Her to Light is an opportunity for our team, supporters, community members and friends to come together, share experiences and promote women’s rights. Doors open at 4pm. Get there a bit early to browse arts and crafts made by the women and girls of our four Crisis Intervention Centres (CICs) across Delhi.

Some of Northern India’s most promising young bands are providing live entertainment for the evening and are not to be missed:

8.15pm - Sonam Kalra & The Sufi Gospel Project (Delhi)
7.30pm – Jasleen and Sahil (Chandigarh)
7.00pm – [Premier screening of our new short film, a collaboration between CSR and award-winning director Ankur Kapoor]

6.30pm – Delhi Drummers (Delhi)
6.00pm – SlumGods (Delhi)

RSVP on Facebook and help us spread the word by inviting your friends!

Do you want to give back to society, but aren’t sure where to start? We’re looking for enthusiastic, caring individuals to teach, play, and collaborate with children in the Sangam Vihar and Chattarpur areas of New Delhi, and an interest in alternative subjects and the arts.

Shuruaat, Hindi for ‘a new beginning,’ is a Centre for Social Research pilot programme focused on helping underprivileged children aged 5-18 develop holistically through exposure to less conventional but equally important subjects such as environmental responsibility, active citizenship, and visual and performing arts.

Most, but not all, of the children in these communities attend local government schools. And although they lack  any additional opportunities for learning and expression, they definitely have a thirst for engaging with new knowledge through creative activities and play. Shuruaat is about preparing this young generation to become active Indian citizens by developing their skills, awareness and compassion–no matter their family or financial background.

How do you fit in? While we believe that formal educators are some of society’s most important members, we also recognise that everyday individuals can change children’s lives through teaching, too. We’re looking for anyone in the New Delhi area with a few hours to spare on Saturdays, and a desire to share some of your skills and knowledge to some of our city’s most promising, but also most disadvantaged, youth.

For more information about Shuruaat and how you can help, write to sahiba@csrindia.org or call Centre for Social Research at (0)11-26125583.

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!

Leading politicians, activists and academics met yesterday at a CSR-organised event entitled, “Women’s Reservation Bill: The Road Ahead,” to demand the passage of the 33% Women’s Reservation Bill and call for greater gender equality throughout India. With approximately 200 people in attendance at the Constitution Club in New Delhi, we also passed a resolution calling for the Lok Shabha to pass the Bill, which mandates that 33 percent of seats are reserved for female politicians in national and state assemblies, without delay.

At the same time, we celebrated the release of CSR Director Dr. Ranjana Kumari’s newest book, “Reign She Will,” which chronicles developments within the women’s movement since Indian independence, while also laying out key reasons why the immediate passage of the Reservation Bill is so crucial.  “While the Bill still waits,” Dr. Kumari remarked, “women will not.”

Dr. Anand Kumar, a senior sociology professor at JNU, spoke on the increasing gap between rich and poor in India, and the high levels of corruption in the Lok Shabha. The only way to save the country from this corruption, he argued, is through democratic participation of the people at the grass roots—and that means more female politicians ensuring a fair representation of India’s women in politics.

Dr. Prabha Thakur, President of the All India Mahila Congress and Member of Parliament representing Rajasthan in the Rajya Sabha, described women as the backbone of society who we must respect and give their due.

Dr. Kiran Bedi, India’s first and highest ranking female Indian Police Service officer (retired in 2007), argued that since the Bill has not been passed, it’s apparent that political parties are not truly willing to support and implement the Bill despite what they say in front of the media. She also argued that those few women already inside Parliament walls are reluctant to support the Bill, fearing that more women in politics will mean less power for existing female politicians.

Dr. D. Raja, National Secretary of the Communist Party of India, proclaimed, “Unless India acknowledges the importance of gender equality and achieve it we are not a full civilization.”

On a different note, Ms. Chandresh Kumari MP, Indian National Congress Party and President, Parliamentary Committee of Empowerment and Advancement of Women, said that the passing of the Bill is tokenism, and that real mark of success is in the implementation.

View more photos of the speakers and participants at Centre for Social Research’s Flickr account.

We’re launching a massive awareness campaign on the issue of female foeticide and infanticide on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The United Nations has designated 25 November as a day to bring awareness to acts of violence targeted at women across the globe. Female foeticide and infanticide are a form of violence against women and are the most serious crimes against the women of India today. We’ve already begun to collect the signatures of young men and women across Delhi and Haryana with the hope of collecting 5,000 signatures by World Human Rights Day on 10 December. As the next generation of parents, the decisions of these young people will shape the future of India. We’ll also be organising a public demonstration at DLF Promenade Mall, Vasant Kunj on 25 November.

We’re also extremely pleased to be continuing our Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project into 2011, supported by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. This project is a study of female foeticide in 20 villages and 10 blocks in the Ambala and Kurukshetra districts of Haryana, the two weakest sex-ratio districts of Haryana.

In the last 20 years, it is estimated that over 10 million girls in India have been lost to female foeticide abortion or infanticide. According to the 2001 Census, there were only 865 females for every 1,000 males in Delhi. This shocking statistic is part of a greater trend that shows the sex ratio continuing to decline across India. Evidence also suggests that sex-selective abortions are shifting from urban-centric to more rural areas. While there are laws in place, such as the Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique Act of 1994 (PC & PNDT), the declining sex ratio is an indication that the law is not being enforced effectively, and that many women are not informed of their rights surrounding this issue. Dr. Manasi Mishra, Head of Research at CSR added, “Though there is denial at the field level that sex-selection abortions are taking place in their community, the declining sex ratio clearly speaks the truth. Now the time has come when we have to accept the truth and stop this crime from taking place.”

We’ve created this campaign to create awareness and mobilize the public opinion to pressure the government to act swiftly to counter this deadly phenomenon. On the 10^th of December, World Human Rights Day, we will present the collected signatures to the Health Minister.

Fight against female foeticide in India: Sign our online petition today!