Briefing paper
1 March 2019

Parivartan for Girls: Addressing restrictive gender norms

Author: Shweta Bankar, Martine Collumbien, Annie Holmes, Ravi Verma
Published by: STRIVE, ICRW
View paper
First page of paper

Parivartan for Girls – a sports-based programme with adolescent girls aged 12 to 16 in a slum community in Mumbai, India – achieved shifts in the norms that restrict the public mobility of postmenarche girls, constrain their education and future options and reinforce gender inequality. Apnalaya, a grassroots NGO with longstanding presence and credibility in the community, implemented the intervention. 

The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) conducted the research, with the STRIVE research consortium. Social norms theory was used to shape this girlcentric programme and to analyse findings.

As a demonstration project, Parivartan for Girls yielded valuable lessons for practice.