Serene Planet > ✅ Completed Projects > Gender Equity Action
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Gender Equity Action – From Learning to Leading

Gender equality isn’t just a concept to understand — it’s a value that needs to be lived and led by the young generation. Gender Equity Action was designed to empower university students with the knowledge, confidence, and tools to address gender-based violence (GBV) and gender injustice in their surroundings.

Instead of limiting the training to lecture-style sessions, we made it hands-on. Students didn’t just learn definitions — they practiced responding, initiating dialogue, and leading peer-based awareness efforts within their own communities. The goal was to create ripple effects — and it did.

Project Snapshot

Start Date 5 November 2024
End Date 12 January 2025
Category Gender Equality, Community Empowerment
Location Chattogram and Dhaka
Direct Impacted 120 University Students and 1,000+ Community Members
Sessions Held 5 Trainings and 12 Student-led Awareness Events
Funding Voluntary and Peer Contributions

IN DEPTH

Challenge

Discussions about gender and GBV are often uncomfortable — especially in spaces where these topics are still seen as taboo. Some students were hesitant at first, unsure if they would face backlash or misunderstanding when bringing these topics home.

Additionally, there was a challenge of making the content practical. Most university students had learned about gender in theory, but didn’t know what GBV looked like in everyday life — or how to address it without confrontation or conflict.

Time and emotional readiness also varied widely among participants, which made pacing the sessions carefully a priority.

Solution

We took a participatory approach: each training began by grounding participants in real-life scenarios they could relate to. Case studies, short films, and roleplays helped demystify topics like consent, power dynamics, and bystander intervention.

Rather than creating a fixed curriculum, we adapted content based on each group’s background and comfort level. This allowed for more genuine discussions and stronger engagement.

After training, students formed small task teams and designed their own community-level campaigns — from hosting courtyard sessions with local families to organizing poster exhibitions in their campuses.

Result

The program directly trained 120 students across Dhaka and Chattogram. Those students then led over a dozen small-scale awareness events, reaching more than 1,000 individuals in diverse communities.

Students reported increased confidence in speaking about gender issues and responding to microaggressions or harmful norms. Several of them have since joined campus-based or national gender rights collectives.

One participant noted,
“I used to think GBV was only about extreme cases. Now I realize how everyday silence also contributes to injustice — and I don’t want to stay silent anymore.”

Gender Equity Action reminded us: when youth take the lead, change starts from within — and spreads outward.