Dr. Kshama Metre has been working for over 20 years to improve women’s rights and empower local communities in the lower Himalayas, northern India.

Childreach International is working closely with Dr Kshama Metre and her organisation, Chinmaya Organisation for Rural Development (CORD), to tackle the widespread issues affecting women’s rights in Dharmshala, in the northern Indian state, Himachal Pradesh.

Among many problems women face, the UK media (BBC and The Guardian) has recently drawn attention to the practice of sex-selective abortions, which considers the girl-child undesirable and places pressure on expectant mothers to undergo dangerous procedures to get rid of their un-born foetus.

As well as being a cruel practice which can have serious health implications for women, sex-selective abortion is contributing to the declining sex-ratio in India.

The country’s 2011 census reveals an increase in the gap between the number of boys and girls, standing at 914 girls to every 1,000 boys, while in Dharmshala, our project partner, CORD, has recorded a sex ratio as low as 680 girls to every 925 boys. This has had a direct impact on India’s position in the World Economic Forum’s Global gender Gap Index 2010, coming in at 112 out of 134 countries.

The implications of a declining female population are far reaching, having impacts on the country’s economic growth and the livelihoods and well being of families, particularly those living in developing communities.

What are CORD doing to help?

CORD is working hard to stamp out this practice and reverse the stigma toward women and the girl child. Childreach International is supporting CORD’s Adolescent Girls project, which uses education to empower future generations and reverse the stigma which is ingrained in male-dominated communities. The project works with around 700 girls across 46 villages. Each village has set up an Adolescent Girls Group to support the rights of women and the address the problems they face as a collective. “The troubles of the women in the community are my troubles too” Jyoti, Vice President of one of the Adolescent Girls Groups The groups regularly meet to discuss and learn about their rights and raise awareness about issues affecting them such as intimidation from men, selective abortions and under-aged marriages. Individuals from the communities, named Yuvati Samoohs, undergo training from CORD to teach the groups about legal actions they can take to improve their rights, how to effectively advocate for their rights in their communities as well as providing health education to  reduce the risks of sex-selective abortions, raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, and promote hygiene and sanitation
			Name: Jyoti Age: 18 Role: Vice President of Adolescent Girls Group Jyoti collects the concerns and issues of the children in the group and other complaints. She educates the children, communities     and parents about abuses of women’s rights. She then works with the groups to devise a plan on how best to combat the problems     they face. “The troubles of the women in the                community are my troubles too” - Jyoti

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The release of India’s 2011 consensus demonstrates the importance of organisations like CORD.

Give now to help them continue their work, improving women’s rights.