Dindori, India –– Amrita Sahu stands before a group of adolescents and holds up a menstrual pad. It’s a bold move in a farming village in central India’s tribal belt where conversations about sexual and reproductive health among young people are taboo and adolescents have few opportunities to ask questions about their bodies.
“Everybody knows what this is, right?” the 18-year-old asks confidently as she launches into a discussion about the misinformation around a woman’s monthly period that can keep an adolescent from attending school or seeking health services.
Amrita has been a peer educator in her community since 2017 when she was selected by her village’s local government to be part of the Government of India’s peer educator program.
At this youth support meeting, Amrita dispels a series of familiar myths around menstrual hygiene, “You can’t enter the kitchen. Don’t eat pickles. Don’t wash up.” She challenges group participants to dismiss them. “You should do all of it,” she says emphatically, and urges, “If you bleed for more than seven days, you must get checked up.” The peer counselor also discusses gender equality, reproductive rights, nutrition, mental health, communicable disease and drug abuse. Amrita educates the participants on issues that girls and young women in this conservative community find difficult to talk about.
As part of her work, Amrita introduced her peers to Baatein Unlocked, a youth-led movement for open dialogue supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership: India-Yash project and in partnership with the government of India. In addition to having a social media presence for all, the initiative hosts a closed Facebook group, a private online space where membership is limited and controlled to ensure a focused, confidential and safe environment for discussions.
“Pull out your phones, type your question and post! You can ask anything; it’s that simple,” she tells the group. Amrita received training on the social media tool from Purpose, an implementing partner, and on-ground support from local civil society organizations, like Gram Bharati Mahila Mandal. She believes this closed
Facebook group, which has over 6,000 followers, is bridging the digital divide, helping youth access health services and promoting good health.
“There is a lot of disparity between the way girls are treated and how boys are treated. We try to bridge that gap by talking to boys and girls,” says Amrita, a physiotherapy student.
Amrita is part of a larger movement energized by the Jhpiego-led MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership: India-Yash project. Young people between the ages of 15 and 29 make up more than 27% of India’s population—yet this large group remains underserved regarding their sexual and reproductive needs.
Youth champions, like Amrita, supported by MOMENTUM are working throughout India.
In Delhi, Rajesh Kumar is driven by the same passion and commitment as Amrita. The challenges he faces are different, but they share a mutual goal: to break the silence surrounding sexual and reproductive health and promote gender equality. Rajesh is a 24-year-old youth champion at Delhi Learning Lab (DLL), an initiative supported by MOMENTUM located in a low-resource community, Dakshinpuri, in New Delhi.
Rajesh joined DLL in early 2023 and received foundational training with support from local partner Restless Development on how to address taboo subjects around sexual and reproductive health within his community. “If a boy talks about menstruation, it’s not acceptable in our society,” he explains. “But it’s crucial to break the silence.”
Through DLL, Rajesh also has learned to advocate for the queer community and people with disabilities. He partners with private and public health service providers, faith-based leaders, colleges and government authorities to facilitate easy access to youth-friendly, quality sexual and reproductive health information and services and to leverage the use of technology.
DLL has given me a platform, an identity. The community recognizes me as an advocate for change. With a network of 400 changemakers like me in our community in Dakshinpuri, we are creating a ripple effect. I want to use technology, like Baatein Unlocked, as a tool to communicate with communities on sensitive topics through which we are unlocking difficult conversations. It’s a movement.”
Rajesh
Embodying the spirit of International Youth Day 2024 and the theme “From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development,” Amrita and Rajesh are deepening the crucial connection between digitalization and progress toward the global Sustainable Development Goals. Their voices resonate with the power and promise of a brighter tomorrow. Through social media, face-to-face sessions and educational discussions, the India-Yash champions are transforming their communities—one conversation at a time.