Raising the political and critical consciousness of the women is of utmost importance in order to question the status quo and for women to be able to completely participate in the public systems. For this, we conduct –
- regular weekly meetings in the local areas where women (in groups of 20) are encouraged to identify and discuss the issues pertaining to their lives and living area – be it conditions of labour, living (water, sanitation, housing, food), entitlements, health, violence, institutions, schools and education, Anganwadi services
- periodic workshops/meetings to build awareness about rights, existing laws and entitlements – eg: labour laws, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, POCSO Act, 2012, patient rights, rights related to abortion etc, andÂ
- build a working relationship with the local governance and concerned departments (Women and Child department, Labour department, Municipality, Health department, Police department, Minorities Welfare department) and utilise this relationship to advocate for change. Issues pertaining to the local area are brought to the attention of the local authorities by the women eg: street lights not functioning, poor drainage system, poor quality of water, issue of youth engaging in drug abuse and so on.
