8/9/2019 Mohamed Saluh

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Mohamed SaluhMohamed Saluh

ohamed Saluh is a middle-aged man living in

Bhoroah, a small village in Bihar's SaharsaMdistrict. Mohamed works in the local livestockmarket. He sells cattle to support his family, but Mohamed

also supports his family-and his community-in another

major way. As an advocate of the DARSHAN project,

Mohamed empowers women by encouraging other men to

do so.

When PCI and Digital Green first implemented the

DARSHAN initiative in Bhoroah, the project was met with

some resistance. As this village is entirely Muslim, many of

Bhoroah's male leaders disliked the idea of women being

photographed or filmed. For these men, DARSHAN

represented a threat to female modesty.

Mohamed was initially shared this view. Furthermore, he

believed that DARSHANs agenda contradicted the

traditional role of woman in Islam. Despite Mohameds

objections, Mohamed's wife quickly became involved in theDARSHAN project-and she soon became a leader in

Bhoroah's DARSHAN group. That was when Mohamed's

thinking began to change.

Seeing his wife's growing engagement with DARSHAN,

Mohamed was impressed by his wife's drive to learn and

her desire to share new knowledge with others: "She was

teaching through film...and I realized that, in this way, she

could become a role model in the community." Mohamed

was glad to see other women learning from his wife, andher active participation in DARSHAN made him proud.

His wife was educating others about topics that the people

of Bhoroah had only ever received via television programs,

and Mohamed's wife was the star. Now, she was a leader.

Once Mohamed realized the positive impact that his wife

and the other women of Bhoroah could make through the

DARSHAN project, he began to openly advocate

DARSHANs cause. As most of Bhoroah's men stood in

opposition to DARSHAN, Mohamed's choice to support

the project was not an easy decision. It took strength and

courage to go against the grain.

Nirmal House ,2nd & 3rd floor

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Regardless, Mohamed began encouraging other men to

accept the DARSHAN agenda in Bhoroah, and he was

successful in his efforts. One voice changed the minds of

many, and now DARSHAN is fully supported in the village

of Bhoroah. As a result, women are learning-and sharing-

ways to improve community hygiene, sanitation, and health.

When PCIs directors visited Bhoroah in July of 2014, they

met Mohamed and his fellow village members. After a

discussion with Bhoroah's DARSHAN group and some

conversation with several men in the community, PCIs

employees requested permission to take some photographs.

At Mohamed's suggestion, a large group of Bhoroah's

community members-both male and female-posed for the

photos.

Just a few months back, such a picture would never have

been taken in Bhoroah, but things are changing. In this

village, through the aid of supporters like Mohamed,

DARSHAN is helping to create a setting in which both

men and women are able to be seen and heard. In Bhoroah,

both men and women are able to stand as leaders in the

community and to make their village a healthier, happier

place.

Mohamed empowers women by encouraging other men