Breakthrough

"People said girls should stay within limits. But I always believed—if I have wings, why shouldn’t I fly?" These are the words of Rani, a young girl from Haryana. In Karnal, where traditional gender norms often limit the aspirations of young girls, a transformative force is quietly reshaping futures. With the support of British Asian Trust, BT Group and Breakthrough’s training, three young women —Rani, Sanjana, and Neeru—have been accepted into the prestigious Gandhi Fellowship by the Piramal Foundation. Their journeys don’t just reflect personal struggles but also a collective fight for a better future. In the first picture, we have Rani, a 21-year-old from Faridpur village, who did not let the strict boundaries set by society confine her. Through Breakthrough's leadership training, she has taken a stand for her own education as well as became a catalyst for change in her community. Rani rallied her village to demand better roads, clean water, and electricity, showing that one girl’s determination can spark a movement. In the next picture we have Sanjana, 22 years old and also from Faridpur, who shares a similar drive: empowering the next generation of girls. Growing up, she watched girls drop out of school, their dreams failing as societal expectations grew stronger. “I wanted to change something, even if it was small. Because small changes lead to big revolutions,” she says. Through Breakthrough’s leadership training sessions, Sanjana found her voice and purpose in mobilizing young girls to stay in school and dream bigger. Lastly, we have Neeru, a 21 year old from Kutail village, who saw books not just as tools for learning, but as windows to a world beyond the boundaries set by society. When her village library shut down, Neeru fought to reopen the library, ensuring that young girls would have access to education and the freedom to dream. For Neeru, this was about ensuring a space where girls could dream of a gender-just future, full of possibilities. Education, for her, was a tool of liberation. Today, the dreams of Rani, Sanjana, and Neeru have led them to the Gandhi Fellowship. This prestigious 23-month program allows them to step beyond their villages and engage in national-level community development work. But their journeys have not been without challenges, especially while negotiating with their respective family members for their aspirations. Their stories are testaments of hope and determination with an end goal to create a better future for themselves and for entire generations of girls. British Asian Trust | BT Group | Ian McBride | Piramal Foundation

📢 We have news! ✨ Breakthrough is Great Place To Work® certified! We are honoured to be recognized by the global authority on workplace culture. This is for everyone at Breakthrough who has made this a safe workplace, as we work towards forging a gender-just future for all. Great Place to Work® Institute (India)

India's growing gig economy has expanded employment opportunities for women. However, researchers note that this hasn't led to a significant increase in the Female Labour Force Participation Rate, largely due to the double burden of unpaid care work and employment. In the face of these challenges, it is important to talk about women’s sustainable financial inclusion and independence. With participants including women from all walks of life, Rapido held an event titled “EmpowHer: Driving Financial Inclusion and Empowerment” on 27th March, to discuss women’s economic empowerment. Barsha Chakraborty, Head of Media at Breakthrough, highlighted the need to shift harmful normative barriers restricting women's access to education and career prospects. She emphasized the importance of infrastructural changes, such as: Working women's hostels to support women facing societal and familial pressures 👩🏽🏭👷🏽♀️ Crèche facilities for women with children 👶🏽 Public toilets for women, especially in male-dominated livelihoods 🚺 Further, these changes could also generate employment opportunities for women. Barsha noted that despite organizations having period leave or caregiving leave policies, women are often shamed for availing these benefits, restricting their employment. Leading the conversation for a gender equitable future for all, Breakthrough recognises the importance of employing a multi-faceted approach and engaging all stakeholders, such as the government, organisations and people, to ultimately shift culture through culture. Rapido | Azad Foundation India

"How can a girl change the name of a village?" 🧐 . . . With determination, believes Anjali. In 2016, Breakthrough started its Adolescent Empowerment Programme in a village in Uttar Pradesh. It was called Kudamau (meaning, garbage heap). Anjali belongs to this village. Many of the villagers, including children, talked about facing constant caste-based violence and discrimination, especially because of their village's name. So much so, that many children had to drop out of school, and men stopped getting marriage proposals as a result. 🏫 Anjali, now a community developer with Breakthrough, decided to change this. She, along with friends, spearheaded a campaign to change the name of her village from Kudamau to Sundernagar. Sundernagar translates to 'beautiful city'. 🌸 It was remarkable yet unheard of! At the time when Anjali and friends had decided to take the lead, it was an issue that not even their parents or community members had thought about. Even the trainer from Breakthrough had his doubts initially, but soon realized it was not just a mere change of name. It was about their sense of self-worth. He saw that the issue had united all the young people of the village. Anjali and her friends wanted the new Sundernagar to be beautiful in location and its inhabitants' mindsets too. With the help of Breakthrough, they launched cleanliness drives and painted the new name of the village on its walls. ✨ Soon, their efforts had a ‘breakthrough’! 🏆 The Pradhan of their village, impressed by their efforts, supported their demand at a public event in the presence of dignitaries like the State Finance Minister, the District Magistrate, the District Education Officer, and more. Following constant efforts to formalize the process, the village’s name is now officially Sundernagar! 🎉 Anjali says, “The District Magistrate’s letter of support kindled our hopes, and we worked with renewed zeal to get the name changed. In the process, my family has developed a lot of pride in me, and we are overjoyed to see the signboards with ‘Sundernagar’ written on them.” The story of Sundernagar is not just about changing the name of a village; it is about the development of a sense of dignity and self-worth of a community, especially that of young women and girls who negotiated with determination, so they could go to school without the fear of discrimination. 👩🎓👧 It is about the transformation of young people, of how they can use their individual and collective agency to transform both their village and the mindset of their community! 🌱💫 #SochBadlegi

“What motivates girls to educate themselves despite stressful conditions?” 📚 Amita Kumari, an enumerator and assistant professor at Sido Kanhu Murmu University, asked this question remarking on the determination of girls from remote Jharkhand in seeking education despite societal and security obstacles. 👩🏫 Speaking at the panel “Agency and Gender Norm Shift: Critical Refections on Understanding Change” at Breakthrough’s recently held Data For Dialogue's third edition, Amita contributed insights on the strong community support for girls' education as well as highlight significant mobility challenges faced by Adivasi girls, who often walk long distances barefoot due to financial constraints, despite available university transportation. Amita’s comments are relevant in the context of the theme of this year’s Data For Dialogue, wherein we dove deep into using data to drive conversations on shifting gender norms, focusing particularly on gender equity in education. #DataForDialogue

The Odisha government is preparing to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in schools starting April 1, 2025. Efforts to support teachers and monitoring of progress are being made to ensure effective implementation. A key question here is how to integrate inclusive and sustainable approaches to change gender norms within the NEP implementation in Odisha. On March 11, 2025, Breakthrough's Odisha team held a consultation on incorporating gender-transformative strategies into the NEP. Breakthrough representatives, with experience in implementing gender equity education in Punjab and Haryana, shared insights on creating a more inclusive and equitable education system. Sunita Menon, Chief Thematic Officer at Breakthrough, emphasized the importance of challenging gender biases through education reforms, noting that NEP 2020 offers a chance to address gender issues. Lalita Pattnaik, Education Specialist at UNICEF Odisha, highlighted that while guidelines for gender integration are easy to draft, actual implementation must consider students' diverse lived realities. The consultation was also attended by other dignitaries like Professor Nabanita Rath (Utkal University), Professor Madhumita Dash (Former VC, Fakir Mohan University), and Dr. Duryodhan Dash (Former Principal, D.I.E.T). Some key recommendations drafted at the consultation include: 1) The state must focus on the effective utilization of Gender Inclusion Funds for state-specific curriculum development. 2) The establishment of a Gender and Diversity Resource Centre (GDRC) at the state level, with sub-units at school and university complexes. 3) Including a mandatory gender module in teacher training programs such as integrated B.Ed. courses. 4) Ensure equal gender representation in the State Curriculum Framework (SCF) Committee. The team is now working towards presenting the recommendations report to the State Curriculum Framework Committee, advocating for a gender-inclusive education system. 

In the Cover Story of the latest issue of Engendering Education, Protiva Kundu (Research Lead at the Centre for Budget and Government Accountability) digs into the status of women in STEM fields across India. Sounds up your alley? Check out the issue, out now -https://lnkd.in/gmY2vA2t

In the latest issue of Engendering Education, we look at STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields with a gender lens. Engendering Education is Breakthrough's first-of-its-kind pedagogical initiative to shift gender norms through a Gender Transformative Education System (GTES) approach. If these words, written by Sohini Bhattacharya in our Editor's Note, ring true for you, you might want to check out our whole issue. Out now! Read here: https://lnkd.in/gmY2vA2t

Celebrating Women's Day, the Breakthrough way! 🎊 “I played Kabaddi after 30 years. I feel as [if] I have been freed from some unknown power which had held us back," says Urmila Devi, a 45-year-old woman from Pindarkone, Padma Block in Hazaribagh. In Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, women reclaimed their right to play in the open village ground—something they had not done in years. ⚽ The women came together to play their hearts out: football, volleyball, kabaddi and more! And it was not just them alone, they were cheered by many others from their villages who gathered on the sidelines to watch as social and gender norms were finally being challenged in front of them! The day ended with much cheer and on behalf of the Breakthrough team, the participants were all given medals as mementos. 📢 And in Haryana, thousands of voices came together to celebrate, question norms, and reclaim spaces! From football matches to dance performances, from rallies to powerful discussions, the energy was unstoppable. A total of 2210 participants across six districts of Haryana joined hands to talk about gender equality, girls' education, early marriage, and mobility—not just as concepts, but as lived experiences. Personal stories of courage and change echoed through songs, speeches, and creative activities like chart-making on dreams and video screenings. In Karnal, two playgrounds were inaugurated for girls—a proud moment for all present! This Women’s Day, we didn’t just celebrate. We acted, we challenged, and we reclaimed. Swipe through to see pictures. #IWD2025 #InternationalWomensDay #ShiftingNorms #GenderNorms

Breakthrough is thrilled to announce our membership in the Accelerator for Shifting Gender Norms through Education! We're excited to help build the field and deepen and disseminate evidence-based models that effectively shift gender norms in adolescence, ultimately supporting gender equality in and through education. We are in the company of 11 other high-impact organizations working across Africa, Asia and Latin America. You can know more about all the Accelerator leaders here: https://lnkd.in/dryYrj49 #genderequality #education #gendernorms #youthdevelopment