Internship Experience @ Ungender: Capacity Building Project in Chhattisgarh

Name, College, Year

Kshipra Rajwanshi, Semester VI, Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur.

Organisation

Initiatives for Inclusive Foundation, Ungender, New Delhi.

Duration

Four Weeks (December, 2017)

Application Procedure

Sent an email with my CV to contact@ungender.in and was selected after a short interview over a phone call.

Nature of work

My experience might slightly differ from others who have interned with Ungender at their Delhi office, mainly because I was selected for a specific project undertaken by the organisation with the Government of Chhattisgarh.

The Project focused on capacity building and training of members of Local Complaints Committee, constituted in every district under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplaces Act, 2013, and the members of Sakhi One Stop Centers, set up in every district as per the scheme of Ministry of Women and Child Development, across the State of Chhattisgarh.

This project demanded constant travelling, as we covered all the zones of the state, attending discussions during the sessions, translating documents, making reports and press releases, research, as well as writing articles.

First day formalities

I met the Managing Partners in Raipur, which was the first zone that we covered. After short introductions, I was told the exact nature of my work, my duties, and responsibilities. Work was allotted straightaway which was mainly translating guidelines and reading material to be distributed to the trainees.

Main Tasks

Majority of my work included aiding the partners in every way possible and assisting them throughout the project. Apart from translations and articles, I was also assigned with collation of feedback and other data received from the trainees, and presenting it as a report.

Best thing

The best part about the whole internship was that I got the opportunity to interact with people working towards the empowerment of women at the ground level and learnt about the various issues surrounding gender based laws, which not only gave me a whole new perspective, but with the constant guidance of Esha Ma’am and Pallavi Ma’am, I was also able to understand that the mere existence of a law on a certain matter is not enough. Its effective implementation is what actually matters and it’s also an individual responsibility to ensure the awareness of such laws among people.

The travelling was a plus, as during the weekends the team would venture out and visit the various tourist places that Chhattisgarh has to offer, experience nature, and delve into deep discussions on topics ranging from music, literature, women empowerment, meaning of life, and what not!

Work Environment

The work environment was formal, the Partners being very strict about the work and its quality, but since we practically spent the whole day together, there were times when everyone would relax and have casual conversations. The workload was no joke, but still the partners managed to give us a life lesson or two during the busy day.

Stipend

Rs. 5,000 for the duration of the project.