USAID India : Program Areas - Opportunity and Equity

You are here >> Home >> Our Work >> Program Areas >> Opportunity and Equity



Opportunity : Education, Justice and Equity Many Indians have not benefited from India 's more vibrant economic growth. USAID's opportunity objective demonstrates direct USG concern for the most marginalized of India 's population and creates opportunities for vulnerable people, particularly women and girls. Between eight million and 10 million Indian children are out of school. USAID supports Indian NGOs and works in cooperation with state governments to target children who have dropped out prematurely or never attended school. Interventions include remedial and bridge programs, school improvements (low quality and poor learning lead children to drop out), and efforts to engage communities to raise educational performance.

Photo Credit: UNICEF/India

Civil liberties protection is weak in Indian democracy. The legal system performs inadequately, with the poor, women and minorities least able to access or protect their rights. USAID's new justice program is focused on women because gender inequalities are severe and women confront very high levels of familial and societal violence. The program supports Indian NGOs to advocate for legal and institutional reforms; shift popular attitudes on issues like dowry; and increase access to legal rights information and more equitable redressal services, including improvements in the formal legal system. There is a special focus on the needs of Muslim women. Female feticide, a growing problem which heightens the insecurity felt by women, is another focus area.

Key accomplishments:

Creation of an alliance of key corporate (Indian and American) and NGO entities to address policy and programming issues related to the quality and relevance of education for children age 6 to 21 using models that draw on the best of their individual programs and initiating a series of regional policy workshops.
An Indian NGO is modernizing madrassa education in a slum in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.
Radio broadcasts addressing grades 4 and 5 curricula are being broadcast in the state of Karnataka. English language broadcasts are about to commence in two other states.
Grants have been made to NGO service providers targeting out of school children.
Six new legal aid/counseling centers operating in Rajasthan in cooperation with the police. Five additional centers will open soon.
A gender advocacy office in Delhi is being established by an alliance of women's groups to access parliament and the executive branch. Initiated by a USAID implementer, the idea is now attracting other donors.
An influential advisory group is finalizing a plan of action for the Muslim women's program.
A broad public education campaign targeting Muslim women and men will start soon.

For the detailed strategy in this program area click here.

	Search USAID/ India website

May 08, 2006

USAID Security and Privacy Statement