P T Mohammad Suneesh, CEO of Gender Park describes the initiative as a one-stop solution on gender issues. He was speaking at the She Power Virtual Summit, organized in collaboration with the U.S. State Department. Gender Park is basically a government initiative. It operates under the Department of Social Justice Women and Child Development. This is arguably the first venture of its kind in the world. The park is located on a 24 acre land in Kozhikode.
Gender Park is a convergence center. Policy, research, women empowerment and women entrepreneurship are all part of the Gender Park. The activities here are mainly divided into two. One is the campus initiative and the other is the off-campus initiative.
The She Taxi Project is the first off-campus initiative. It was launched 10 years ago. She Taxi was started before Ola and Uber started operations in Kerala.
The park is primarily formulating policies to reduce the gender gap. It can be said that it is the next stage of women empowerment. There is nothing special to be said about women empowerment in Kerala. We have already completed the first phase. Like the Scandinavian countries that are considered to be developed, we are now advancing in gender equality and women empowerment. But on the other hand we still face crises in issues like gender gap. The government’s focus is on how to reduce this inequality and how to bridge this gap. There are no precedents for this in India or in the world itself. We are discussing this issue with policy makers and stakeholders. Projects for gender parks are formed after much deliberation.
Ten years ago, the government announced Gender Park as a project for women. At that time, the media and the general public saw it as an initiative for third gender.
In 2015, a policy for the transgender community was introduced for the first time in India at the Gender Equality International Conference held at Gender Park Kovalam. This is followed by various policies, ideas and programs for the transgender community. Based on that policy, the government later formulated plans for the transgender community. The next step is to discuss gender equality and third gender. In short, these are the focus and agenda of Gender Park.
The International Woman Trade Center is a major initiative of Gender Park. This is a prestigious project announced by the government in the previous budget. This is a project that offers more infrastructure for women in entrepreneurship, technology and market access. Center for Woman, Startup and Incubation Center, Business Facilitation Center and Offices, Retail-Rent, Lease Spaces for Woman, Performing Arts Center for Women, Sustainable Development Space for Woman, Essential Skill Center for Women and Working with Women The daycare center is part of the project. Funding is now entirely from the state government. But it has a World Trade Center affiliation. The MoU also signed with the UN Women. The aim is to turn Gender Park into a South Asian-South Indian hub. It also has the support of UN Women.
Next step is the WiSE Fellowship. Women in Sustainable Entrepreneurship Fellowship Program. Implemented in conjunction with the National University of Singapore. 10 Woman Grassroots Entrepreneurs and 10 Mentors are part of the Fellowship. The Fellowship is designed to build a grassroots entrepreneur to transform internationally.
We all read that 10 years ago a girl was brutally raped and killed by a man on the train. This is the idea behind the She Taxi project. A women-owned enterprise run by women for women. Although there are many women-led taxi projects, at that point it was the first venture for women owned by women. This is a source of income for them and a relief for women traveling alone. The project, which started as a model project in the first three months with 5 cabs, has grown from 75 to 75 to 100 cabs across Kerala today. This helps them to earn around Rs 45000-75000 per month as a standard income. She Taxi actually opened a job sector for women. Driving and transport were not the field of women in Kerala. After She Taxi, the driving sector also opened up a new field of employment for women. Since then, the government has made more efforts to recruit women police and women drivers. These are the core changes that came after She Taxi.
The other is the She toilet. When I was the Managing Director of the Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation, She brought up the toilet project. At the time, a startup at Technopark was developing an electronic toilet system. We converted that electronic toilet system into a She toilet by adding a few more amenities. The toilet included a napkin vending machine, incinerator, and baby feeding support. About 15 years ago, at that time, it became a big topic of discussion.
We are currently planning the first and largest Social Initiative Entrepreneurship Project in the country. One girl is found from each panchayat in Kerala. Enabling them to use a bag pack for a primary health checkup. Launching this project will make it the largest social enterprise network in the country.
These are the major projects of Gender Park. On the one hand, female empowerment. On the other hand, work for gender equality and reducing the gender gap as its next step. This is where the focus is now.
The government has introduced a public toilet system for men and women. It is operated by local Kudumbasree units. Toilets are everywhere. But the main problem is proper maintenance. Women and children are reluctant to go to the toilet when they see a person about to collect money. Electronic automated systems are increasingly being promoted to avoid this problem. Gender Park is considering installing an electronic toilet system for both men and women. It is also being considered to introduce such a system in local shops. This will enable them to operate the toilet and earn an income. This is the way to solve the problem of public toilets, said Mohammad Suneesh.
She Power Virtual Hackathon was organized by channeliam.com in collaboration with the US State Department, World Learning, Alumni Ties, Kerala Startup Mission and Gender Park
