Schools give girls lessons in fighting violence
Schools organise street plays, awareness rallies, self-defence workshops to empower women
to students,” said Narayanan.
Students also raised awareness about better health for women. Class 10 students of Queen Mary School, Grant Road, performed street plays at Marine Drive, Gateway of India and Churchgate station on October 12. “The aim of the street play was to create awareness about anaemia, which is common among women. The play demonstrated its ill effects such as tiredness, lack of concentration and even heart attacks, in extreme cases,” said Aditi Doshi, an ex-student of the school, who organised the event.
Doshi added, “Students also told people about Gudness bars, which help increase the haemoglobin levels in the blood if consumed daily for a few months.” The bars, which contain 14mg of iron, were created by Let’s Be Well Red, an organisation that aims to prevent iron deficiency anaemia in India. The school has been working with it since June.
Pawar Public Group of Schools also performed a street play – Aadi Duniya – dedicated to Malala, in different pockets of Powai including Hiranandani Market, Raheja Complex, Chandivli and Nahar Amrutshakti. The play has been uploaded on Youtube for students to share it on social media. “Boys need to consider women as equals. Hence, we involved boys and girls in these activities,” said Madhura Phadke, founder-principal.
Many schools also held programmes on adolescence education for girls from Class 7 onwards, inviting parents with their daughters to participate in discussions on dealing with the changes in the body during adolescence. “As girls reach adolescence, their body undergoes several changes and at times, they are unable to discuss it even with their mothers. These sessions were held to create a sense of openness between them,” said Seema Saini, principal of NL Dalmia School, Mira Road.