Boys in govt schools to be educated on gender awareness

CHENNAI: As many as 10,000 boy students in government schools will be educated on gender awareness as part of Men Impacting Trust and Respect (MITR) project by a non profit organization. Avtar Human Capital Trust has launched the initiative to usher in the ‘Male Ally’ culture among boys studying in Tamil Nadu Government Schools.

MITR is aimed at instilling gender awareness and sensitivity among adolescent boys. This grassroot level intervention for young boys has been designed for them to be gender-sensitive individuals and accentuate the transition to an inclusive and equitable future.

"It is important that adults of tomorrow are gender aware, sensitive, and operative productively in a gender diverse team. These young boys when they are developed to be gender sensitive prior to becoming part of the workforce, will work as male allies to the lakhs of Puthris stepping into white collar jobs in the future”, said Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Managing Trustee, AHCT, Founder – President of Avtar Group.

As part of the project, boys studying in classes from 9-12th will be educated on age-appropriate information in capsules under 4 main segments namely- Intrapersonal Skills, Interpersonal skills, Self-Management skills, and Gender Sensitivity. The project will be rolled out as a series of workshops and conversations led by trained mentors and gender experts from the corporate world.

Minister for School Education, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, lauded the AHCT team for the exemplary work in ensuring a secure and safe future for our girl children through a video message.

“Students should place their trust on equality. Project MITR trains boys to become allies, and advocates for their women counterparts at schools, homes, workplaces, and the society in general. I am happy to launch such an initiative,” said the minister in the video message.