“I’m grown up but not free as I’d like to be,” says Sushma from Jharkhand

Girls want to make decisions about their own lives and take control over their destiny, but often find themselves surrounded by restrictive gendered social norms that are reinforced by formal and informal institutions. CREA, through the It’s My Body (IMB) program and the Sports, Expression, Leadership and Freedom (SELF) Academy, has been engaging with girls and young women from villages in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. They use sports, technology, arts, and media in the sessions for the girls to express themselves and to build the confidence to exercise choice and negotiate decisions about their bodies, health and life. In one such SELF Academy, CREA and Agents of Ishq created a series of short videos based on the interactions and experiences shared by girls and young women on love, desire, consent, and choice. Here are two videos from the series where Sushma and Rupam talk about their dreams, desires, and the possibilities of living life on their own terms and making meaning for themselves.

Cover Image: Agents of Ishq