When a woman is financially empowered, her world begins to shift, and so does her daughter’s. Access to income, skills, and savings gives women the autonomy to make decisions, set boundaries, and navigate their lives with dignity. Stress reduces, communities become more supportive, and harmful norms start to loosen.
But true empowerment doesn’t start with money alone. It begins with awareness, safety, and gender-sensitive support — the kind Railway Children India (RCI) has embedded into its work for years.
As the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence begin, we’re spotlighting how RCI strengthens mothers, supports girls, and builds communities where safety is not a privilege but a right. Because to protect a girl, you must empower the woman who stands behind her.
The First Protectors and Quiet Change-Makers
Mothers often shoulder silent battles of limited mobility, economic dependence, unsafe environments, and the daily pressure to protect their children, especially girls. Where poverty and rigid gender norms intersect, their struggles intensify.
Meeta knows this reality closely. A mother of four, including a daughter with a disability, her days were shaped by hunger and uncertainty. When RCI provided her with a gas stove, a cylinder, and ration support, her relief was immediate and heartfelt:
“Aaj lagta hai hum bhi apne ghar ka chulha jala sakte hain, apne bachon ko apna bana khana khila sakte hain.”
Today, it feels like we, too, can light our own stove and feed our children food made by our own hands.
It was more than nutrition support. It was the reassurance that a woman who can provide is a woman who can protect.
Monthly parents’ workshops deepen this sense of agency. Women like Sharmila openly discuss financial stress, family tensions, and fears about their daughters’ safety. They learn about child rights, emotional well-being, and early warning signs of gender-based risks. Over time, these women become collective protectors, watching out for one another’s children as well as their own.
Economic Power That Protects
Violence thrives where women have limited choices.
Sharmila, determined to support her family and reduce dependence, shared her dream with RCI. We connected her to a vocational course under the Pradhan Mantri Yuva Scheme. She completed the course, passed her exams, and proudly earned her certificate.
Her financial stability changed the atmosphere at home. She could negotiate, decide, contribute, and most importantly, protect her children with confidence. As her work gained respect, the cycle of control and vulnerability began to weaken.
Breaking the Cycle Before It Begins
Girls encounter gender-based risks long before adulthood. Poor sanitation, unsafe neighbourhoods, period shame, and school dropout limit their freedom. Many are withdrawn from school when they reach puberty, driven by myths, discomfort, or the absence of functional toilets.
Girls without information about menstruation are left to fear, hide, or remain silent.
Across Delhi and Ghaziabad, RCI conducts menstrual hygiene sessions where girls learn:
- What menstruation truly is
- How to use and dispose of sanitary napkins
- Healthy hygiene practices
- How to reject myths, restrictions, and shame
- When and how to speak up
Health checks and access to sanitary napkins ensure they stay healthy — and stay in school.
Importantly, we include boys, mothers, and grandmothers too. Because real change happens only when awareness crosses age, gender, and generations.
Safe Spaces Where Girls Grow
RCI’s Child Activity Centres (CACs) offer what many neighbourhoods and homes cannot — a space where girls can learn, express, and feel safe.
Here, they participate in:
- Academic support
- Sports and play
- Safety and rights discussions
- Life skills sessions
- Self-defence training
One such girl is Dhriti. Once engaged in waste collection, she joined the CAC and gradually discovered her confidence. She became a peer leader, encouraged 8–9 children to enroll in school, and won a bronze medal in karate. Her parents now proudly promise that she will never return to hazardous labour.
When a girl gains confidence, a family begins to believe in her.
When families believe in her, communities begin to transform.
Strengthening Families So Violence Never Begins
RCI’s approach to preventing gender-based violence is layered and holistic. It strengthens every part of a child’s ecosystem:
- Economic and vocational support for mothers
- Nutrition aid to stabilise households
- Parents’ workshops that challenge harmful norms
- Menstrual hygiene awareness for girls
- Adolescent groups that build confidence and knowledge
- Peer leadership programmes that create child role models
Like scaffolding around a building, these interventions hold families steady until they can stand strong on their own, giving girls the solid foundation they need to grow safely and confidently.
This #16DaysOfActivism, We Stand with Every Girl and Every Mother
Because safety is a right, not a privilege.
Because when women gain stability, violence loses power.
Because when girls gain confidence, communities shift.
