Mana Bidda 2015-2017
Mana Bidda, a three-year E.U. funded project, aimed to change societal attitudes towards women.
The end goal of the project was to create a district that self-polices instances of gender discrimination. Mana Bidda dealt with immediate cases of gender discrimination, the main focus being to educate and change the mindsets of local leaders so that the fight for girls' rights continues long after Mana Bidda ends. The project had seven pillars of action – baseline assessment, village meetings, sensitisation sessions, leadership training, volunteer recruitment, advocacy efforts, and psychosocial support.
Posters releasing of Manabidda by
K.V.Ramana IAS., District Collector
Sensitisation sessions were conducted in schools targeting young boys where ‘role reversal’ was one of the themes. The sessions, which were eye-openers for most of the boys, were conducted by Aarti girls.
The outcomes of the project were:
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An Average increase in gender ratio of Kadapa: 918 (2011) → 935 girls (2017) for every 1000 boys
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1215 village meetings reaching 1,05,000 participants
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119 abortions stopped
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School enrolment of GIRLS increased from 48.57% TO 50.82%
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Unregistered pregnancy rates dropped to 8 in 2017 from 551 in 2016
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51 support groups at mandal level and 70 at panchayat level created for the sustainability of the project
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51 counsellors trained to provide psychological services to those facing issues of gender discrimination after the completion of the Mana Bidda project.
