Programs
“The thing that gives me the greatest joy is getting the full support of my father.”
–Afsana, young woman of Shadhika
We support the entire arc of a young woman’s development from adolescence to adulthood.
Through local partnerships, we provide young women with a continuum of support that enables them to complete their education, become economically self-sufficient, and serve as leaders for girls’ rights in their communities, inspiring the next generation of Shadhika leaders.
Our Programs
Supports for Success
Shadhika believes in the innovation of grassroots leadership to combat gender inequity and injustice in India.
Support for Success is a site-based program that provides long-term, unrestricted funding to grassroots feminist leadership. These local organizations incubate hyper-localized solutions to address unique challenges preventing young women from succeeding in school as a pathway to economic independence. This work includes after-school and in-school programming for girls from ages 10 to 18, including academic tutoring, rights education, and skills building in the areas of leadership, self-advocacy, and emotional and physical health.
Through 2030, Shadhika will seek to work in states and with demographics that experience the widest gaps in formal learning and lowest gender equality indicators in India to increase secondary school graduation among girls in these communities.
Scholarship Program
Due to systemic poverty and patriarchal pressures, college education and vocational training remain out of reach for many young women in India, undermining their ability to bargain with and disrupt systems that uphold gender-based discrimination and violence.
Through its Scholarship Program, Shadhika provides college and vocational scholarships to young women who have demonstrated academic potential and excellent leadership to promote girls’ rights in their own communities. In addition to full tuition and a living stipend, Shadhika Scholars are eligible to receive English tutoring and a comprehensive technology package that covers the cost of a computer, internet access, and computer literacy classes.
Through 2030, Shadhika will expand the scope of the Scholarship program to improve the likelihood of job placement upon college graduation among Shadhika Scholars.
Learning for Gender Justice
Shadhika recognizes that to achieve true gender justice, systemic levers of change must be activated and those continue to be guarded by men, boys, and other power holders. In order to recalibrate these power structures, Shadhika will invest in feminist research and community-centric learning to elevate successful models that address multiple dimensions of marginalization.
Through 2030, the objective will be to collect and contribute disaggregated data about gender injustice to the Indian feminist movement so it continues to advocate for more intersectional solutions and policies.