“When I completed Class V, my father asked me to drop out of school,” says Summi, a Young Woman Leader at FAT. “Girls are meant to get married and take care of their families, so what was the point of studying?”
For girls in her community, early and forced marriage cut their dreams short, and their freedom even shorter. Many face violence in their homes. Many are never given a chance to finish school, get jobs or lead independent lives. Just because they are girls. But Summi and others like her know they’re meant for bigger stuff!
Despite resistance from their communities, they joined Feminist Approach to Technology, picked up crucial 21st century technical skills, and have been working hard to influence society, challenge gender-based injustices, prevent violence against girls and women and many other issues they themselves have faced while growing up. Today, they are determined to help other girls and young women do the same.
They want to achieve this by setting up grassroots Collectives.
Over the last 13 years, Feminist Approach to Technology has skilled and supported over 1,300 young women from marginalised communities to lead change in society. Today, FAT operates across Delhi, Pune, Buxar, Patna, and Giridih. Through our unique feminist framework, multiple leaders have emerged from the grassroots to, to set up the following:
Tech Centre
A place where teen girls get their first exposure to computers, cameras, and pick up tech skills, all the while learning about their rights and about gender justice.
Jugaad Lab
A place for girls aged 10 to 15 use, dismantle, reassemble, and play with technology, kindling their spirit of inquiry and motivating them towards a career in STEM fields.
Peer Support
A collective-action group for girls to fight back against oppression, draw inspiration from each other, and negotiate space for themselves in their community and larger society.
When participants first join FAT, they have (up till then) had little to no support or guidance and no exposure to feminism or gender equality and equity. But every girl and young woman we work with is determined to learn and grow. Imagine what they can achieve when they have the right support!
Forty-five young women leaders, each of them graduates of our two core programs (Young Women’s Leadership Program and the Girls in STEM Program) are receiving mentoring from FAT. They will form our first 15 feminist Collectives in the four states where we currently operate - Delhi, Pune, Jharkhand, and Bihar.
While FAT transitions to a fully young women-led organisation, these Collectives will take the reins at the end of a three-year period. They will be responsible for implementing FAT’s programs at the community-level in the places where they live.
Every girl who successfully completes our programs will be supported to start their own Collectives, receiving training from the Secretariat (FAT’s Champions, Coaches, and Counsellors).
At the end of a 10-year period, we see the experienced Collectives becoming independent enterprises with their own sustainability plans. This process is envisioned to support continuous leadership and livelihood solutions for girls and young women from marginalised communities while also facilitating a continuous growth of women led social enterprises.
Will you take a step to support Summi and other Young Women Leaders? Make a small donation today towards:
- Skill-building workshops
- Digital literacy
- Legal literacy
- Safe, exploratory learning and working spaces
- Computers, cameras, WiFi, software
This support creates a beautiful ripple effect, as they extend help to others, in turn building more and more young women leaders at the grassroots level.