Her Choice
Project Location: KeshabpurUpazila of Jashore District
Project Period: March 2016- June 2021
Financed by: International Child Development Initiatives, Netherlands
Total Amount: BDT 44,161,299
Direct Beneficiaries: 3,202
Reducing the rate of child marriage by empowering the girl child in deciding about their marriage, Dalit has been implementing a project titled “Her Choice” since March 2016. The objectives were: enabling girls in authorizing their marriage decision through mass awareness; advocating actors of educational institutes for promoting a girl-friendly environment; ensuring girls in availing better SRHR practice; enhancing the livelihood competence of girls and young women; creating a social atmosphere that recognizes and respect girl’s right and is aware of gender issues; and building a legal environment that is non-tolerant to child marriage. The project is implemented in 18 villages under the Keshabpur Upazila in Jashore district.
Objective:
- Invest in girls, their knowledge, skills and participation in society;
- Improve access to formal education for girls;
- Improve access to youth-friendly SRHR-services for girls;
- Improve the economic security of girls and their families;
- Mobilize communities to transform social norms that are detrimental to achieving gender equity;
- Create an enabling legal and policy environment for preventing child marriage;
Activities:
- Monthly awareness sessions at Girls Clubs
- Monthly awareness sessions at Boys Clubs
- Training course on leadership among young girls
- Follow-up training course on leadership among young girls
- Orientation on demerits of early marriage to adolescent girls through the facilitation of married couples, who suffered from early marriage
- Organize Football/Karate Tournament (Girls)
- Cultural Events and Magazine at Adolescent Girls Club
- Sports for young women
- Organize parental skills training
- Organize yearly orientation sessions with parents for improvement of girls’ education at the union level
- Orientation for school/madrasa teachers and SMC members on reducing drop-out of adolescent girls
- Meeting with the School Management Committee (SMC) members and senior teachers of high schools
- Orientation for school teachers on preventing child marriage, abuse and women’s rights
- Extended educational support through coaching base special provisioning and material support
- Meeting with local young boys and community leaders on eve-teasing
- Study Session for young women victims of early marriage
- Orientation on MHM (menstrual hygiene management) among the selected girls from the adolescent girls club
- Sharing meetings on SRHR and psychological aspects with the satellite clinic worker and government health workers through youth and girl-friendly approach
- Coordination meeting with government health institute and maternity unit of Dalit Hospital to develop a referral system at the Upazila level
- Orientation session on SRHR among teachers of high schools
- Quiz Competition in School
- Health awareness camp on SRHR & College
- Organize training on different Income Generating Act ivies
- Meeting to build/develop network between different entrepreneurs, NGOs and other organizations to create job opportunities for eligible members of disadvantaged families
- Vocational training on computer literacy for adolescent girls
- Organize training on Entrepreneurship for women
- Organize Education Fair
- Organize meetings with UP representatives, local leaders, service bearers and religious leaders on child marriage and drop out
- Orientation on gender issues raising awareness of boys and men to make them understanding women’s role in the family and in the society, increase women’s decision making and reduce gender discrimination
- Organize workshops with local authorities, local and religious leaders on gender issues
- Community mobilization on behavioral change through theater show/pot song/rally/miking
- Organize art competition
- Organize debate competition on child rights issues
- Networking meeting with NGO representative
- Celebrate International Day of the Girl Child
- Organize coordination meetings with legal aid providing agencies at the Upazila level
- Organize a press conference at the sub-district level on the status of Child Marriage in the working area at the Upazila level.