INSTITUTE FOR INDIAN MOTHER & CHILD

What They Do

The aim of every Women Peace Council group is to empower women, help them to gain self-confidence and pave the pathway for their cultural, educational and intellectual development. During the meetings, women read numerous articles from different newspapers and discuss all together. Many points are touched, such as: personal hygiene; healthcare and use of medicines; family planning; precautions for pregnant women; importance of vaccination for children; correct nutritional intake; child education; treatment of children with disabilities; assistance to the poor people; women rights; how to prevent sexual harassment. At the beginning of its life, each WPC group limits its activities to the daily discussions with the participants. After approximately 3 months, the group begins to directly interact with other women in the village. The WPC group visits private homes and help families to find a solution to their problems. Furthermore, they arrange awareness camps open to all women and celebrate internationally-recognized events promoting women empowerment and emancipation, such as the international Women’s Day.

An example of WPC intervention

Group number. 3, named Sister Nivedita, is located in Prasadpur. An afternoon a school bus was taking all the kids back home after a long tough day at school. On the way back the bus was involved in a seriously dangerous accident and a student was severely injured. The village reacted by setting fire to the bus and its driver. Seeing this atrocity the women peace council group immediately intervened. The women explained that a road accident can happen but killing the driver is not a civil way to punish who caused the accident. Moreover setting fire to the bus would imply a public loss for the entire village.