The Hariraj Charitable Trust (HCT), founded in 1993, focuses on Rurban development in Gujarat’s Amreli, Vadodara, and Narmada districts, working to transform rural communities through its various initiatives. One the key initiative is engaging adolescent boys (ages 13-17) to prevent gender-based violence and discrimination against women and girls. HCT’s program empowers boys with knowledge, leadership, and skills to challenge harmful gender norms and promote equality. Through mentor-led, safe training environments, boys explore how gender norms shape societal roles and power dynamics, encouraging reflection on their own attitudes and behaviour. The goal is not just to teach equality but to enable boys to experience and enact it. By the end of each cycle, boys take collective actions to support women and girls in their communities, becoming active agents of change. This program helps create safer, more inclusive environments where both boys and girls can live free from violence and discrimination.

Appeal

"Gender education" is an action research programme that seeks to develop a scalable model for engaging boys to prevent violence and discrimination against women and girls in India. The programme ensures that just like boys and men’s, women and girls are free from gender-based violence and feel safe from the threat of such violence in the communities where the programme is implemented.
The funds raised will be used in the following key areas:
1. Program Development and Training: To design and implement mentor-led workshops and interactive sessions that help boys critically examine gender norms and power dynamics.
2. Mentor Training and Support: To provide training for mentors who facilitate these sessions, ensuring they create safe, supportive environments for meaningful discussions.
3. Educational Materials: To develop and distribute educational resources that enhance learning and facilitate reflection on gender roles and behaviors.
4. Community Engagement and Advocacy: To support activities where boys take collective actions to promote gender equality and advocate for women’s and girls’ safety in their communities.
5. Follow up to run this program with 125 boys in 5 communities.