Sakhi Saheli: Promoting Gender Equity and Empowering Young Women | Land Portal

Resource information

Date of publication: 
January 2008

This guide specifically seeks to promote women's reproductive rights in India but presents methods and specific participatory tools that can be adapted to other issues  and contexts, like women's land rights.

[From the FAO website] This training initiative provides a space to young women and girls to question and challange existing inequitable gender norms; promote positive constructs of gender and identity; improve their understanding about their body; their feelings and sexuality; and promote sexual and reproductive health.

The manual has five sections and in each there are a series of activities, lasting for about two hours and planned for use with groups of young women. In total, there are 25 group educational activities that are based on participatory methods of learning with extensive use of role plays, games and interactive exercises that engaged young women in discussion, debate and critical thinking. Through these educational activities, this training seeks to promote critical reflection on the social construction of gender that promotes inequality and women's vulnerabilities and to create support for challenging these norms so as to enhance the agency that women have in adopting risk reduction practices.

The five main sections of the manual are: 1. Gender and Identity; 2. Sexuality, Reproductive Health and Rights; 3. Violence; 4. Motherhood and Caregiving; 5. Preventing and living with HIV/AIDS.

You can download this manual from the Population Council's website.

Authors and Publishers

Publisher(s): 

The Population Council conducts research to address critical health and development issues. Our work allows couples to plan their families and chart their futures. We help people avoid HIV infection and access life-saving HIV services. And we empower girls to protect themselves and have a say in their own lives.


We conduct research and programs in more than 50 countries. Our New York headquarters supports a global network of offices in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.


Geographical focus

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