The Girl Effect

Image from Joinmyvillage.com.

“Up to one half the girls in developing countries become mothers before their 18th birthday”, reads the headline on an infographic published by The Girl Effect on Facebook (see below). What is the effect of The Girl Effect in Sikkim? We’d like to know your perspectives on this – please comment below if you have spent time in Sikkim.

The Government of Sikkim has recently launched an initiative to check crime against women, as well as other initiatives to counteract sex trafficking. In traditional Sikkimese cultures, women have “become shining examples of the confluence of the old and new, the traditional and the modern” (written in 1994; see Women of Sikkim).

A socio-economic report in 1996 identified the following roles of women and men in Sikkimese communities:

men tend to care for livestock that are of larger size (goats, cattle, oxen), although women and children are also involved in livestock management;
women are primarily responsible for tending poultry;
men and women are involved in agricultural production on a relatively equal basis, but the
involvement of children in agriculture varies by village and by ethnic group;
women are primarily responsible for hauling water;
women cook, do childcare, and other household tasks, although men also cook for large groups, and all household members may share domestic tasks;
all household members are involved in cleaning and washing.

Issues of gender are clearly important in India, as in all cultures, and we stongly encourage on-site exploration. Here is The Girl Effect Infographic: