Gender
According to Magic Bus, Gender Sensitivity implies the understanding that boys and girls have equal rights, capacities and potential that can be actualized given equal opportunities. Generally, girls are not given adequate opportunities or exposure to the available spectrum of life. Many girls, especially in India, are required to take care of household chores and siblings and thus lose out on important time during their childhood to explore their capacities and abilities. Magic Bus provides a space for boys and girls to play together and thereby creates a possibility of dissolving the stereotypical gender-based differences regarding skills and competencies.
Some achievements to address gender issues by Magic Bus are highlighted below:
- 96% of the Magic Bus children are comfortable playing with the opposite sex and 92% children have friends of the opposite gender.
- 84 % have played team games together and 63% have been part of mixed gender groups in charge of community activities.
- 91% Magic Bus children acknowledge both males and females have equal leadership ability while 87% children believe Girls and boys have equal capacity to excel in sports.
- 77% Magic Bus children acknowledgement that domestic violence is not acceptable.
- 85% Magic Bus children are aware of the bad touch and ability to take action.
Testimonial: “I too wanted to touch and play with the football and colorful markers when I saw boys playing with them, but never did as I felt shy. Didi urged me to join the line and play, but I didn’t. Once, out of excitement, my younger sister joined the line. When she held the ball and placed it on the marker, she looked at me and said, “didi, it’s nice, come and play once”. Seeing her enthusiasm, I joined the line only to touch the ball and place it on the marker. At first, I failed to hit the marker with the ball but in my second attempt I scored.”
11-year-old girl child from Bonama Gudi, Manik Nagar, Old City Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
More stories of success are available in our Case Stories section.
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