Membership in Collaborative Networks
Aekal Mahila Adhikar Sangharsh Sanghatan (AMASS)
AMASS is a state level network on rights of single and destitute women. During the course of our work with single women, we felt a need to have a collaborative effort to highlight single women’s diverse concerns and demands. We initiated a network process in Mumbai and Thane districts. This network which commenced in 2002 has Saheli group, Maitreen group, Gyandeep Stri Jagruti Manch, Yuva, Apnalay and Ayki along with WRAG as members of the network. The objective is to build a collective voice articulating the socio-economic and legal rights of single women and to make their issues more visible. As a founding member, we have not only been an active participant in this network but have also frequently initiated programmes and activities to take the work of the network forward, particularly on issues related to law and policy concerning single and destitute women.
Outreach Map of AMASS
Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Aandolan ( founding member)
Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, launched in January 2007, is a collective of Muslim women from across India. It was founded with the objective of acting as a voice for Muslim women to demand social, economic, political, civil, legal and religious rights for the realization of equal citizenship. WRAG is a founding member of this Andolan. The network has four areas of work pertaining to the Muslim community in general and women in particular: law, security, employment and education. It is a mass membership organization, with a leadership of Muslim women. Members of many mahila mandals based in Muslim-dominated bustis in Mumbai that we work with are also members of the network. Our personnel have also assumed responsibilities in the network by way of being state convenors for the state of Maharashtra. Active participation in the activities of the Andolan contributes to realization of our organization’s mission of working with women from marginalized groups to promote their socio-economic and legal status within the family and in society.view here.
Coalition for International Criminal Court (CICC)
The Coalition for International Criminal Court (CICC) is an umbrella organization consisting of more than 2000 organizations from all parts of the world. ICC-India campaign is a member of the CICC, based in New York. The Indian campaign works closely with the CICC headquarters in sharing resources, information and strategies with regard to the campaign at the international and Indian spheres.
Ekal Naari Shakti Sangathan (National Forum for Single Women’s Rights)
This is a forum that was commenced in 2006 through the joint initiative of WRAG, Aastha and Prayatna Foundation. This Forum consists of organizations and individuals working in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. The Forum has conducted two annual capacity-building programmes for the leaders of the Forum. The Forum is now commencing research work on government schemes and policies pertaining to single women. We are a founding member of the Forum, and our personnel play a proactive role in conducting the study in the state of Maharashtra.
Jan Manasik Arogya Abhiyan (JMMA)
Jan Manasik Arogya Abhiyan (JMAA) is a human rights-based, people’s campaign in the area of mental health, initiated by Bapu Trust. It is a state-level forum working in Maharashtra, aiming to humanize the mental health system and restore self-determination, rights and dignity of persons with psycho-social disabilities. It is a platform built in order to engage various stake holders on the right to mental health care. JMAA is not a service providing forum but is a pressure group challenging the state of Maharashtra to execute its responsibilities in mental health. At the moment, the forum is active in Pune and Mumbai cities. WRAG is actively involved in this campaign through the campaign’s Mumbai chapter and coordinates with the campaign at various levels, focusing particularly on mental health of underprivileged, single women living in communities.
Maharashtra Mahila Maha Panchayat (Maharashtra Women’s Collective)
This collective was commenced in 2007 through the initiative of Action Aid – Mumbai, to give a collective voice to women’s rights issues. Through public hearings, the collective is intended to encourage and facilitate women’s leadership in decision-making, justice and liaison with policy makers. The public hearings, with jury panels consisting of distinguished members of the women’s movement, the state government and the media, help highlight violations of women’s rights and facilitate speedy justice. The collective consists of over 17 organizations working on women’s rights in Maharashtra to raise issues pertaining to women’s health, mental health, housing rights, food security, property rights, violence against women and unorganized labour. The collective also focuses specifically on issues pertaining to groups of marginalized women, including dalit and Muslim women. WRAG personnel are particularly active in the Panchayat, with regard to Muslim women’s issues.
Mumbai Initiative for Human Rights Education (MIHRE)
The Mumbai Initiative for Human Rights Education (MIHRE) commenced after a National Human Rights Education Workshop organised by the International Human Rights Education Consortium in Mumbai in October 2003. It arose out of a need felt by most participants of the workshop, including us, for a Mumbai-based initiative to promote human rights education in schools, colleges and universities in the Mumbai region. It aims at providing a platform for interaction and collaboration between educators, educational institutions, non-profit organizations and other interested individuals on issues related to human rights education /human rights. It also aims at building & enhancing capacities of educators and other stakeholders for imparting human rights education to various constituencies. To that end MIHRE conducts seminars and workshops for human rights educators and organizes talks/ lectures on various
human rights issues. We have played an active role in both organizing events under the banner of MIHRE, and in participating as resource persons in some of the events so organized.
Muslim Women’s Rights Network
WRAG has been a founding member of the Muslim Women’s Rights Network since 1999. This is a network consisting of women’s groups concerned about and working on issues of Muslim women’s rights all over the country. As an active member of the Network, we have worked closely with secular groups, feminist organizations as well as community-based groups. We have initiated and organized annual consultations among members, and assumed responsibilities pertaining to Muslim family law in general, and preparing and promoting a progressive nikahnama (marriage contract) in particular. In the year 2006, based on differences in the ideology, priority areas of work and methods of functioning among the members of the Network, we, along with other organizations, felt the need to create an alternative platform where Muslim women, particularly those living in communities, could freely air their concerns and take active steps to ameliorate their conditions. Such like-minded groups and individuals came together and formed the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), details of which are stated above.
National Network of Autonomous Women’s Groups (NNAWG)
The National Network of Autonomous Women’s Groups (NNAWG) is a coalition of groups and organizations that actively participate in the women’s movement in India. It was set up in 2004 during the World Social Forum (WSF) in Mumbai, in response to the need to take feminist political and networking efforts beyond national organizing and strongly advocate for making women’s issues visible. NNAWG is closely linked to the National Co-ordination Committee, which initiates and organizes the massive 3000 strong national conferences every few years. As a founding member, we played an active role in organizing the International Feminist Dialogue Meet/ Workshop when it was held in Mumbai prior to the Word Social Forum 2004.
South Asian Network Against Torture and Impunity (SANTI)
South Asian Network Against Torture and Impunity (SANTI) was formed by a group of human rights organizations in 2003 at a regional meeting organized by SAARC Peoples Forum, and reactivated through a regional discussion meeting on Criminal Responsibility for Torture: A South Asian perspective, organized by Odhikar, Bangladesh in October 2004. Through this network, we work in partnership with Asian Human Rights Commission – Hong Kong, National Human Rights Commission – Nepal, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) of India. The network works towards protecting victims, combating the practice of torture, effective monitoring of national security laws and ensuring justice and accountability in contexts of torture. Our participation in SANTI is complemented by our effort to combat torture in India, through participation in people’s tribunals on torture as jury members, conducting trainings and workshops on international law relating to torture and participating in domestic law reform initiatives on torture.
Women’s Initiative for Socio-economic Development (WISE)
WISE is a cell established by the Maharashtra State Commission for Minorities in March 2006. The idea for setting up this initiative came to the Commission after an officer on special duty, attending a special meeting called by the commission in January 2006, felt that the concerns express by us for gender-just reforms in Muslim family law had to be taken up on a long term basis. We play an active role in the initiative in building alliances with non-profit organizations, members of the commission as well as other like-minded individuals both in the government and non-governmental sectors, in order to take forward our work on bring about reforms in Muslim family law from a gender perspective.