Centre for Circular Economy

International Women’s Day Celebration at FIN’s Rural Lab – Early Marriage Debate: A Spectrum of Opinions

Today to celebrate International Women’s Day, FIN held a debate in its Rural Lab in Kameswaram village. The topic was: This house believes that it is better to marry off girls after graduation rather than send them to work first. Criteria for judging were content of argument (logic & understandability), style of argument (clarity, voice, diction, confidence), and persuasiveness. The “for early marriage” speakers were Renuka, Vijayrani, and Devaki and the “no to early marriage” speakers were Prema, Kalaiselvi, and Vanita. The first team (for early marriage) won getting 106 points, while the second team (against early marriage) got 93 points.

The discussion on early marriage yielded a range of perspectives. Proponents argue that marriage is a personal growth milestone, not the end of life. One woman, married at 19 with a child, now thrives as a home-based entrepreneur. They emphasized that marriage and family life, more than education, foster awareness of the world’s workings. Additionally, technological advancements offer women greater control over pregnancy and family planning.

Opponents countered that marriage without professional experience puts women at risk. Widowed women with no career could struggle financially. They argued that many such women faced exploitation by their husbands’ families and were relegated to housework. They disagreed with the pro-early marriage stance, highlighting restricted mobility and a lack of independence for these women.

Beyond Early vs. Late: The Importance of Individual Circumstances

There were two Chief Guests – Diana Sharmila Ma’am, Chairman of Velankanni Municipality, and Shyamala Ma’am, Head Master of the Panchayat Primary School at Kameswaram. Ms. Sharmila agreed that both sides had valid points and congratulated them on having come forward to express their views frankly. Ms. Shyamala exhorted the women in the room to: “treat male and female children with equal love as well as strictness and encourage girls and women to be courageous and explore the world with their fresh new perspectives.

Audience participation revealed a crucial point: marital happiness hinges more on the spouse and in-laws than marriage timing. FIN Staff members Ranjita Ma’am and Raveen Ma’am agreed. Ranjita Ma’am said, “The husband and his family can make or break a woman’s life – that’s the bottom line.” Meena reminisced about her family, her younger sister and her elder sister, both of whose lives were completely shaped by their husband’s family, providing examples of happy and unhappy marriages at both early and late stages. Amutha Ma’am further noted that educational qualifications don’t always translate to earning potential, highlighting successful entrepreneurs without degrees and unemployed women with many.

The consensus shifted: a woman’s inner drive, capabilities, and support from her family (maternal, marital, and in-law) are more important than marriage age.

Concluding Thoughts and Unforeseen Issues

Nagalaxmi ma’am and Paranjothi sir highlighted additional concerns. Nagalaxmi ma’am stressed the need to educate girls about the risks of impulsive elopements during school or college. Paranjothi sir brought up the challenge that educated women face after gaining professional experience are forced to stay home due to a lack of childcare options.

The virtual debate proved to be as stimulating as any intellectual seminar, perhaps even more so due to its interactive nature. The Chief Guests agreed that FIN’s community events were far more impactful than traditional panel discussions, fostering active participation from the audience. The speakers were awarded prizes of vessels and all were given gifts of mats made by FIN staff Nagalaxmi, Meena, and Ranjita as well as ornamental plants grown by them.

Congratulations and thanks to Amutha ma’am, Raveena ma’am, and Paranjothi sir for the excellent organisation of the International Women’s Day debate at Kameswaram village!
Meet our Intern Joyleena Bhattacharyya!

Hi everyone! I am Joyleena Bhattacharyya. I am a student currently pursuing my Bachelor’s in English Literature from Lakshmi Bai College, University of Delhi. In addition, I am also a trained Indian classical dancer.

I joined FIN India as an intern as a part of my social internship in college. My tasks at FIN mainly revolved around creating educational material in MS Office to teach the children attending FIN’s Rural Lab classes in Kameswaram village. I am very grateful for the wonderful guidance I have received in the organization. My mentors, Abhishek sir, and Shyama ma’am have always been helpful to me. My journey here has been full of new beginnings and many other important qualities of teamwork and leadership. The best part of this internship is the vision and goal of contributing to making the world a better place, in whatever way possible.

As a part of my journey at FIN, I conducted an online quiz/discussion event on World Toilet Day. The event addressed the need to have proper access to toilets and the significance of having proper hygiene in the daily lifestyle. As per the World Health Organization, even in 2022, over 1.5 billion people still do not have basic sanitation services, such as private toilets or latrines. This aspect of poor sanitation reduces human well-being, and social and economic development due to impacts such as anxiety, risk of sexual assault, and lost opportunities for education and work. Since 2013, as per the UN General Assembly, World Toilet Day has been observed on the 19th of November to create conversations related to sanitation and inspire actions to solve this global sanitation crisis.

My primary goal in conducting the event was to educate and engage individuals of all ages in a fun and interactive manner, fostering a sense of responsibility towards global sanitation issues. The quiz was designed to cover various aspects of sanitation, including statistics on global access to toilets, the impact of inadequate sanitation on health, and innovative solutions to address the issue. It comprised multiple-choice questions, ensuring inclusivity and a wide range of topics to cater to participants with varying levels of expertise. Invitations were sent and spread around to people of all age groups to participate and engage in the quiz and discussion.

An insightful discussion followed, where the participants shared their views and opinions on the sanitation and public health sectors. They also shared insights into the challenges faced globally and discussed potential solutions and advancements in sanitation practices and technology. The participants had the opportunity to ask questions and engage in a meaningful dialogue with each other. Also, breakout sessions were organized to encourage participants to share their experiences and ideas related to sanitation in their communities. Though the event did not have a particularly significant turnout, the participants were very active and represented diverse backgrounds. The interactive nature of the quiz and discussions sparked engagement and encouraged participants to think critically about sanitation issues.

In the entire process of conducting the event, I learned so much more about the sanitation crisis around the globe, and it got me thinking about how something as basic as access to clean and safe toilets can impact lives in profound ways. To date, a mere 57% of the global population (4.6 billion people) used safely managed sanitation services, according to WHO data. It’s not just about convenience; it’s about health, dignity, and human rights. The vision here is not just raising awareness; it’s a call to action.

While conducting this event has significantly raised my awareness of various global issues, it has also benefited my professional life in different ways. Firstly, organizing the quiz has improved my event planning and coordination skills, as well as my ability to engage and motivate team members to participate in meaningful initiatives. Moreover, the positive feedback received from participants has boosted morale and strengthened team spirit, creating a more cohesive and supportive work culture. Overall, conducting the quiz on World Toilet Day has not only contributed to personal and professional growth but also underscored the significance of addressing global challenges within our professional spheres.

Joyleena Bhattacharyya,

Intern, Friend In Need India
There is always hope! Learn how homes/communities can become ZERO WASTE, WATER SECURE, AND CLIMATE RESILIENT!

India generates 62 million tonnes of waste each year. About 43 million tonnes (70%) are collected, of which about 12 million tonnes are treated, and 31 million tonnes are dumped at landfill sites. With changing consumption patterns and rapid economic growth, it is estimated that urban municipal solid waste generation will increase to 165 million tonnes in 2030 (source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_management_in_India). If we keep generating waste at this rate, then the day you have to wear antipollution masks like astronauts during space visits – is not far! So, we need a foolproof plan to dispose of all kinds of waste to keep our communities and our planet Earth a clean place to live for all future generations.

Aashiana Apartments at Venus Colony in Alwarpet is a gated community in Chennai that has become renowned for successfully adopting best practices in waste management and water conservation. This community makes an excellent case study for emulation and replication in other parts of Chennai and India.

In 2022 we organised an event on How to make your locality zero-waste, water-secure, and climate-resilient. Our panelists were the champions of the apartment complex who had achieved a positive transformation: Vidya Balakrishnan, R. Ramanathan, Anita Hegde, Hari Sethuraman, and Bhuvana Panchayath. The moderator was Shyama V. Ramani of FIN. Listen to their story and the challenges they faced with achieving zero-waste, composting, grey water management, and many more. Let us start the new year with hope!

Watch the Event video here
September, 2021

Let’s find out with FIN Interns

FIN has started a series of theme based internships, which impact sustainability. The first to be rolled out in this series was the ‘ALL THINGS DIGITAL’ during June-July 2021. This internship was offered to a set of interns from the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun Uttarakhand, and also to earlier FIN interns interested in the topic.

The ‘ALL THINGS DIGITAL’ internship included four tracks: Digital policy, Skilling for Digital world, Digital Empathy, and Digital Empowerment.

The internship aimed to make students more aware of the potential of our digitally transformed world and improve their research and science communication skills. It was also designed to help them build empathy and develop employer-valued skills such as effective teamwork and time management.

What did they get from the internship? Hear our interns : Kirti Chandani (00:08-00:32) , Parag Samant (00:33-00:59), Kshitij Singh (01:00-01:35), Manav Bhatia (01:36-02:05), Akshita Kapoor (02:06-02:40) and Abhishek Pathak (02:46-03:10).

Education

Want to improve your employability? Want to build new skills for your future career? Our education mission is to narrow the knowledge gap between educators, practitioners, students and policy makers through multi-stakeholder forums, problem based learning and practical projects. Our programmes hopes to ensure hands-on learning and skills building through knowledge and experience sharing between […]

Finterns! (FIN interns and trainees)

FIN INTERNS / TRAINEES 2022 Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad (8) January 15, 2022 – March 15, 2022 Top row left to right – Chandra Sekharan.S, Sabari Santosh S, Sivaraman Santhanam, and Swetha Ravichandran Bottom row left to right – Shreyas Seshadri, Shrinaath M, Chockalingam Harisankar, and Srinathji M These students worked with us on […]

Engagement

At FIN, over the years, we have noted that though students have theoretical knowledge, they are not able to apply it to solve real problems. Moreover, they often lack effective communication skills, analytical thinking, professional courtesy and ability to give constructive feedback. To contribute to closing such skills gaps we have designed a Sustainability Project […]

Here are the latest events organised by the Center for Circular Economy

“Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong, it’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” ― Geena Dunne Anderson. In 2022, FIN conducted a webinar entitled “Don’t periods matter?” to commemorate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, featuring females of all ages who are impacted by menstruation- […]

Gender Issues

FIN World Water Day Webiz – March 22, 2023 Time 12.30 Hrs CET and 5.00 PM IST Urban Sustainability: How can Cities Tackle Floods? Join us for this online discussion with quizzes! Registration link – https://forms.gle/TcsBv2WHhWGRJWjCA Why is this issue important – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSC3l1auXtA Floods inflict high socio-economic costs on communities and individuals. In the past […]

Water

FIN’s Webinar on how to make Bharat more Swachh through community engagement – a great learning experience! India generates 62 million tonnes of waste each year. About 43 million tonnes (70%) are collected, of which about 12 million tonnes are treated, and 31 million tonnes are dumped at landfill sites. With changing consumption patterns and […]

Sustainable Communities

FIN’s Webiz (Quiz with Discussion) to celebrate World Toilet Day a big success! On Friday November 18 – a day before the actual World Toilet Day on November 19 – FIN hosted an online event in collaboration with the United Nations University UNU-MERIT, where I am Professor. It is always nice to wear two hats […]