Hidden Pockets Collective with a joint effort with Development Consortium launched a campaign in Bihar, ‘Ab Aap Safe Hein’ in 2021, targeting young people as well as healthcare workers, aimed to improve the understanding of clinical and legal aspects of abortion and to empower young people in rural India, by raising awareness of their rights to sexual and reproductive healthcare, including safe and legal abortion. HPC selected 4 districts of Bihar for the campaign (Patna, Gaya, Madhubani, and Darbhanga). In the selected districts of Bihar, there were a particularly high number of unsafe abortions and HPC’s initial research revealed that the deep-rooted cultural norms and lack of information in local languages contributed to the high number of unsafe abortions.
Ab Aap Safe Hein campaign consisted of both online and offline activities.
OFFLINE ACTIVITIES:
As part of our campaign, we did a number of offline activities across Bihar (Patna, Gaya, Madhubani, and Darbhanga). We held workshops in collaboration with other local organizations working on similar issues, teamed with local radio stations to raise awareness about the ongoing campaign, and created an original Hindi song about safe abortion.
Below are the details of our offline activities in Bihar
Local News coverage of the workshop
SRHR Workshop organized by Hidden Pockets Collective and Srishti Mahila Swabhiman Trust, Bihar.
Workshop conducted by Hidden Pockets Collective for the students of Magadha Para Medical Nursing College, Gaya (Bihar).
Topic: Sexual and Reproductive Health. Free sanitary napkins were distributed to all the students who attended the workshop.
Another workshop was conducted by Hidden Pockets Collective for Nursing students from Gaya and Patna.
On 21st December 2021, a discussion on sexual and reproductive health was organized in Pirwan village of Gurua block in collaboration with Hidden Pockets Collective and ICDS Anganwadi workers. Sanitary pads were also distributed to all the women who attended the workshop. There were 52 attendees for the workshop.
On 23rd December 2021, Hidden Pockets Collective organized a workshop with young women and girls from Gurua block in Gaya district, Bihar. The participants were made aware of sexual and reproductive health by showing videos on SRHR.
ONLINE ACTIVITIES:
Online Workshops (Hindi)
With the help of online tools like zoom, we have been conducting series of workshops in Bihar. Our aim is to reach young women and teach them about their reproductive health rights and choices.
Hidden Pockets Collective conducted an online workshop with students from Magadha Para Medical Nursing College in Gaya. Sexual and reproductive health was discussed during this session. The session gathered a total of 31 female students.
Conversations with local NGOs
Conversation with Population Foundation of India (PFI) around sexual and reproductive healthcare in Bihar.
Sept 28, International Safe Abortion Day: Activities in Bihar
We did various activities in Bihar as a part of the International Safe Abortion Day 2021. We put up banners and posters on safe abortion awareness as well as singling songs in rikshas in different districts of Bihar such as Patna, Gaya, Madhubani and Darbhanga. We have made a song on Abortion and launched the song on 28th September.
We have also released our Hindi song on abortion, Pinky Karein Sawaal on 28th September, International Safe Abortion Day 2021. The song was released through Zoom to Hidden Pockets Collective’s YouTube, during the song launch virtual event.
Radio
We have been interviewed by AIR Bihar-All India Radio-Akashvani on International Safe Abortion Day 2021.
Social Media
We are primarily focused in Indian social media platforms that are popular among Bihar’s youth. According to our preliminary research, the most popular social networking platforms in Bihar are Share Chat, MX Taka Tak, Josh, and Facebook. Using the social media sites listed above, our online campaign aims to attract the attention of young people.
Below are the original artworks and video content created by Hidden Pockets Collective, for the campaign.
Hidden Pockets Collective 