India is at a critical juncture with a fast-growing economy, rapid urbanisation, and an expanding youth population. Achieving sustainable development in India is impossible without the equal participation of women and girls and a strong commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment.

UNFPA India collaborates closely with the government, other UN agencies, and civil society networks to address key areas:

Towards Zero Gender-Based Violence (GBV)

UNFPA provides technical support for GBV prevention and response by:

• Strengthening protection systems such as one-stop centres and law enforcement to ensure safety, care, and access to services for GBV survivors.
• Enhancing the health system’s response to GBV.
• Improving the capacities of community-based institutions and civil society organisations to prevent and respond to GBV.

Towards Zero Harmful Practices

End Child Marriage

UNFPA aims to empower women and girls and engage families and communities by:

• Encouraging investment in the development and well-being of daughters.
• Enhancing the capacities of law enforcement and local administration to prevent child marriage.
• Supporting programs that enable young people to access higher education, skill-building opportunities, and adolescent-responsive health services, including sexual and reproductive health.
• Investing in data and evidence generation to shape policies and programs that help adolescents transition safely and healthily to adulthood, free from the risk of child marriage.

End Gender-Biased Sex Selection

UNFPA invests in programs that enhance the value of women and girls and address son preference by:

• Collaborating with community leaders, Panchayat representatives, youth groups, and the media to promote the equal value of girls.
• Engaging with men and boys to challenge harmful notions of masculinity and promote gender equality.
• Working with implementing authorities, judicial officers, prosecutors, and the medical community to ensure the effective implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act.
• Partnering with institutions specializing in data and evidence generation to ensure evidence-informed policies and programs address gender-biased sex selection.

Mainstream Gender and Rights: through integration of a gender and rights perspective across all programme areas related to UNFPA’s mandate including sexual and reproductive health, adolescents and youth, population dynamics, and humanitarian response. 

Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management (MHM): UNFPA supports the government and civil society partners to implement policies and interventions that raise awareness about menstrual health management, dispel taboos, and generate evidence on scalable and sustainable innovations to ensure that everyone experiences menstruation safely, freely and with dignity. 

UNFPA India’s comprehensive approach to gender and human rights aims to foster a society where women and girls are valued equally and empowered to realise their fullest potential.