FootGal

Summary

Innovation : To generate awareness by encouraging girls to participate in sports

Duration : Eleven days

Location : Rayburn High School Campus, Churachandpur, Manipur

Key Stakeholders : State Administration, District Administration, National Football Player, Adolescent Girls.

Brief Description

To generate awareness about Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP), the District Administration organised a 10 day long event called FootGal in which 240 high school girls participated in 24 teams at the District level. Foot Gal is a term coined by the District Administrations to encourage girls to play FootGal.

FootGal is a variant of association football. Ms. Vunglawmching, National Football player was invited for Opening Ceremony to encourage and motivate girl participants. District Anthem “The Golden Girl That She Is” was launched and played throughout the tournament to instill confidence and boost the morale of the girl child. BBBP logo and messages on “Save the Girl Child” campaign were prominently displayed on billboards, banners and posters across the town and inside the venue culminating in powerfully taking BBBP message forward. Total of 32 matches were played amongst 24 teams and different prizes were given to motivate the participants and winners.

Top 22 girls of Class X and XII were felicitated at the district level. Along with this various skits, plays and entertainment events centering on the theme of BBBP were conducted. Badges and flyers with BBBP logo and message were distributed during the event. There was wide media coverage of the event.

During this event, various activities also happened in consonance with BBBP objectives namely, health related issues, distribution of sanitary napkins, iron and folic acid tablets, free health check-ups and counselling were provided by Health and Social Welfare Department along with CHILDLINE to the masses that had come to witness the event. More than 35,000 people turned up as spectators to support the cause and boost the confidence of the players.

Factors contributing to success

• District Administration encouraged girls to wholeheartedly participate in sports activities and involved people from various levels (Government officials, National football player, State and District officials, school students, NGOs, local community etc) to boost the confidence and morale of the players.
• The widespread dissemination of IEC materials in the form of badges and flyers, poster and banners, display of BBBP messages on billboards.

Outcome, Benefits & Impact

People from different age groups and backgrounds came together for a common cause i.e to value the Girl Child and empower them to excel in their different fields. Since the event was organized at the district level, the message of BBBP was well disseminated to most people of the district. This event helped to motivate the young adolescent girls to pursue their dreams and excel in their choice of career.

Challenges and Future Prospects

This event can be replicated for other sports or fields to empower and instil a sense of purpose in the lives of women and girls.

Source: Innovations under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao