In 2009, Will Muir and Rujuta Teredesai began travelling to low-income communities with Solar Cinemas, screening films on social and development issues. During these visits, they noticed that women and girls were often missing and would not come to watch films. Household responsibilities, safety concerns, and social restrictions kept them away. This observation led to a deeper realisation: while many initiatives focus on empowering women, very few engage with the boys and men who grow up to shape the same society. This thought gave birth to the Equal Community Foundation (ECF), founded with a vision to raise every boy in India to be gender equitable.
Today, ECF works with adolescents of all genders across Pune’s communities, addressing gender-based violence by involving boys as part of the solution and building a more gender-inclusive society. For over a decade, ECF has been running a Gender Transformative Programme that engages young adolescents in conversations around human rights, gender equality, healthy relationships, consent, and sexual and reproductive health topics often left unspoken in homes and schools.
The organisation has directly worked with more than 9,000 adolescents and reached thousands more through collaborations with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) Pune, and schools under Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).
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Their Gender Equality Programme has been implemented in 126 schools across the city, while their work has also extended to training NGOs. The impact of this work is most visible inside homes. Parents share how their sons now speak openly about menstruation, help with household chores, and step in calmly during family conflicts.
ECF focuses on building perspective rather than just awareness. Using participatory activities, role plays, and safe discussions, adolescents are encouraged to question stereotypes, develop leadership skills, and communicate with respect and confidence. With a vision of a world free from gender-based violence, ECF is quietly shaping a generation in Pune that sees equality not as an idea, but as everyday practice. By working with adolescents at a formative age, ECF is turning boys into allies and girls into confident voices.
"With over 20 years of experience in the social sector, I currently lead ECF, an organisation dedicated to raising gender-equitable boys. This work resonates deeply with me on a personal level. Like many girls and women, I grew up in a world where sexual harassment and violence were normalised. As a child, and later as a college student, every day commuting meant living with constant fear and vigilance; monitoring where I went, how I dressed, and how visible I allowed myself to be," Anjana Goswami, Executive Director, Equal Community Foundation, said.
"When we spoke about these experiences in search of solutions, the advice was always the same -- be careful, dress appropriately, change your route, or even leave school or college. It placed the burden of safety on girls and women, instead of questioning the behaviours and attitudes of boys and men. I often wondered why no one was telling boys and men not to harass girls. Today, my work at ECF feels like a response to that question and to the questions that almost all women carry," she added.
"While empowering women and girls is critical, it is not enough. Gender justice cannot be achieved by supporting only one half of the equation. For instance, promoting girls' education and women’s financial independence is critical, but it becomes unsustainable if boys and men are not taught to support and live in partnership with empowered women. Patriarchy affects all of us. Until we recognise the role of boys and men in this equation, progress will remain incomplete. Through ECF’s work, we strive for real equality and not symbolic change, but deep, lasting transformation at the societal level. By engaging with the adolescents, especially boys, we have the opportunity to shape a more equitable society," Goswami added.
Kishankumar Jha, Senior Hardware Engineer, Larsen & Toubro Technology Services (LTTS), Pune, said, “Working with ECF has shown me how consistent, community-driven efforts can gradually shift mindsets and behaviours. Seeing boys and young men reflect on gender, question harmful norms, and choose more respectful ways of relating to others gives me hope that a more equitable Pune is truly possible.”
