World Comics has initiated many campaigns in different part of the country by using comics. Grassroots Comics ensures community’s ownership in content which guaranteed people’s part icipation in such campaigns. Read more about it

Girl Child Right Campaign

About the campaign

From October 2005, World Comics India started a campaign in Barmer district of Western Rajasthan to create awareness on the issues related to girl child. This particular area has one of the lowest girl child sex ratios in the country. Since the pre-natal sex determination technique is not widely available here, girls are often killed soon after they are born. Various techniques are used to kill them. They are fed with milk laced with opium or simply strangulated to death. There is also a prevalence of child marriage and unmatched marriages. In fact there are villages in this region, where a groom has arrived after 200 years, simply because there were no girls around.
With this background, the campaign focused on equal opportunities for girls and their right to education. It also campaigned against the existing social practices in the area like female foeticide, early marriages and dowry practices.

To initiate a debate on girl child rights, World Comics India conducted a series of comic workshops, where children and adults were trained in comics making. They in turn used their skills in preparing more than 300 comics posters on issues pertaining to the girl child.

With this prepared material, WCI along with a local human rights organization Vikalp and ‘Dream on Wheels’ organised a bike rally towards the end of January 2006. Led by International bike racer Bittoo Sondhi, this 350km route rally traveled from Barmer to Jodhpur, making stopovers at around 100 villages. During these stopovers, the campaign material in the form of comics was distributed and the campaign activists had discussions with local village leaders and public along the route. Rallies and marches were held and the local school children and communities participated.
The campaign group, about 40 people, was housed in local schools and halls along the route. Local well-wishers provided food and petrol.
Six months after the campaign we were told that the intake of girls in the schools in some villages near Barmer had almost doubled. The comics created a debate and brought the issue of the girl child to the forefront.

To read more about the campaign visit www.halfworld.blogspot.com

Dariya ki Kasam (Swear by the River) is a 19-minute film, based on our campaign in Rajasthan for the rights of the Girl Child.
Dariya ki Kasam traces the life of a young girl Kabbu, who lives in one of the villages in Barmer. She is in eighth class and does not know whether she would ever be allowed to study further. Through this campaign, she acquires the skill of expressing her needs and concerns through comics. She experiences a change in herself. From a shy little girl, she transforms into a confident girl who could address men and women from the stage.
This film is about this girl Kabbu and how she could inspire others like her, not only in this region but even elsewhere.