Every year 48 million adolescent girls across India drop out of school before completing secondary education and end up becoming child brides. We believe in enabling grassroots girl leaders through a cascading model equipping them with adequate knowledge, skills, and networks so they can challenge gender-regressive norms bringing about intergenerational change in gender equality.
Our Girl Icon (GI) program is an 18-month leadership program empowering adolescent girls by teaching them 21st century life skills, enabling them to build their own agency, continue their education, delay early marriage and make informed choices about their health.
The trained GIs go on to recruit and train 20 other girls in their communities who collectively identify and work on a Social Action Project addressing a social issue. We provide smartphones to all GIs as well as an 18-month fully paid data pack. We have developed ties with the local government and philanthropies to provide access to scholarships, internships and access to information on health.
We actively engage boys and young men, raising their awareness on gender-based violence, develop a healthy respect for listening to girls; and invite girls into spaces typically dominated by men.
Since its inception in 2015, the GI program has been creating a ripple effect across three Indian States.
The GI program has been spreading through a combination of factors, primarily because of community engagement from the outset, building trust amongst the girls and their families, creation of GI role models and fostering a sense of pride and ownership of the program. Having strong GIs as grassroots leaders providing mentorship to the new girls joining the program has further fueled its spread. Success stories appearing in local and social media has made the program attractive to other communities.
Having the support of Sony Music Global Social Justice Fund, Obama Foundation, Echidna, Malala Fund, UC Berkeley, Girls Opportunity Alliance among other partnerships has further raised our profile. By 2030, we aim to reach a million adolescent girls turning them into community leaders.
Trust-building is key to a community-based initiative targeting adolescents. Provide hand-holding support and extensive counseling to parents and adolescent girls. Also, developing a strong training program that is rooted in local culture, being respectful of social norms and an equally strong delivery method are important. Pilot your program before taking a big leap and ensure funding pipeline.
