Imagine being harassed and catcalled as you walk home through the streets of Delhi. You could confront the men responsible, but that is only a short-term relief. You're afraid that filing a complaint will invite scrutiny, retaliation, or endless bureaucratic hurdles. So instead, you stay silent, carrying the fear and anxiety with you every time you take that same road home.
For millions of women, this isn't a one-time experience. It's a daily reality. It was a reality that deeply affected Eleena George too, until she decided that instead of simply responding to harassment in the moment, she would work to prevent it at its source.
Eleena George is the co-founder of the Unlearn Foundation. The Unlearn Foundation is an organisation that seeks change in the attitudes and understanding that men have towards women. The foundation has structured a gender-sensitisation curriculum for inmates in the Tihar Prisons, many of whom have been accused of or convicted for crimes against women. Over the last few years, the Unlearn team has even began conducting sessions on gender equity with at-risk youth in high-crime neighbourhoods in efforts to reduce violence, sexual harassment and neglect faced by women and girls. Prior to her work targeting gender-based awareness, Eleena was a functional literacy teaching ‘fellow’ at the Better Life Prison School, operated by the TYCIA Foundation in Tihar Jail No. 5.
In my recent interview with her, detailed the motivations, struggles and achievements that have shaped the journey of her foundation over the course of the last nine years. From exploring the problem with India’s prison education framework and analysing the causal mechanisms behind high recidivism rates in crimes against women, to detailing her alternatives for long-term rehabilitation, Ms George covered the key pillars of prison reform through the course of our conversation together.
Setbacks in the Prison Education System
The Better Life Prison School is a full-day school which covers courses relating to functional literacy, wage and self-skill training, life skill training, drug de-addiction and healthcare support.
When discussing what the major faultlines in the prison’s functional literacy provisions were, three major problems emerged.
First, is lack of engagement from a prisoner standpoint. Inmates who are aged between 18-21 years of age (The Unlearn Foundation’s target audience) have often already forfeited their schooling in favour of economic incentives. Thus, the prison environment and its often lack-lustre educational resource pool are not adequate stimulants in redirecting these young men towards studies again. Prisoners prefer undertaking paid jobs inside prisons through which they can earn enough money to avoid depending on family-sent earnings. This even allows them to send a little money to any dependents, as many of the inmates have been primary earners for their family
Second, is that in-prison student populations are often rotational. Prisoners are transferred between barracks and jails frequently, so no cohort stays long enough to complete a sustained curriculum. A person’s educational journey is also frequently disrupted due to court hearings, and prison work schedules, rendering an intensive course structure unproductive.
The third structural issue is that many existing functional literacy programs adopt conventional teaching methods. While the syllabus may cover important topics including the foundational ability to read, write, course content is structured in a way that appeals more to children than young adults. This makes the learning experience irrelevant, unrelatable and simply not engaging for adult prisoners to secure their regular attendance and ensure active change in understanding.
Apart from functional literacy courses, open classes for grade 10 and grade 12 board exams are available inside the Tihar prisons, though classes for grade 5 education have recently been discontinued. Despite the availability of higher-level courses, interruptions are common: required books aren't in the prison library, officials sometimes fail to file education applications in time for exams, and prisoners are not always aware of the educational opportunities available to them.
Eleena mentioned that informal prisoner networks help fill the gap in information when it comes to knowing about the option of higher-level studies. Lack of orientation in prisons leads to prisoners having to rely on one another to share information about parole eligibility and exam access among themselves, allowing those interested to then follow up with their lawyers for parole. This peer-to-peer knowledge transfer, while appreciated, is reflective of the failure of the prison administration in making young inmates aware of the opportunities available for them while in custody.
The Gap That Led to a Gender-Sensitisation Focus
Even while conducting functional literacy classes, Eleena found conversations consistently circling back to men's cases and to questions about women: which women were ‘safe’, which were ‘marriageable’, and what they had or hadn't done wrong. There was genuine curiosity among young men who had been incarcerated under the accusation of crimes against women about why their behaviour constituted an offence. There was also significant anger from those who felt falsely accused. Inmates were even slightly wary towards Eleena and her intentions, too, and in many cases, she was perceived as a representative of women broadly.
Eleena also noticed a tougher-to-break pattern emerge post inmate release: men who seemed well-behaved in her classes were subsequently incarcerated again under more serious charges. Recidivism data in the Indian prison system is largely undocumented; the National Crime Records Bureau reports tally crimes against women but does not track what percentage of accused persons are repeat offenders.
No program at the time was addressing the specific crimes prisoners had committed, the assumption seemed to be that a job or basic functional literacy would solve the recidivsm problem. Instead, Eleena's observation was that if a man left prison, found employment, but had no framework for interacting with female colleagues or family members, the likelihood of re-incarceration remained high and unnavigated. This underscored the need for a reform-focused initiative that informed men about the legal and ethical pillars of violence against women- a program that not only targets men incarcerated for these crimes, but starts at the grassroots of such behaviour in the underserved communities young boys are raised in.
Structuring the Gender Sensitisation Program in Prisons
While functional literacy classes are still conducted in the Better Life Prison School, the Unlearn Foundation now spearheads the prison’s gender-sensitisation program.
To build a curriculum that was most productive in the prison environment, Eleena and her team constructed a 21 chapter syllabus, running over 45–50 hours. The chapters were built taking into consideration the stories and accused crimes of a pilot cohort and spread awareness on prevention of crimes against women. The program prioritises approaching these topics through a legal lens, covering the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, rape laws, and other gender-based violence legislation. A central pillar is sex education and the deliberate deconstruction of false masculinity, given that the majority of participants are accused of sexual crimes.
A major mode of delivering content is the foundation’s Pehal toolkit. The gamified ‘toolkit’ comprises comic books on domestic violence and dowry, snakes-and-ladders and board games built around frequently-asked questions men may have about topics like consent or harassment, and card games covering the rights and responsibilities of citizens. The toolkit was built from the learnings of a pilot study done with 300 prisoners convicted of gender-based violence in prisons in Delhi; and in 2021, it was introduced to prisons in Haryana, with over 500 inmates documenting positive change through exposure to its content. In a pre- and post-test done with 400 inmates, the results showed a 60% increase in understanding of POCSO and child sexual abuse, and a 68% increase in understanding of toxic masculinity.
The Program Pedagogy and Creating a Space for Genuine Discussion
The Unlearn Foundation’s courses never open with women-focused discussions. Instead, it begins with broad topics. For example, a conversation on gender stereotypes begins with how the men participating in the course may have been on the receiving end of unhealthy stereotypical expectations, then slowly works towards the analysis of case-studies covering a diverse range of stereotypes and, eventually, to how those experiences might apply to others and to the women in society. The approach aims at creating a safe space for discussion by avoiding singling out actions or comments in the class.
However, the limitation Eleena identifies with the current program is significant. The curriculum works towards changing beliefs participants have of what ‘normal’ behaviour looks like. Most of the Unlearn students have grown up without ever encountering terms like ‘consent’, ‘gender equity’ or even ‘stereotypes’. Through the course of the Unlearn program individuals begin interacting with concepts that may seem foreign to them, in hopes of initiating a conscious transformation in their approach towards women. However, the same program structure is less effective when dealing with prisoners accused of large-scale organised crimes like sex trafficking. In these cases, perpetrators are already aware that their actions are categorically wrong, and so one cannot simply try to change their thought process by subtly reinforcing this point. Those cases require a different approach to change that the Unlearn Foundation is still developing.
How Program Outcomes Are Documented
To ensure active transformation in thought process and in approach towards reform, the Unlearn Foundation looks at certain measures of change in their course participants. Course instructors conduct baseline and endline surveys comparing responses of inmates at the start and end of the course. These surveys comprise a largely multiple-choice format exploring case studies indirectly relating to the course topics. The team also tracks class participation of inmates and follows up with their post-course enrolment in other reform programs within the prison. The most important mechanism for recording change is also speaking with female family members of inmates and ex-inmates to assess any observed behavioural change noted by those closest to them. The Unlearn Foundation offers a fellowship through which participants can begin their own projects and conduct sessions with at-risk youth in high-crime neighbourhoods. Maximum of the Unlearn fellows are in fact previously incarcerated men who began their journey with the foundation in the classrooms at the Better Life Prison School.
Addressing Recidivism
While tracking the progress of a group of 300 Unlearn students post their release from prison over a 3-6 month period, the Unlearn team observed a 25% recidivism rate in that specific cohort. In spite of attitudinal changes, Eleena identifies several structural factors that drive re-incarceration independent of program outcomes for such individuals.
For example, vocational training often happens early in a sentence, but with lack of follow up over the time of incarceration, livelihood skills go unrefreshed post-release. For those who have picked up new tool-based skills while in prison (sewing, carpentry, etc), the prison administration makes no provisions of professional equipment, making the process of starting independent work financially tedious for some people. However, there is a significant absence of data covering these drivers of recidivism. The prison administration does not track equipment provision or employment outcomes after release; and although the 2016 Model Prison Manual calls for ‘after-care’ support including tools and equipment for ex-prisoners, most prisons lack the funding to do so.
Apart from employment-based hurdles experienced post release, ex-inmates- especially those convicted of sensitive crimes like sexual assault often face estrangement from their family and are unable to form or sustain relationships post release. In the absence of social-emotional counselling and post-release guidance, many individuals find it easier to resort to crimes again, especially since they are now familiar with prison networks.
As the lead for the Criminal Justice and Prison Reformation pillar at the TYCIA Foundation, Eleena has overseen the development of TYCIA’s post-release ‘Kunji’ helpline. The helpline connects ex-inmates with employment and livelihood opportunities, mental health facilities and educational programs. The team at TYCIA also organises ‘second change addas’ or group therapy sessions with ex-inmates to provide a form of free discussion forums among people facing similar struggles since being released.
While talking about necessary administration-focused reforms, Eleena pointed out the need for the government to invest in post-release support, helping scale initiatives like the Kunji platform to an all-India level. States should also sponsor post-release hostels, offering free temporary shelter while ex-prisoners seek employment and financial stability. Even the provision of refresher vocational courses timed to the period immediately before and after release, would serve as a productive mechanism to ensuring actual utilisation of skills learned whilst in prison.
A Sneak Peek into the Unlearn Foundation’s Upcoming Initiatives
Eleena and her team have been working towards installing audio-visual modules in barracks and jails across the Tihar prison complex so that even prisoners who do not attend Unlearn sessions are made aware of gender and legal literacy content. One of the foremost obstacles in planning such a project is that officials may refuse to authorise large-scale discussions on sensitive topics like consent and rape in barracks. Films dealing with gender-based violence are likely to be blocked by the administration and even if allowed, many prisons are not equipped with projectors and AV equipment to execute this idea efficiently. Even though India ranks third globally in the list of reported rape cases, administrative blockades still seem to label conversations on the topic as ‘taboo’ even when it comes to holding discussions with people actually convicted of these crimes.
Eleena’s broader vision for the foundation is to scale her initiative such that even informal gathering spaces, be it bars or cigarette shops have public-facing manuals, brochures or some mode of accessible information on the gender-based ethics. Instead of seeking remedies to crimes against women after they are already committed, she wants to seek prevention. Men should be made aware of their responsibility in delivering on this cause.
Also, under development currently, is Eleena’s brainchild – a gender institute where survivors and victims of gender-based abuse can find sanctuary and recuperate, adolescent boys and girls can under take summer courses on gender studies and academicians can research topics of gender in intersection with other disciplines.
The Takeaway
Across the course of our conversation, one idea surfaced repeatedly: prison reform cannot be measured merely by the number of people incarcerated, but by the number who leave prison equipped not to return.
Prison courses need to be better paced and structured to produce tangible outcomes within a short working window. Faculty need to rethink how they teach basic skills such as reading and writing in ways that are gamified and engaging while still catering to young adults. Although open classes are offered at Tihar, consistency in providing educational resources, filing applications on time, and making inmates aware of the opportunities available to them remains largely absent. There is also a stark need for crime-specific legal literacy so that inmates understand both their own rights and the rights of those around them. Reducing recidivism, particularly in crimes against women, is a multifaceted challenge. Vocational training and skill-building programmes alone do not address the behavioural patterns that underly repeat offending. The Unlearn Foundation has tackled these issues head-on, transforming the perspectives of many young boys and men along the way. In a criminal justice system that has traditionally focused on punishment, the Unlearn Foundation's work serves as a reminder that reform begins not only with accountability, but also with education, rehabilitation, and the willingness to address the root causes of violence before deeming a person as being ‘unable to change’.