AN ex-Matravers student is helping to change attitudes towards women in India by spending a year living and volunteering in the country.
Twenty-three year old Charlotte Lawes is based in Pune, one of India’s larger cities, with the Equal Community Foundation (ECF). The foundation is a charity which engages with men to change attitudes and behaviour towards women. It runs gender equality programmes in city slums with teenage boys, as well as undertaking research and running training programmes.
Men’s attitudes towards women in India has been highlighted by the world’s media recently following the incident where a young woman was raped and killed by a group of men on a bus in New Delhi.
Whilst in India, one of Charlotte’s research projects will lead to the development of a campaign website, for launch on International Women’s Day on the 8th March. She explains, “We have interviewed a lot of experts who work in the same or similar fields to find out how every boy and young man in India can be given the opportunity to think about and change their behaviour towards women. We are now writing up the report which will be published in the next few months. The findings of the research are helping me to develop a campaign website which will raise awareness about the issue and inspire normal people to take action – parents, teachers etc.”
Another of Charlotte’s tasks is to monitor and evaluate the foundation’s gender equality education programmes, which run in 18 slum communities in the city of Pune. She says, “I have had to learn all about what we do, what we are trying to achieve and then try to create new ways of seeing whether this is working that are simple, resource efficient, and will be continued when I leave.”
Charlotte says that, although it has been hard to create a new life in India, she does feel that she is making a difference. “I have had to problem solve a lot, which has been really challenging. For a long time I hoped that there would be a magical solution to some of the issues, but I’ve finally realised that sometimes you just need to get on and make a decision and try to make it work. You are always limited by resources, so you have to find something that works for the charity, even though it’s not perfect. Maybe that’s just me growing up a bit and realising that the world is complicated!
“I really do feel that I’m making a difference though. I now understand that volunteering is about supporting people who already work here and helping them achieve what they want, and less about you going in and having huge ideas that won’t be sustained after you leave. Otherwise, you might do a great project but it won’t be integrated into the organisation.”
Charlotte, who graduated from Cambridge University in 2011 with a degree in social and political sciences, will return to the UK in July. She said, “Although I’d like to work with charities in the future, its very difficult at this age as no-one will pay you if you’re in a junior position. I definitely want to be helping people though, so I think I would like to work for responsible companies who really care about the impact they have on the environment and people.”
You can find out more about the Equal Community Foundation at www.ecf.org.in
Pictured: Charlotte wearing a traditional sari in India
