AIILSG & EU launch the project ‘Girl Power’

All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG) and the European Union today launched the Girl Power project to further support capacity building of civil society organisations working in the area of women empowerment in Jharkhand. The project funded by the European Union aims to support and empower 5000 marginalized women through skill-building trainings and entrepreneurial support including providing networking and market access opportunities.
Badal Patralekh, Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and cooperative, Jharkhand launched the project and addressed the gathering in the presence of Chami Murmu, prominent social worker and secretary of the organisation Sahyogi Mahila, Rajkumar, State Head of Udyogini and Shilpa Mittal Singh, Joint Managing Director of Women on Wings. Social worker Murmu received the Nari Shatki Puraskar award from the President of India Ram Nath Kovind for her work in Jharkhand on women’s empowerment. The event was also graced by Mr Shouvik Datta, Senior Programme Manager, Delegation of the European Union (EU) to India who thanked the Government of Jharkhand for their support to the Girl Power Project, and shared experiences of the EU in promoting women’s entrepreneurship.

Launching the Girl Power Project, the Minister expressed his gratitude to the EU and AIILSG’s to take up the issue of women’s entrepreneurship in the state. The Hon’ble Minister also said that “the project should consider expanding to all 24 districts, build both forward and market linkages and ensure that maximum share of benefits reach women entrepreneurs in the state”

Badal Patralekh, Minister of the Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative, Government of Jharkhand

We are facing a problem of double burden of paid and unpaid labour for women during the current pandemic. We are trying to bridge the gap. I sincerely hope that the project will bring about positive changes in the lives of women

Rajiv Agrawal, IAS (Retd.), Director General, AIILSG

There can be no sustainable development without empowering women and girls. We are delighted to support the Girls Power project, which will help to enhance the technical and entrepreneurial skills of women living in rural areas in Jharkhand, thus positively impacting their livelihood.

His Excellency Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to India

Rajiv Agarwal, Director General and Ravi Guru, Deputy Director-General, AIILSG welcomed the participants to the launch event. Representatives of project partner organisations, the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Rural Industrialization (MGIRI), Magan Sanghralaya Samiti (MSS) and Saunta Gaunta Foundation (SGF) spoke on occasion. A host of dignitaries from the European Union, AIILSG, Jharkhand government and civil society organisations attended the event.
About 50% of the working population in Jharkhand are women in the age group of 15-49 years. However, due to the low level of literacy and gender inequality, many of the women face discrimination at the workplace and inequalities of pay. The Girl Power project will support over 100 civil society organisations (CSOs) directly and indirectly, working on women rights in 10 districts of Jharkhand. These CSOs in turn will support the social and economic empowerment of 5000 women.
The initiative also aims to enable and empower 5000 women to become entrepreneurs and establish their business in the social sector. In addition, the CSOs will assist these entrepreneurs to develop innovative products and connect them to market places providing ready access for their goods and services. The Jharkhand Mahila Social Entrepreneurship Market Connect mechanism to be established under this project, which will be a single-window for women and CSOs to connect with prospective buyers in the market place. This initiative is expected to directly or indirectly benefit over 200,000 women and girls.
The project will engage with state government officials and elected representatives working on women and skill development on policy dialogues and for developing a Gender Network for Social Entrepreneurship.
The implementation of the project in the 10-targeted districts will provide an opportunity for women and girls to have closer engagement with development professionals, researchers and women entrepreneurs for supporting them in their needs and priorities as well as in the development of the state through economic empowerment of women and girls from various marginalized groups. It will also involve partners from within and outside Jharkhand who would share and exchange knowledge on relevant innovative models and best practices with the participating CSOs. By the end of the project, it is expected that more and more CSOs will be able to support social entrepreneurship of women, especially in rural areas enabling them to make a consequential impact in the local economy.
The Girl Power Project will further enhance the broader development agenda for women’s empowerment of ongoing related skill-based training to women activities and initiatives of the Government of India (such as Atma Nirbhar Bharat, NSDC, NULP, NRLP, Vocal for Local and others) and the State Government of Jharkhand. The project will, in turn, contribute towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as Gender Equality (SDG 5), No Poverty (SDG 1), Decent Work & Economic Growth (SDG 8), Strong Institutions (SDG 16) and Partnerships (SDG 17).
Funded by the European Union, the project will be implemented over a period of 4 years from 2020 to 2024.