03 Oct Safety chaupal with literacy india
It’s so true that supporting her family with her earnings can boost a woman’s confidence tenfold. At the Literacy India centre, tucked away in the interiors of Palam Vihar, women are trained in embroidery, tailoring, arts and craft, computer and driving. The centre aims to build confidence and awareness in young girls and economically empower women from rural, slum and underprivileged backgrounds. The centre is full of women who come on foot from far away to engage in the vocation of their choice which helps them become financially independent. This in turn boosts their moral and gives them a sense of security in the challenges that they face.
Yet this feeling of empowerment is often limited to their home and the centre. The uneasy feeling of being unsafe outside the walls of home and workplace is unfortunately a reality for most women. Here is where Safetipin safety mobile app was able to connect to these women’s lives. These women had been waiting for the opportunity to talk about their feelings of insecurity and report unsafe places and street harassment that they face on a daily basis. Safetipin safety app can be a tool to address the fear of violence that the women face while commuting.
Unfortunately, not all the youth and women at the centre have access to smart phones and therefore Safetipin came up with the idea of introducing Safetipin on desktops for low income groups, so that they too can work as active participants in making their communities and thus the city safer. We have had training sessions with the youth and women groups in carrying out safety audits. In this way they have helped by pointing out safe and unsafe spots in their neighborhood.
During one of our discussions we all agreed that once a month the community members from Bajghera, Safetipin and We the People would sit together and discuss the issues that would be reported to the Safetipin interface and plan how to work best to bring about change through engaging with local authorities. Thus emerged the idea of the Safety Chaupal – a physical and virtual space for women and girls to talk about where they feel unsafe and insecure in their daily lives.
An asset to the Literacy India
Manoj lost his father when he was very young and his mother has worked very hard to raise him. He has not forgotten his humble beginnings and has been educated, trained in computers and employed by Literacy India. Manoj worked with a corporate organization for a while but left as he felt that he wanted to do something to empower his own community. He is back at the centre as a teacher in the computer class .He wants the entire centre- teachers, young students, women and the communities to understand the advantages of the Safetipin safety app by working together to create a safer environment.
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