Power to the powerless: Marginalised adolescent girls spearhead social change
Summary:
Adolescent girls in India, despite government efforts, face barriers that restrict access to resources, education, employment and health services, their ability to make informed choices about their lives and limit their agency. In Koppal district in Karnataka, 20% of girls drop out of school while transitioning to secondary education, 50% are anaemic and 33% deliver a child before age 20. We implemented Sphoorthi, a community-centred model, which trained selected girls from marginalized communities as role models' to champion among their peers the importance of girls' education, delayed marriage, improved nutrition, and influence community attitudes and behaviours, with the aim of improving overall adolescent well-being. The model used an Integrated Empowerment Framework defined by three power domains, to train them. It built 1) power within by increasing self-esteem, self-efficacy and agency among adolescent girls through life skills sessions and exposure visits, 2) power with by strengthening relationships between girls and parents through parent-daughter interfaces and 3) power over by enhancing their ability to influence parents, and community leaders through leadership camps. Results from Sphoorthi's endline survey showed that adolescent girls exposed to all three interventions showed significantly higher empowerment levels, parent- child relationship and decision making capacity compared to those who were not exposed to any of them . Policies and practices that promote investments into empowering marginalised youth and building supportive family environments can improve health status, promote gender equity and demand for services with long term benefits to the individual, families and society.
Background/Objectives:
Adolescent girls in India face barriers that restricts access to resources, education, employment and health services, limit their agency and ability to make informed choices. In Karnataka's Koppal district, 20% of girls drop out of school while transitioning to secondary education, 50% are anaemic (Haemoglobin < 11g/dl) and 33% deliver a child before age 20. Koppal has high poverty and illiteracy rates, heightening the vulnerability of girls in terms of diminished quality of life and lack of opportunity to participate in decisions. Adolescents (10-19 years) constitute 21% of India's population, and new strategies are needed for their empowerment and wellbeing.
Description of Intervention and/or Methods/Design:
We implemented Sphoorthi, a community-centred model, that trained selected adolescent girls from marginalised communities as role models' to champion among their peers, the importance of girls' education, delayed marriage, nutrition, and influence community attitudes and behaviours, with the aim of improving overall adolescent wellbeing. Sphoorthi was implemented from 2015-2018 in 51 villages of Koppal. It engaged with 640 role model adolescent girls aged 14-15 as intervention champions and included 3600 girls aged 13-16 in the intervention as peers. The model used an Integrated Empowerment Framework that outlines pathways to empowerment by three power domains, to train girls. It built 1) power within by increasing self-esteem, self-efficacy and agency among girls through life-skills sessions and exposure visits, 2) power with by strengthening relationships between girls and parents through parent-daughter interfaces or Samvadas and 3) power over by enhancing their ability to influence parents, school authorities and community leaders through leadership camps.
Results/Lessons Learned:
We evaluated Sphoorthi using quantitative baseline and endline surveys to assess the program's impact on outcomes like empowerment, parent-daughter relationship and decision making capacity of adolescent girls. Comparative data from the endline involving 797 girls shows stronger parent-daughter relationship (p< 0.01) among girls who were exposed to three key interventions (61%) compared to girls who were not exposed to any intervention (51%), significantly higher level of participation (p< 0.001) in decision making (68%) among those exposed compared to those who were not (51%); and significantly higher levels of empowerment (p< 0.001) in terms of self-esteem, self-efficacy and individual agency among girls exposed to the three interventions (61%) compared to those not exposed (30%). The key learning is, in the context of marginalised adolescent girls, empowered role models are powerful in their ability to shape the views, ideals, attitudes, behaviours and actions of peers and others in their immediate environment.
Discussion/Implications for the Field:
Evidence from Sphoorthi shows that community-centred intervention models focusing on specific marginalised and vulnerable segments within the population, will help drive long term social change. Policies and practices that promote investments into empowering youth and building supportive family environments in socially and economically marginalised settings can lead to improved health status, promote gender equity and demand for services with long term benefits to the individual, families and society. There is great potential for programs to move beyond a generic approach that positions marginalised girls as beneficiaries' to a reformist approach that views them as empowered drivers of change.
Abstract submitted by:
Mallika Tharakan - Karnataka Health Promotion Trust
Mohan H L - Karnataka Health Promotion Trust
Sudeshna Dey - Karnataka Health Promotion Trust
Satyanarayana Ramanaik - Karnataka Health Promotion Trust
Raghavendra Thalinja - Karnataka Health Promotion Trust
Prakash Javalkar - Karnataka Health Promotion Trust
Adolescent girls in India, despite government efforts, face barriers that restrict access to resources, education, employment and health services, their ability to make informed choices about their lives and limit their agency. In Koppal district in Karnataka, 20% of girls drop out of school while transitioning to secondary education, 50% are anaemic and 33% deliver a child before age 20. We implemented Sphoorthi, a community-centred model, which trained selected girls from marginalized communities as role models' to champion among their peers the importance of girls' education, delayed marriage, improved nutrition, and influence community attitudes and behaviours, with the aim of improving overall adolescent well-being. The model used an Integrated Empowerment Framework defined by three power domains, to train them. It built 1) power within by increasing self-esteem, self-efficacy and agency among adolescent girls through life skills sessions and exposure visits, 2) power with by strengthening relationships between girls and parents through parent-daughter interfaces and 3) power over by enhancing their ability to influence parents, and community leaders through leadership camps. Results from Sphoorthi's endline survey showed that adolescent girls exposed to all three interventions showed significantly higher empowerment levels, parent- child relationship and decision making capacity compared to those who were not exposed to any of them . Policies and practices that promote investments into empowering marginalised youth and building supportive family environments can improve health status, promote gender equity and demand for services with long term benefits to the individual, families and society.
Background/Objectives:
Adolescent girls in India face barriers that restricts access to resources, education, employment and health services, limit their agency and ability to make informed choices. In Karnataka's Koppal district, 20% of girls drop out of school while transitioning to secondary education, 50% are anaemic (Haemoglobin < 11g/dl) and 33% deliver a child before age 20. Koppal has high poverty and illiteracy rates, heightening the vulnerability of girls in terms of diminished quality of life and lack of opportunity to participate in decisions. Adolescents (10-19 years) constitute 21% of India's population, and new strategies are needed for their empowerment and wellbeing.
Description of Intervention and/or Methods/Design:
We implemented Sphoorthi, a community-centred model, that trained selected adolescent girls from marginalised communities as role models' to champion among their peers, the importance of girls' education, delayed marriage, nutrition, and influence community attitudes and behaviours, with the aim of improving overall adolescent wellbeing. Sphoorthi was implemented from 2015-2018 in 51 villages of Koppal. It engaged with 640 role model adolescent girls aged 14-15 as intervention champions and included 3600 girls aged 13-16 in the intervention as peers. The model used an Integrated Empowerment Framework that outlines pathways to empowerment by three power domains, to train girls. It built 1) power within by increasing self-esteem, self-efficacy and agency among girls through life-skills sessions and exposure visits, 2) power with by strengthening relationships between girls and parents through parent-daughter interfaces or Samvadas and 3) power over by enhancing their ability to influence parents, school authorities and community leaders through leadership camps.
Results/Lessons Learned:
We evaluated Sphoorthi using quantitative baseline and endline surveys to assess the program's impact on outcomes like empowerment, parent-daughter relationship and decision making capacity of adolescent girls. Comparative data from the endline involving 797 girls shows stronger parent-daughter relationship (p< 0.01) among girls who were exposed to three key interventions (61%) compared to girls who were not exposed to any intervention (51%), significantly higher level of participation (p< 0.001) in decision making (68%) among those exposed compared to those who were not (51%); and significantly higher levels of empowerment (p< 0.001) in terms of self-esteem, self-efficacy and individual agency among girls exposed to the three interventions (61%) compared to those not exposed (30%). The key learning is, in the context of marginalised adolescent girls, empowered role models are powerful in their ability to shape the views, ideals, attitudes, behaviours and actions of peers and others in their immediate environment.
Discussion/Implications for the Field:
Evidence from Sphoorthi shows that community-centred intervention models focusing on specific marginalised and vulnerable segments within the population, will help drive long term social change. Policies and practices that promote investments into empowering youth and building supportive family environments in socially and economically marginalised settings can lead to improved health status, promote gender equity and demand for services with long term benefits to the individual, families and society. There is great potential for programs to move beyond a generic approach that positions marginalised girls as beneficiaries' to a reformist approach that views them as empowered drivers of change.
Abstract submitted by:
Mallika Tharakan - Karnataka Health Promotion Trust
Mohan H L - Karnataka Health Promotion Trust
Sudeshna Dey - Karnataka Health Promotion Trust
Satyanarayana Ramanaik - Karnataka Health Promotion Trust
Raghavendra Thalinja - Karnataka Health Promotion Trust
Prakash Javalkar - Karnataka Health Promotion Trust
Source
Approved abstract for the postponed 2020 SBCC Summit in Marrakech, Morocco. Provided by the International Steering Committee for the Summit. Image credit: Karnataka Health Promotion Trust