The Azad Kishori programme was piloted in Delhi in 2014, following which Jaipur began the first round of implementation in 2015. Driven by the aim of creating awareness and perspectives on gender, patriarchy, sexual and reproductive health and livelihood choices, workshops were conducted with adolescent women aged 14-17 in community based, private and government schools present in resource poor communities.
In 2016-17, the programme reached 1,200 adolescent girls, with workshops held in 8 schools in Jaipur and 3 schools in Kolkata and Azad Mela for adolescent girls taking place in Jaipur in January 2017. The workshops facilitated awareness of issues related to gender, patriarchy, legal rights for women, sexuality and reproductive health. They also included life skills training (filling forms, using banking system and ATM cards, primary first aid, basics of self defence) as well as exposure to non- traditional livelihood related skills such as electrical work.
‘I TOLD MY MOTHER AND FATHER ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF GENDER AND MY FATHER PROMISED TO HELP MOTHER OUT IN HOUSEHOLD WORK.’ MUSKAAN, JAIPUR
