Internship for Youth-led Organizations

ARROW organized a 7-day internship programme in New Delhi, India for youth-led organizations in South Asia. The internship was hosted by Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues (TARSHI), an NGO based in India. Participants included our partners from LOOM Nepal, YUWA, the YP Foundation, Pravah, and Durbin Foundation. This internship programme aims to strengthen capacities of young people in South Asia on issues around sexuality, rights, disabilities, sex work issues, sexual minorities and comprehensive sexuality education (CSE).

Following is a diary of the internship programme as it unfolded.

Day 1

On the first day, participants started out with role-playing on core values – respect, choice, diversity, equality and justice – that underlie our work on sexuality and rights. During this, participants were taken through a process from examining patriarchal gender stereotypes and discussing understanding around sexuality and gender towards a complex and evolving definition of sexuality.

Day 2

The participants got to discuss the concept of human rights towards ensuring a person’s equality, dignity and respect through drawing a human rights tree. This naturally flowed into developing an understanding on the difference between sexual and reproductive rights and between gender identities and sexual orientation. There was also a lot of discussion on varieties of sexual expression and what we mean by ‘good sex’/’bad sex’. This tied in well with the external resource person’s presentation on discrimination faced by young people who do not conform to gender norms within schools. Surabhi Shukla from CHLET (Centre for Health, Law, Ethics and Technology), read out an evocative piece on the plight of queer students in schools who face not only discrimination from their peers but also from the institutions they attend. The films Out of the Closet and Sheila ki Jawani from Bombay Talkies were screened for discussions.

Day 3

On the third day, participants learnt about human anatomy, abortion, contraception, HIV and AIDS and more through an interesting methodology of a quiz. This methodology worked well as it gave participants a sense of competition and fun while learning a lot of interesting and important facts about physiology, myths and more. This was followed by a polarising case study where participants had to make a stand and build arguments on choice and consent. Also, the facilitators steered discussions on sexual abuse, harassment and power dynamics in child sexual abuse. There were discussions on instances of sexual violence, including rape and sexual assault, and its relationship to power. This was followed by a presentation by an external resource person who gave an introduction to child sexual abuse and clarifying myths and misconceptions related to it. Nabonita Banerjee from RAHI Foundation led the participants through discussions on child sexual abuse, its incidence, effects and power dynamics.

Group photo

 

Day 4

The first half of the day was devoted to discussions on technologies with regard to work on SRHR and how it can be strategically used to aid advocacy. While Anubha Singh from CREA spoke about their experiences on the CREA Infoline service, Gurkirrat from Youth ki Aawaaz shared their work on online and offline campaigns. There were also broader discussions on the use of technologies and ethics for advocacy on SRHR especially with regard to one of their on-going programmes. This was an interesting discussion as some of the youth partners have been involved with technologies as part of their programmes and took a keen interest in these sessions.

In the second half, there were also dialogues on sex work, difference between ‘prostitution’, trafficking and sex work and debates on the (de)merits of legalisation, decriminalisation and the human rights approach on sex work. Films such as Benaqaab and Zinda laash were screened to steer discussions and analysing how morality-based policies around prostitution and sex work adversely affect the rights of people in prostitution and sex work.

Day 5

On the fifth day, Arpita Das from ARROW facilitated a session on advocacy, its components, differences between lobbying, movement building and advocacy, and a discussion on ARROW’s advocacy especially at the global and regional levels. This was followed by a visit to the UNDP office where participants got an opportunity to participate in a Youth Adda that discussed SDG 1 on poverty by Pravah, which is one of the partners for this project. There was a site visit organised in the late afternoon at Dilli Haat where participants had a fun time getting to know each other better. Participants also had the Sunday off.

Day 6

A number of external resource persons were invited for the day’s programme. Alankaar Sharma facilitated sessions on examining power and privilege and looking at diversity of opinions and expressions. He encouraged participants to look at and examine power and privilege in our immediate settings. Thereafter, he also facilitated a session on the definition and components of comprehensive sexuality education. This was followed by a presentation by the YP Foundation, which is also one of the partners from India for this project. Manasa from the YP Foundation shared their organization’s work on CSE and young people, the challenges they face and the strategies they have adopted. After this, Apeksha from Nirantar shared Nirantar’s nuanced study on early and child marriage and discussed the landscape analysis on early marriage and their challenges and strategies to overcome for the programme as well.

Day 7

On the final day of the programme there were also several activities on negotiation exercises with various stakeholders amongst participants; this helped in building strong arguments on rights based language and solidify a number of key messages. There were also facilitated sessions on understanding disability in the context of sexuality and helped clarify a number of myths and stereotypes. This was useful as participants had a number of queries on disability and SRHR. There was also a discussion on future steps and evaluation and feedback of the entire internship programme.
The programme used a number of methodologies including conducting a quiz, crafting a human rights tree, and organising film screenings etc. Regular de-briefing sessions were instrumental in helping participants clarify a lot of concepts throughout the programme. Inviting different resource people on a variety of subjects was also an important process in broadening perspectives on a number of issues related to SRHR. Since the programme was held in India there were also attempts at getting the partner organizations from India share more about their work and experiences of working on SRHR in the Indian context. Difficult but pertinent debates and discussions were held on concepts of choice, power, consent and the blurring lines in between. The language of ‘victim’ vs. ‘survivor’ was also discussed in detail in response to the agency of the affected person.

What’s Next?

As next steps for the internship programme, the participants will be writing about their key learnings from the programme and strategies for applying those learnings to their work.

Vietnam

  • Centre for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP)

Sri Lanka

  • Bakamoono;
  • Women and Media Collective (WMC),
  • Youth Advocacy Network – Sri Lanka (YANSL)

Singapore

  • End Female Genital Cutting Singapore
  • Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)

Philippines

  • Democratic Socalist Women of the Philippines (DSWP);
  • Galang;
  • Healthcare Without Harm;
  • Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities;
  • Likhaan Centre for Women’s Health;
  • Nisa UI Haqq Fi Bangsamoro;
  • PATH Foundation Inc. (PFPI);
  • Women’s Global Network for
    Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)

Pakistan

  • Aahung, Centre for Social Policy Development (CSPD);
  • Forum for Dignity Initiative (FDI);
  • Gravity Development Organization; Green Circle Organization;
  • Indus Resources Center (IRC);
  • Idara-e-Taleem-O-Aaghai (ITA);
  • Rehnuma – Family Planning Association Pakistan;
  • Shelter
    Participatory Organisation;
  • Shirkat Gah;
  • The Enlight Lab

Nepal

  • Beyond Beijing Committee (BBC);
  • Blind Youth Association of Nepal;
  • Blue Diamond Society (BDS);
  • Nepalese Youth for Climate Action (NYCA);
  • Visible Impact;
  • Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC);
  • YPEER Nepal;
  • YUWA

Myanmar

  • Colourful Girls Organization;
  • Green Lotus Myanmar

Maldives

  • Hope for Women;
  • Society for Health Education (SHE)

Malaysia

  • Federation of Reproductive Health Associations of Malaysia (FRHAM);
  • Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG);
  • Justice for Sisters (JFS);
  • Reproductive Health Association of
    Kelantan (ReHAK);
  • Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia (RRAAM);
  • Sisters in Islam (SIS)

Lao PDR

  • Lao Women’s Union;
  • The Faculty of Postgraduate Studies at the University of Health
    Sciences (UHS)

Indonesia

  • Aliansi Satu Visi (ASV);
  • CEDAW Working Group;
  • Hollaback! Jakarta;
  • Institut Kapal Perempuan;
  • Kalyanamitra;
  • Komnas Perempuan;
  • Remaja Independen Papua/Independent Youth
    Forum Papua (FRIP/IYFP);
  • Perkumpulan Keluarga Berencana Indonesia (PKBI);
  • Perkumpulan Lintas Feminis Jakarta;
  • Perkumpulan Pamflet Generasi;
  • RUTGERS Indonesia;
  • Sanggar SWARA;
  • Women on Web;
  • Yayasan Kesehatan Perempuan (YKP); 
  • YIFOS Indonesia

India

  • CommonHealth;
  • Love Matters India;
  • Pravah;
  • Rural Women’s Social Education Centre (RUWSEC);
  • SAHAYOG;
  • Sahaj;
  • Sahiyo;
  • SAMA – Resource Group for Women and Health;
  • WeSpeakOut;
  • The YP Foundation (TYPF)

Morocco

  • Association Marocaine de Planification Familiale (AMPF),
  • Morocco Family Planning Association
Internship for Youth-led Organizations

ARROW organized a 7-day internship programme in New Delhi, India for youth-led organizations in South Asia. The internship was hosted by Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues (TARSHI), an NGO based in India. Participants included our partners from LOOM Nepal, YUWA, the YP Foundation, Pravah, and Durbin Foundation. This internship programme aims to strengthen capacities of young people in South Asia on issues around sexuality, rights, disabilities, sex work issues, sexual minorities and comprehensive sexuality education (CSE).

Following is a diary of the internship programme as it unfolded.

Day 1

On the first day, participants started out with role-playing on core values – respect, choice, diversity, equality and justice – that underlie our work on sexuality and rights. During this, participants were taken through a process from examining patriarchal gender stereotypes and discussing understanding around sexuality and gender towards a complex and evolving definition of sexuality.

Day 2

The participants got to discuss the concept of human rights towards ensuring a person’s equality, dignity and respect through drawing a human rights tree. This naturally flowed into developing an understanding on the difference between sexual and reproductive rights and between gender identities and sexual orientation. There was also a lot of discussion on varieties of sexual expression and what we mean by ‘good sex’/’bad sex’. This tied in well with the external resource person’s presentation on discrimination faced by young people who do not conform to gender norms within schools. Surabhi Shukla from CHLET (Centre for Health, Law, Ethics and Technology), read out an evocative piece on the plight of queer students in schools who face not only discrimination from their peers but also from the institutions they attend. The films Out of the Closet and Sheila ki Jawani from Bombay Talkies were screened for discussions.

Day 3

On the third day, participants learnt about human anatomy, abortion, contraception, HIV and AIDS and more through an interesting methodology of a quiz. This methodology worked well as it gave participants a sense of competition and fun while learning a lot of interesting and important facts about physiology, myths and more. This was followed by a polarising case study where participants had to make a stand and build arguments on choice and consent. Also, the facilitators steered discussions on sexual abuse, harassment and power dynamics in child sexual abuse. There were discussions on instances of sexual violence, including rape and sexual assault, and its relationship to power. This was followed by a presentation by an external resource person who gave an introduction to child sexual abuse and clarifying myths and misconceptions related to it. Nabonita Banerjee from RAHI Foundation led the participants through discussions on child sexual abuse, its incidence, effects and power dynamics.

Group photo

 

Day 4

The first half of the day was devoted to discussions on technologies with regard to work on SRHR and how it can be strategically used to aid advocacy. While Anubha Singh from CREA spoke about their experiences on the CREA Infoline service, Gurkirrat from Youth ki Aawaaz shared their work on online and offline campaigns. There were also broader discussions on the use of technologies and ethics for advocacy on SRHR especially with regard to one of their on-going programmes. This was an interesting discussion as some of the youth partners have been involved with technologies as part of their programmes and took a keen interest in these sessions.

In the second half, there were also dialogues on sex work, difference between ‘prostitution’, trafficking and sex work and debates on the (de)merits of legalisation, decriminalisation and the human rights approach on sex work. Films such as Benaqaab and Zinda laash were screened to steer discussions and analysing how morality-based policies around prostitution and sex work adversely affect the rights of people in prostitution and sex work.

Day 5

On the fifth day, Arpita Das from ARROW facilitated a session on advocacy, its components, differences between lobbying, movement building and advocacy, and a discussion on ARROW’s advocacy especially at the global and regional levels. This was followed by a visit to the UNDP office where participants got an opportunity to participate in a Youth Adda that discussed SDG 1 on poverty by Pravah, which is one of the partners for this project. There was a site visit organised in the late afternoon at Dilli Haat where participants had a fun time getting to know each other better. Participants also had the Sunday off.

Day 6

A number of external resource persons were invited for the day’s programme. Alankaar Sharma facilitated sessions on examining power and privilege and looking at diversity of opinions and expressions. He encouraged participants to look at and examine power and privilege in our immediate settings. Thereafter, he also facilitated a session on the definition and components of comprehensive sexuality education. This was followed by a presentation by the YP Foundation, which is also one of the partners from India for this project. Manasa from the YP Foundation shared their organization’s work on CSE and young people, the challenges they face and the strategies they have adopted. After this, Apeksha from Nirantar shared Nirantar’s nuanced study on early and child marriage and discussed the landscape analysis on early marriage and their challenges and strategies to overcome for the programme as well.

Day 7

On the final day of the programme there were also several activities on negotiation exercises with various stakeholders amongst participants; this helped in building strong arguments on rights based language and solidify a number of key messages. There were also facilitated sessions on understanding disability in the context of sexuality and helped clarify a number of myths and stereotypes. This was useful as participants had a number of queries on disability and SRHR. There was also a discussion on future steps and evaluation and feedback of the entire internship programme.
The programme used a number of methodologies including conducting a quiz, crafting a human rights tree, and organising film screenings etc. Regular de-briefing sessions were instrumental in helping participants clarify a lot of concepts throughout the programme. Inviting different resource people on a variety of subjects was also an important process in broadening perspectives on a number of issues related to SRHR. Since the programme was held in India there were also attempts at getting the partner organizations from India share more about their work and experiences of working on SRHR in the Indian context. Difficult but pertinent debates and discussions were held on concepts of choice, power, consent and the blurring lines in between. The language of ‘victim’ vs. ‘survivor’ was also discussed in detail in response to the agency of the affected person.

What’s Next?

As next steps for the internship programme, the participants will be writing about their key learnings from the programme and strategies for applying those learnings to their work.

Maldives

  • Hope for Women
  • Society for Health Education (SHE)

Mongolia

  • MONFEMNET National Network