Twenty years ago, Suman was born in the confines of a thatched hut; her home before she got married at the age of 16. Her mother didn’t consume iron tablets, or undergo regular prenatal check-ups during any of her 6 pregnancies, much like the other women in the village. Lack of facilities, but more importantly, lack of awareness prevented them from knowing better. Today, the same cannot be said about Suman, who is expecting her second child.I met Suman during my visit to a “Mother’s...
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For decades, India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh has been performing poorly on many socio-economic fronts. Leading amongst these are exceptionally high maternal and infant mortality rates. Often, pregnancy and child birth are accompanied by several avoidable complications and risks like disease, infection and even death. In the face of all this, and to combat such problems, CARE is implementing a project to help pregnant women in rural Uttar Pradesh gain access to information, resources and support groups. The project works on individual, household and...
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The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) was launched by the government of India in 2004 with the objective of building residential schools for out-of-school girls in marginalized communities. CARE India collaborated with the government to improve educational processes in these schools including, but not limited to, teacher development, institutional strengthening, material and curriculum development and monitoring and evaluation. Over 2000 girls in 24 districts of Uttar Pradesh have benefited from this programme.  Two such girls, Samreen Fatma and Kiran Gautam, age 12 and 11 respectively, study...
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An unpaved path led us to a room that stood in isolation, ahead of the local school in Gudahiya, in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh, India. A group of young boys scurried about outside, while the eager participants of CARE’s Girls’ Leadership Programme*, waited for us inside.  We were welcomed with a song that questioned the plight of women; one that the girls sang with immense passion and determination. It made me think of the innumerable women across India who braved various manifestations of inequality and...
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