Participants of a family workshop on Equal Wings in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa >>>

The training manual of this Campaign, Equal Wings, emphasizes the significance of men’s participation in the process, as it is imperative for men to understand the contribution that they can make for the advancement of civilisation by according women equal opportunities. This manual was prepared by a team in Malaysia under the leadership of Dr. Lee Lee Ludher. It will be used extensively by all the Bahá’í Offices for the Advancement of Women in India and abroad as a tool to bring about the unity and harmony of the sexes as envisioned in the Bahá’í writings.

The manual consists of 8 modules, of which 4 are for women, 2 for men and 2 modules with joint sessions for both men and women.

The concepts covered in the modules for women include:

•  Understanding the concept of equality of men and women; women becoming aware of their mission and role as individuals in the family and in the community.

•  Learning the skills of using focus group discussions to identify problems, to learn the use of a performing art media to present the theme and to learn the skill of using consultation to arrive at a collective solution to the problem.

The concepts covered in the modules for men include:

•  Raising awareness regarding inequality between the sexes among men and to introduce the concept of equality of men and women in the larger context of justice.

A seminar on 'The Girl Child - NGO Initiatives' >>>

The concepts covered in the joint modules for men and women include:

•  Understanding the complementary role of husband and wife in the family.

This manual has been translated into Hindi and Oriya for use in the family workshops, which will be organised in various parts of the country.

Several Family Workshops based on this manual have already been conducted by the Local Family Committee in Lucknow, Barli Development Institute for Rural Women at Indore and the State Bahá’í Council of Orissa.

This manual is also being used extensively in the international arena. To date, it has been used in Bolivia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, France and the continent of Africa.