“Archana didi humari hero hai”[1]– for 18-year-old Safina (name changed), Community Motivator Archana is a bigger star than any film celebrity. Safina is one of the 30,000+ girls that Project Manzil[2] is paving the way for a new tomorrow- a path sans the drudgery of child marriage and teenage pregnancies, which plagues several villages of Rajasthan. By mobilising girls and counselling their parents, Sarpanches, and other local leaders, together with facilitating placement in gender-audited prospective job opportunities, Manzil is facilitating the skill-building and employment of young girls in six districts of Rajasthan.
While Governments and NGOs operate several skill development and welfare programmes, what sets Manzil aside is the comradeship. From the Team Leader to grassroot Community Motivators (CMs), no one views these girls as suppressed souls waiting to be redeemed. Rather the girls are seen as allies waging everyday battles against the society’s persistence of marriage and who embolden Manzil’s mission.
