saheli

Bobby Mahato a mother of 2 sons and a fighter of her own life. From her own journey she found that earning own money boosts someone’s confidence. She has empowered 100 ladies of the village by teaching them stitching , training them in block printing. She found out that a lot of ladies in the village used to sit idle after finishing their daily chores.Since she knew stitching,she wanted to pass it on to them so that they can use their free time. now many women have begun their own entrepreneurial journey after learning the craft. Apart of stitching, She also taught them block printing.

Apart from that she is also working with tribal women from Bayangbin Panchayat on their health issues specially on menstrual hygiene and maternity health.

Jayanti is a young journalist from Malkangiri, Orissa. Along with that she is passionately working with women of local tribal community. Recently, however, a number of organizations have come up with the necessary awareness programs to raise awareness about seasonal women’s hygiene. But the women of Orissa’s ‘Bara Didi’ group are really different. They are all indigenous. The work started in 2019 with the permission of the local administration. And since then, they have taught more than 5,000 adolescents the lessons of seasonal hygiene.

According to Jayanti Buruda, the main organizer of this volunteer group, in most cases no one opens his mouth when it comes to talking to everyone together. So they have emphasized on a separate conversation with everyone. Of course, even there, it is not as common for young adults to share their experiences as it is for young men. They also began to hide themselves. However, as a result of repeated communication, in many cases the relationship becomes easier.

Empowering Naga women with entrepreneurship skills to fight back gender based violence by creating livelihood options

 Miss Faihamti Longmailai is a core team member of CAN Youth based in Nagaland.  Her education background comes from Sociology and post graduation in Rural Development.  She loves reading and working for empowering women. 

 She works on promoting women Entrepreneurship and empowering them by providing them small amount of loan and giving skill development trainings.  The major goal is to make them feel that their rights is their virtue and not a burden, she feel the work she does is important  because women’s role is not  just  a role of a home maker but also a maker of carrier and share the same rights with men. .Faihamti motivated women around her and act as a role model to them. 

Presently working on adolescent’s issues and trying to inspire and work with adolescents for taking them through a journey of Me to We. Under this journey we are majorly working on the three themes i.e. self, relationship & society through various workshops, events, social campaigns, community exposures and internship.

Since 2011 till now She has worked as lead facilitator as follows:

• 2012 – community exposure in Jawaharnagar slum area, visits to organization named as faith, tabar and help in suffering.
• Smile Internship orientation camp in Manthan and feedback camp in delhi 
• Group exposure at Narmada BachaoAndolan in 2012
• 2013 – Smile internship orientation camp in Manthan and GVNML and feedback Camp in Delhi 
• Co lead field trainings in MP under a project for Poor Area civil society  (PACS) with field trainers working on the issue of exclusion.
• Lead PravahChangeloomsChangemakers fellowship as project coordinator in Jaipur in 2017.
• Lead 3-year project MLMF in Pravah with adolescent’s girls on the issue of Srhr, gender, ECM and lifeskills in government school. The project was supported by American Jewish Welfare Service
• Since 2017 training adolescents every year  aslifeskill faculty in Summer camp organized by Department of lifelong learning , University of Rajasthan. 
• Lead GargiManchUnicef Project in 2018 through conducting a study in dungarpur and barmer districts and provided recommendation to education department and Unicef to strengthen the GargiManch forum in schools

She have been awarded as KutchinaKrittika Fellow in 2018 for her work with adolescents on issues like SRHR, Gender, Identity, Decision making. 

She is awarded with VivekanandGauravSamaan, Rajasthan in 2020 for working with adolescent on the issue of SRHR, ECM and gender through building lifeskills. This award was presented by YuwaSanskriti organization.

Currently  she is active member of Women Forum Jaipur.

In last 5 years, She is managed to work with 500 adolescents through our Program called – Meri Life Mere Faisley . Through this program our efforts was to create the transformative journeys for adolescents to address issues of Early and Child Marriage, Gender and SRHR. Out of these 500 adolescents, 50 adolescents were further capacitated as Grassroot champions and done action projects in the community.  As a result of this project, Girls of communities has started negotiating about the important decisions of their lives – especially around their age of marriage.To take their learning further, last year, with the My Life Mere Faisle Campaign, weattempted to break and, eventually, change the narrative that doubts youth’s/adolescent’s ability to make responsible decisions. It wishes to bring forth the stories of collective decision making by youth and their caring adults, where, both the agency of the young person and the experiences of the adults are respected.

Geetanjali Babbar is the founder and director of a non-profit named Kat-Katha that works to empower and liberate sex workers in brothels of the largest red light area known as G.B. Road , Delhi.

Geetanjali graduated with honours from Maharaja Agrasen College Delhi University  with a degree in journalism and has a post-graduation in development communications from Jamia Milia Islami University.She received a Gandhi Fellowship in 2010, a two-year leadership program. and 2013 Laureate Global Fellowship.

While studying, she was involved with National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) where she got a chance to closely work with eunuchs

While working with the National AIDS Control Organisation, she visited Delhi’s GB Road for the first time and got an opportunity to meet sex workers.She learned that these sex workers were made to serve 20-40 customers in a day, and that the women urgently needed a support system to talk about their personal lives and issues apart from gaining safe sex information. She refused high-profile job offers^] to set up Kat-Katha that aims to improve the lives of the sex workers in Delhi’s infamous GB Road red light area.

She helps them nurture their dreams, educate, and enrich their community. She encourages them to join mainstream life by helping them learn arts like stitching, embroidery, painting and motivates them to explore alternate life choices.

Today, Kat-Katha serves 3,600-4,000 sex workers and teaches them a new way of life. Her organisation has 12 teachers from well-known colleges for its educational program and is taking care of 10-12 brothels. With the help of Kat-katha, 3 women are successfully working as tailors, along with 26 sex workers and 21 children who are being given quality education.

In addition to the training, the center also provides safe zones for the women and their children. Kat-Katha also helps children of these women to spend their childhood out of the gloomy world. She believes that community participation is at the very core of this initiative.

She spoke at TEDx Talk and was the on-air contest winner (Theme-Delhi ke Heroes) at Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM’s ‘FLAT 983’.

  Tapasi have been working in the Bali of the Sundarbans for eleven years since 2009 as a social worker. Her life has been started fighting from a very young age.  Because of not having a mother, she was abused in various ways and forced to marry at an early age.  After marriage, she has passed high school.

 The main purpose and goal of her work —

• Reducing gender inequality in society.
• Equal rights of students and men and women.
• Prevent underage marriage.
•  Counseling and giving legal advice in cases of domestic violence, violence against women, sexual harassment etc.
• Conducting workshops on gender with adolescent boys and girls.
• International women’s observance, etc.

Shahina Javed is a peace activist working in Kolkata’s Rajabazar locality. She promotes women’s empowerment and is a fighter against domestic violence. Shanina works among young girls in her locality to make them strong enough to fight against any kind of violence and injustice.  Shahina runs an NGO named Roshni Youth Group. As part of her women’s empowerment program, Shahina has formed a women’s football team in Rajabazar and organizes tournaments. Her efforts faced stiff resistance in the initial days because the community elders did not approve of girls playing football.  But Shahina continued to talk to the community leaders and convince them. Her community has now acknowledged Shahina’s leadership abilities and extended support to her initiatives that includes organizing health camps, counselling and even hosting a Raksha Bandhan event.

In 2009, Shahina was made a youth fellow with Thoughtshop Foundation, Kolkata, for her deep understanding of social and community issues. In 2010, she was selected for participating at the National Meet of Changemakers. Shahina led the West Bengal team at the We Can Campaign, which was part of a global campaign supported by international NGO Oxfam, to end violence against women. Shahina’s work is a shining example of how to defeat violence and promote mutual understanding through sincere and dedicated work.

The phrase “A lotus blooming in a muddy pond” aptly describes the life of Tumpa Adhikary, born in a red-light area of Kolkata. The daughter of a sex worker, Tumpa would have been forced to fill into her mother’s shoes—a fate that awaits most young (and even underage) girls in such areas. However, this 28-year old woman fought against her fate and today, she is a beacon of hope for youngsters in her locality.
Tumpa is one of the founding members of Diksha, a youth-run programme in Kalighat’s red-light area that works towards child protection through direct community participation. She continues to inspire others, especially the children and young girls of sex workers, through her relentless efforts to provide them the option to seek a life outside the flesh trade.

Skill Training And Women Empowerment Centre In Kalighat

One of the biggest struggles for sex workers in red light area is to sustain a life beyond the flesh trade. Often, older women who are no longer capable of continuing their job become economically marginalised. They have no plan-B and hardly any other option of gaining economic sustenance other than forcing their children into the same trade, condemning them to a bleak and painful future.
Through its extensive support and network, KF has helped develop a framework to create a business venture by these older women. We have helped set up a skill training and women empowerment centre in Kalighat, where these women are learning new skills and exploring new scopes of earning such as providing home delivery services of food for local houses and offices. This is creating inspiration and economic stability for girls and women from the area who now have other livelihood options and undoubtedly, a brighter future outside the trade. 

Learning Center And Safe Space For Children

Kutchina Foundation is fulfilling its commitment towards ensuring rights to young girls and children through various programmes and support activities. One such activity is developing a learning center and safe space for children in the red-light area of Kalighat. This centre gives space for children to read, learn, play, and stay safe through regular mentoring, cultural support and training from this centre. Currently 50 children are connected with this centre.
Through our Kutchina Krittika, Tumpa Adhikary, we are transforming the lives of those children who are born or brought into the area. As someone raised in this area, Tumpa embodies both, the challenges and the aspirations of her generation, facing similar challenges and nurturing similar aspirations. 

Pratima Kumari is a rare example of a Dalit woman in a leadership role in Bihar. While growing up she went through a lot of hardships that are common to the Dalit community, especially for being a woman.

An early marriage forced Pratima to drop out of her studies and run into severe health problems. But with a strong determination, she vouched to start the crusade of addressing the issue of child marriage and forming her own initiative “Gaurav Gramin Vikas Manch”.

Pratima believes that illiteracy and early marriage are the main causes of non-development of Dalit women.

Gaurav Gramin mahila Vikas Manch

Through Gaurav Gramin Vikas Manch, Pratima is working for women empowerment by formation of self help groups and disseminating the information related to health and education.

The proposed area of operation are Five (5) Panchayats of Phulwarisharif in Patna district where she engages adolescent girls and their mothers through her initiatives. Her long term planning is to link them with a larger network and provide a platform where they can share and highlight the issues of oppression, thus seeking remedies to a broader spectrum.

Empowering Transgender Community through self help group

Priyanka belongs from a small flood affected area in Malda. Born as a male but since her childhood in her heart and soul she was a female. Given her feminine nature she was discriminated at school, at society and inside her family as well. At a later stage of her life she could identify herself as transgender women.

  Denouncing all these discriminations she decided to fight her rights. With her own fight she also decided to fight for the rights of the transgender community of Malda. On 2015 she and her community friends formed a self help group (SHG) consisting of transgender where they started making handicrafts products for livelihood and strengthen the Trans community at Malda.

In 2017 Priyanka started an informal learning and care center named ” SAPNO KI UDAAN ” for children of manual scavengers who are extremely deprived and also discriminated by the society because of their cast. The school is running out of Crowd Funding

Last year Priyaanka for her social work has been honored by District Legal Aid Society by appointing her as LOK ADALAT JUDGE for MALDA district Court.

She has been able to create partnership with IISWBM, the first ever management school in Bengal with a focus on strengthening her SHG

Her SHG was invited to the nationally famous Trans and Hijra Mela in Mumbai this year to showcase and sell their handcrafts