2012-2013 - Closing the gaps

The year 2012-13 was an important milestone for us in terms of operationalising the new Oxfam India strategy as we launched an exciting new campaign, ``Close the Gap’’ to start a dialogue and debate about the pressing issue of large and growing inequalities in India on multiple dimensions—class, caste, religion, geographic location, and so on. Such large inequities in a poor country mean that hundreds of millions continue to live a life of bare sustenance and suffer social and economic oppression. The brutal gang rape case in Delhi in December 2012 highlighted the gender issue and the problems faced by women even in the national capital. In its aftermath, we asked people –young and old, rural and urban, male and female, rich and poor—what they thought about the huge gender divide in India and what could be done to start closing these gaps. We have also started to use a mix of new and old technologies to reach out to as many people as possible in the most remote regions of India. The overwhelming response indicated that this is a much needed conversation, and has only just begun.

Annual Report 2013