Programs and Events 2012
Hyderabad
Consulate Participates in “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence”
The U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad participated in a number of events observing “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence,” a global campaign dedicated to the awareness and elimination of gender-based violence. Public Affairs Officer Carla Benini participated in a panel discussion on “Atrocities and Violence against Women and the Girl Child” hosted by Lamakaan. The Consulate also organized a presentation on sexual assault awareness attended by a group of 60 women, in partnership with Shaheen, an NGO that provides counseling services and vocational skills and training to women and girls in Hyderabad.
The consulate’s activities culminated at an event, in Toopran, a village 50 kilometers outside of Hyderabad, where Consul General Katherine Dhanani and Political-Economic Officer, Travis Coberly, attended a meeting of the state government’s Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP). SERP sponsors a number of social programs including a program that utilizes groups of mostly female villagers, known as Social Action Committees (SAC), in conjunction with community-managed Family Counseling Centers to help detect, arbitrate, and resolve domestic issues in local communities. The program is designed to resolve domestic disputes before they are brought into the judicial system, a process which can take many years to reach resolution. The program is mostly rural and utilizes nearly 15,000 members in 1,440 SACs throughout the state to counsel fellow villagers and raise awareness of such social issues as domestic violence, child marriage, girl child education, substance abuse, and dowry harassment.
During their interaction with the consul general, a few victims of domestic violence narrated the problems that the SACs helped them overcome, such as securing a withheld inheritance and overcoming physical abuse. SAC members described the challenges they faced in achieving success with arbitration and counseling. Impressed by the grit and determination shown by the victims as well as the members of the SACs, Consul General Dhanani said that she was truly inspired by the accounts she heard. “You have given me excitement and encouragement,” she remarked. The consul general noted that although men may have greater physical strength, woman have the mental fortitude to overcome any challenge in life.