Programme de bourses "Echanges Universitaires"

Human Rights Education and the Empowerment of Women in India:
Exploring ways in which Human Rights Education can aid the empowerment of vunerable women in India.

Human Rights Education (HRE) aims at creating awareness of human rights issues in order to uphold dignity of humanity. My research was focused in how HRE could aid vulnerable women in India and involved a holistic approach, using international law, human rights law and education. Due gender inequality, poverty and lack of access to education, most trafficked people are women and children who have serious difficulties to be reintegrated into society. The objective of my research was to find ways to create awareness of human rights and empower people in order to avoid more women and children to get in the industry of human trafficking.

My research aimed at observing a local community in India in order to find ways to implement actions for preventing human trafficking, using international norms and resolutions, respecting, however, local need and culture. The support of Odanadi, the local partner, was important to understand Indian society and the issue of human trafficking, as well as the life of trafficked people.  Through this partnership I could understand how my research could create awareness and prevent human trafficking.

My research has achieved to implement informal human rights education, according to the United Nations World Programme for Human Rights Education and other international resolutions, through the distribution of posters for awareness of human trafficking. These posters were made in English and Kanada, the local language in state of Karnataka.

I also had contact with different stake-holders, such as Deputy Commissioner of Police of Mysore, Deputy of Women and Child Department, Director of colleges, Commissioner of Mysore, and the directors of Odanadi.  As results, these posters were displayed by myself in the local and regional bus stations, Maharani’s college, 2 district agencies around Mysore, 4 primary and secondary schools in poor areas in Mysore, and with support of the Women and Child Department, the posters has been displayed in 28 police stations, 7 sub-division districts, Children Development and Protection Officer, 8 primary and secondary schools and 250 counselling committees in the state of Karnataka.  I also gave lessons for the girls of Odanadi about basic concepts of human rights respect and dignity, and I am still in contact with them in order to create strong partnerships and network.

Duration
17 July  to 2 September 2010

Contacts
Master Student in International and European Law
University of Geneva
Mayra Castro Lopes dos Santos
77, rue de Genève
1225 Chêne-Bourg
e-mail: castrol0@etu.unige.ch

Partnerships

Switzerland

University of Geneva
Nicolas Michel
Villa Moynier rue de Lausanne 120b, bureau 133  
e-mail: Nicolas.Michel@unige.ch

India

Odanadi
Parashurama Lingegowda
15/2b
s.r.s. colony.
hootagalli.
Mysore, India
e-mail: parashuml50@yahoo.com

                             
Figure 1. Komala,18 years old, one of the girls protected by Odanadi

                 
Figure 2. Women and Child Department. Distributing posters of awareness of human trafficking.

             
Figure3.  Students of a primary public school in a poor area in Mysore.  This is one of the schools visited  in order to create awareness.

                                 
Figure 4. Displaying posters at the regional bus station of Mysore. This is a strategic point to create awareness due its availability to all people and its circulation of buses to different destinations