saheli

Enabling tribal women to fight poverty and gender based violence by providing skill training.

She took her first flight after her familial separation in an adrenaline rush that was to become of what she stood through the years to come. The arduous effort of finding a place to live, pay rent and taking care of two little kids sent her shivers and terrified her. The tears she swallowed and the fear she hid to raise bravely her two kids on her own without any income and relying solely on a few gold ornaments she had saved from her wedding. She was dispirited by the constant struggle and had to do all kinds of odd jobs to sustain a livelihood- cooking, working as a domestic help, helper at a parlor, etc.Eventually after a few years of struggle she became a teacher where she worked throughout her career and that’s how she founded the trust HEALTH ENERGY AND REHABILITATION TRUST and became the founder chairperson of the trust. She started two projects under the trust –BASHA (ESTD: 2006)  a school for the lesser privileged children and SREEJONI (ESTD:2016) a Silai school for the tribal and local women of Bolpur (IGP Program).

 She gave birth to Sreejoni at Shantiniketan. The beneficiaries of this project would be the young and adolescent tribal and village women of Bolpur, Shantiniketan. They were shy and scared to come but after a few sessions with them they were convinced of their prospects and eventually became our first trainees with a meager stipend of Rs.20 per day. The main aim of this program was to enhance the quality of life of women through increased knowledge and skills. She also realized that merely imparting literacy would not be sufficient. The women need vocational training to uplift their status. They should be able to stand on their own feet and be an earning member of their family. Most, tribal face a number of challenges which they need to overcome in order to improve their status in the society.

The impact of the school started could be found in seeing tribal girls stitching clothes for their village clients from Sreejoni at present and are hoping to build their own set up with the help from this skill school. There are others who try to sell their products to their “Malkins” where they work as a caretaker.

Generating sustainable livelihood for disabled women in the conflict prone areaCurrent beneficiary strength: 150 women and children.

Ms.  Bhaotina Mushahary is the Co-Founder and Managing Trustee of the Action for Inclusion & Empowerment Trust (AIET) which was being founded and registered in 2014. She has completed her Diploma in Disability Studies, Graduation in Sociology and Pursuing LL.B. After having faced gender based violence herself, she has worked with Shishu Sarothi one of the most responsive organization dealing with the issue of disability rights. Inspired by two years of experience in the disability sector armed with a formal degree on it and with the vision of ending gender based violence, Ms. Bhaotina Mushahary has co-founded the AIET to work towards promoting rights of the Person with disability especially focusing on women with disability and marginalized women. She has now chosen to work in Kokrajhar which is a district devastated by protracted conflict to take the challenges of life head on.

Her work:  Action for Inclusion & Empowerment Trust (AIET) is born out of the quests to bring about small changes in its surroundings by group of young friends. The organisation was registered in August 2014 under Indian Charitable Trust Act of 1882. In Kokrajhar District (Assam), the founders having received formal training in D. Ed in disability, started working on rights of the person with disability.

In the district of Kokrajhar which is the capital district of Bodoland Territorial Council there are zero services for person with disability. Beginning from social exclusion, political exclusion to deprivation from all the services of education, health and employment, person with disable face extreme level of deprivation and marginalization in the district. More than the deprivation of material services, it is the absence in the social and political conscience of the area that pushes the disables especially the women with disability to the margin of their life. Since centuries now, this particular issue has failed to capture the public imagination and social-political discourse. But these are very obvious, as the women with disability are forced to remain confined into their so called family spaces due to extreme level of discrimination and prejudices. The sufferings are further accentuated in the district of Kokrajhar due to unending conflict and internal displacement. On one hand un-ending conflict leading to poor development indicators in general and on the other, challenges of being a disable that too women, one can imagine of the level of sufferings and crisis in life of the women with disabilities.

At such a critical situation, Ms. Bhaotina Mushahary, has co-founded the Action for Inclusion & Empowerment Trust (AIET) which has achieved the following so far-

• Formed Kokrajhar Disable Women Association which is an all women association with 21 Executive Members.
• Signed an MoU with Department of Education, Kokrajhar district for promoting inclusive school. 2 schools have been taken up for experimenting the model and teachers from 20 schools are trained on designing low cost Teaching Learning Materials for inclusive education.
• Formed two Self Help Groups of Disable Women and linked with National Urban Livelihood Mission.
• Facilitated issuing of disability certificate to 30 disable individuals.
• Organized workshop and training on life skills especially on sexual and reproductive health rights for more than 20 women with disability.

Samim, a fighter in her own right is changing the world, one hand at a time!

Through long cold nights when hundreds of young boys and girls try to make a living by working incessantly in call centres while craving for their mother’s warm home cooked meals, Samim ensures that they don’t go to bed on an empty stomach. Samim and her army of home cooks deliver tiffins or dabbas to these hungry souls. When Samim wasn’t allowed to step out of her house, she decided to NKUTCl-ind ._’ FOUNDATION break tradition. Despite coming from a conservative Manipuri Muslim family from Lakhipur in Assam, Samim broke barriers to make something out of her life. Unlike other girls in her village, Samim went onto become a graduate from Assam University through distance learning. Post studies, she started working at a beauty salon to make ends meet and take care of her deprived family. But, she wasn’t satisfied. Bidding farewell to her family and three young brothers, Samim came to Guwahati in search of a job in order to support her folks. She became an active volunteer at We Are Young (WAY) Foundation, a Guwahati based non for profit youth-led initiative working towards promoting empowering spaces for youth leadership. While volunteering with WAY, Samim came across several women and children hailing from marginalized sections of the society and in dire need of help.It’s here that she decided she had to do something to support them. Samim herself came from a sidelined and conformist family and she knew the enormous challenges such women face in their lives. Thus started Samim’s enterprise of taking help of such women to start her food delivery initiative. Her establishment is named Lunchbox. Her vision was simple – to make these women independent, thereby self-sustainable. Samim’s initiative Lunchbox delivers home-made meals to office goers made in very hygienic conditions.Over the past 1.5 years, Samim and her team has delivered 2 500+ meals to a bunch of happy clientele. But what’s most important to Samim today the gratification it gives to be able to help a bunch of women financially support themselves and their families through Lunch box. Apart from running Lunchbox, Samim has created something called a 5th space within them where in their free time in the kitchen women gather around to connect with each other, have discussions and share their stories of struggles, their triumphs and their liberation, something that they’d never experienced earlier. Samim also conducts monthly gatherings inviting other women from the colony to share and talk about the contentment and challenges they face in their lives. Samim and her team constantly motivate women to report domestic violence with the higher athourities. William Shakespeare was correct when he believed that while some are born great, some achieve greatness! Samim Sultana’s tale is that of a woman who was not just born a fighter but her incredible journey proves that she’s also the ultimate survivor after being plunged into the depths of misery.

From A Tribal Village To Receiving An Award In Germany, Jacinta Has Come A Long Way!

Domestic & family violence is no longer an isolated issue that needs to be veiled behind walls thanks to women like Kutchina Foundation’s Kritika Jacinta who has been crusading against such violence that women constantly endure. Jacinta Kerketta hails from Jharkhand and is a tribal poet & writer. These few words themselves sound appalling yet valiant, don’t they? Jacinta belongs to a schedule tribe and grew up in then Bihar. Since she was a kid she could witness the stark gender equality difference which her mother, sisters and she faced in the family as opposed to the male members. Family decisions were always taken by the men of the house, while the women languished in the kitchen, a culture she hated and felt to be very unfair. The community she belonged to never allowed women to step out of their houses let alone the sad truth about gender discrimination. Women had no exposure whatsoever. They were confined within the walls of their kitchen. Jacinta fought all odds and is now an eminent tribal poet & writer. She works toward creating a strong voice for tribal women and girls in the tribal heartland of Jharkhand. Heroically, she’d recently gone to Germany to receive an award for her amazing work on literature among Tribals and Adivasi women in Jharkhand. Now, this is truly commendable isn’t it? Jacinta had always been passionate about expressing her thoughts through writing and presenting them to the world. Her profound interest lies in enabling girls to express themselves through writing, thus letting the world know of their stories. She follows her endeavor to build the writing and photography skills of adolescent girls with a little guidance and training. Jacinta firmly believes that this project will make such neglected girl feel independent and provide them with an occasion to be able to express themselves without restrictions. It’s such a pity that such skills are barely tutored amongst girls and women, who have so much potential within themselves. Jacinta wants such opportunities to be accessible to all, so that the girls and women can make their mark in the field and on the world that conveniently chooses to pay no attention to them.

7 Reasons Why Women Should Not Lift Weights Just Like Our Krritika Baidehi Majhi Did!

Well, for starters you might break a nail, even bruise a male ego or two, but you’ll not be able to lift heavy objects without asking a man for help, you’ll grunt, sweat and feel sore … so unladylike! In a country like India where women are considered Goddesses only on paper and holy scriptures, women are subjugated to atrocities no one should ever have to go through! Thus they should stay enslaved lest they alter the balance of the universe! Take the example of Baidehi Majhi who not only trumped men by winning several awards in weightlifting, a man’s cup of tea, but is also a beacon of light for thousands others. Lifting weights can lead to better metabolism, healthier body image and enhanced self-esteem! What a disaster! Plus, feeling confident is totally overrated and who wants less belly fat? Nope, not interested! For improved pain and quality of life, back pain sufferers should consider weightlifting. But, then again, back pain is such a life ruiner, let’s just stick to that, isn’t it? Weight training helps stabilize body fat, prevent weight gain, and preserve lean mass over the long term. Ugh! Strength training makes people more physically active in their daily lives, which means less time spent sedentary, which can contribute to a longer life. Pass! Well, if Baidehi Majhi, a primitive tribal girl from Bhatipas village in Rayagada, Orissa would have thought of these 7 reasons why women should not lift weights, she would have disintegrated under the restraint of her step mother whose cruel chores directed at her still bruise her. One fine day, opportunely, Gram Vikas, an NGO working toward education connected her to a school. Characteristic of her step mother and relatives, Baidehi had to face a lot of hostility, but despite all odds, her determination was not to fade, she decided it was about time she carved her destiny! She mainstreamed Girls’Weight Lifting in Chikiti College, one of the oldest colleges in Odis ha remnant of the long gone British era. By the time she reached her intermediate, she had already received fifteen awards in various weight lifting championships across India. Her marked passion for sports with numerous visible achievements and accolades at National platforms has made not just her college proud, but even her state and the entire nation. Today, after accomplishing her graduation, Baidehi works as an instructor with Gram Vikas Sikshya Niketan at Thuamul Rampur, Orrisa. Surprisingly, her achievements have even softened her step mother who beams and proclaims, “Baidehi is my daughter and I’m proud of her”. Baidehi leads arts and sports education programs for both girls and boys. She educates hundreds in her school, supports her step brothers & sisters and few more students with financial support and encourages thousands across neighboring villages to follow their dreams and not be let down my hardships. Following her path, dozens of girls have got into sports education and Baidehi has become a daughter of the region. Beyond working at school, Baidehi treads into the tribal dominated forest villages trying to spread the values of education, inspiring parents about girls’ schooling and sharing the cruel impacts of child marriage, while also facilitating Government provisions for girls’ education. All this was only possible because Baidehi did not give into the conception that women should not lift weights!

Ranjita sinha born as Ranjit sinha of a very conservative family where her father belonged to the natives of UP and mother had her origination in the roots of Bengal.

Ranjita Sinha, is a front-running TG activist who  hails from Kolkata and has represented the very vibrant Transgender Community across the eastern and north-eastern part of India. She has represented herself at all national and international forums, consultations and conferences including academic ones championing the voices of the Transgender community.

Ranjita sinha is the pioneer who established the first India registered Network of Transgender in  West Bengal  in the year 2008. Turning to the pages  we can note some  works that are to be marked. She is been associated with11 organization   working in different parts of Bengal where FTM and MTF all are to be noted in organizations like Anandam,Jalpaiguti Uttarayan,Dinajpur Natun Aloo,Birbhum Samporko ,Gour Banglar sangram,Gokale Road Bandhan,Snehonir,Bandhu, Sampoorna and Collective Soul. 

 Another work of Ranjita sinha has marked a Transgender Day in the history of Bengal when in the year 2008 where the supreme court verdict was also not established she along with the co-operation of leading agencies of india as NACO, UNDP,ALLIACE INDIA ,WBSAPCS etc has celebrated Transgender Day in Bengal . Another initiative of Ranjita Sinha in the field of empowerment was the projectSnehonir where the inert talent was expelled from the view that Transgender Community only deals with Begging, Sex work etc leading to the Self Made Group which showed the handcraft , jewellery and other creative things made by the Community people.

We know that the work always waits for the pages to be written about them in history So even the  ongoing work which had started for the development of Community  and which will  be going on  in the coming era has been honored by Numerous Awards .. few are scrolled below…NFI’s C. Subramaniam  Award program Mahasweta Devi award ,Udaan Women Award ,  Award,YMCA Youth Award and many more

 She has been a part of numerous academic forums where she has spoken vehemently against systemic marginalization, inferiorization and discrimination prevailing in spite of the legal recognition by the supreme court of India. Ranjita has also made enormous efforts for social inclusion and acceptance of TG community by mainstream society by participating and organizing activities such as DurgaPuja  wherein large numbers of Kinnars took part, and felt recognized as an important part of the society.

For her Activism She honored to get a member of West Bengal transgender development Board and National transgender Task Force.

I am Smita Parmar social activist, hails from Gujarat, Working in Bihar with the Mahadalit community {untouchables}.

I am second in my family among six siblings. From childhood I had seen how my parents were so kind to poor and were respecting Harijan (Dalits in Gujarat), always use to think why my parents are doing so much for these people. In answer my parents used to tell me God has given us in abundance and it is our duty towards the nation to give back. As a young girl I wanted to be a business woman and have a luxurious life; however God had a different dream for me. After finishing my M.A. in Sardar Patel University I joined the congregation Medical Mission Sisters, I decided to be a nun in spite of my parents will. I moved to Pune and was involved in red area especially with prostitute children and who are affected with HIV/AIDS. It was wonderful experience working with them. I learned a lot about them and respect them; thereafter I went to do MBA in St. Xavier’s institute of management Jabalpur. I passed with flying colure. In campus hiring the reliance company offered me a job with high salary, however my path was different.  After my studies I opted to work in Bihar, Hajipur with Mahadlit community in 2013.

I am passionate to work for this community who is deprived and oppressed. They have no dignity, no basic facilities and no one cares for them. They are called rat eaters stays out of villages in small hamlets.  Swabhiman Lok Seva Sansthan works for Mahadlit community in Vaishali district, Bihar. We work in field of education, health and human rights. Empowering them by creating awareness by organizing training, seminars and exposure. Self help groups for women is the best weapon to make them self reliant and helping them to come out from bondage laborers and taking dept form landlords. We are working with adolescents and youth groups, they are the best way to connect with them and empower them. Children’s parliaments are very active and ready to take up issues in villages. We are able to create livelihood for people by giving them training in arts and crafts.

I have a Swabhiman Nukud team with illiterate village women. They are the best in performance. We take up many issues and performing nulkud in the district to create awareness. We continue crating awareness and empower the community with creativity and passion.

Apurva is a 25 years passionate lady who is a strong supporter of various social, economic, religious and gender minority rights. She has completed her MA in Politics and Sociology from University of Mumbai. She is working as a Research Coordinator at The QKnit which is an LGBTQAI+ Collaborative. She has received the Kutchina Krritika Fellowship for the year 2018-2019 by Kutchina Foundation, under which she is currently running QueerKala project as a part of The QKnit in order to create employment and livelihood opportunities for various minorities and the backward classes of the society. she has recently started Café Guftagu which is an open and inclusive dialogue café along with two business partners. She is interested in educating the people regarding the issues of women, children, dalits and LGBTQ community as well as trying to find solutions for those issues. She also wants to work for the promotion of education and educational rights for all. 

She has been associated with The QKnit which is an LGBTQIA+ Collective currently working in Mumbai, Delhi and Pune. We seeks to mobilize India’s queer community and the marginalized women through social media and events.

Some of the activities of The QKnit:

• QueerKatta:

QueerKatta is one of flagship event which QKnit has been hosting since August 2018, QueerKatta is a monthly meetup where we invite people of different backgrounds to any of the public spaces like parks, grounds, promenade, etc. available in Mumbai and facilitate discussion on diverse topics of day to day life. The idea is to create a safe space for all and also to provide a platform to queer community and heterosexual community to interact with eachother.

• Gender Sensitization Sessions and Workshops:

conduct Gender Sensitisation sessions and workshops at workplaces and educational institutions to facilitate dialogue on gender and sexuality. 

• Mumbai Pride Month Events:

During January they host open and inclusive events like Youth Festival, Sports Meet, Queer Hugs to advocate about the rights of Queer Community.

• Blogs on Website and Social Media Campaigns:

QKnit create and publish content in the form of blogs, poetries on our website and social media campaigns regarding various days and issues on our social media handles to aware the masses.

• QueerKala:

QueerKala is a platform that encourages artists from the LGBTQIA+ (collectively termed “Queer”) community and marginalised women by providing them with tools, techniques, and resources to showcase their talents in the field of arts and craft.  It primarily aims at creating employment and livelihood opportunities for these people by incorporating their work into the mainstream working sector.

• Café Guftagu:

With the help of Kutchina Krritika Fellowship they have started Café Guftagu, an open and inclusive dialogue café based in Mira Road which we started in February 2020 with an aim to create a non judgemental and safe space for people to be themselves. It is a queer friendly café and we also have employed a queer person at the café.

I am a founder & Director of SNS since 14 years.

Our organisation is a non-profitable organisation which has been formed in 2006, mostly work on cases related to domestic violence, anti trafficking, family counciling etc.

During Covid19 pandemic we have distributed dry rations to the needy people of different places.

On 22nd May 37 police officials & traffic police of Bhaktinagar P.S. were falicitated as they are frontline warriors whose work were never appreciated by any one.

On 23rd, 24th & 25th we have distributed dry rations among 150 needy people. On 28th we have distributed roti & sabjee to the migrants who had arrived in NJP juction. A vedeo made by our organisation to create awarness increasing domestic violence in this Covid19 pandemic. 

The  perils  of  sexual  exploitation. One woman’s
story of how she wasn’t one to stay quiet!

53% of children in India are victims of sexual abuse, out of which, most abusers were known to the child and were trusted. Most did not report the matter to anyone. Why? Speaking about sexual abuse is considered taboo in our society and the victim is always accounted answerable. Here’s the story of Sutapa Patre, who despite having faced sexual abuse all her life decided to fight for her rights and become a role model for others. Here are some more stats to show how profound and gruesome sexual exploitation and human trafficking is. And mind you, these numbers are only India specific. Globally, almost 80% of the human trafficking is related to sexual exploitation, while the rest is bonded labor.India is the hub of these crimes in Asia. Illegal procuration of minor girls for sexual exploitation and/or bonded labor rose drastically by 416% between 2009-13. It was 237 in 2009, while the number increased to 1224 in 2013. Appalling isn’t it? Sutapa’s own house brings back memories of trauma she’d faced as a child; memories she cannot erase … memories that will haunt her for life … memories that makes her the resolute woman that she is today. As a child, Sutapa had faced sexual abuse from close relatives. When she tried to confide in her parents, she was asked not to reveal it to anyone in case the family name was blemished. Amusingly, she was told to dodge her abusers when they came around. One day, she decided that she’ll not allow the pains to bother her. Sutapa decided not to stay shut. She took up training inWenlido, a system of self-defence that involves physical and mental techniques in fending off attackers. The moves can help tackle sexual, verbal and physical abusers. It’s specifically designed for women. She mastered the art so that no man could ever violate her again. Over a period of time, what started as an expedition of self-defense, gradually transformed into her extending a helping hand to others who have undergone the same predicament as her. Sutapa has empowered hundreds of girls and young women across West Bengal by training them in Wenlido. “In most cases of sexual abuse, the tormentor is someone from the family. I grew up tormented. So I wanted to help others so that they didn’t go through the hell like I did” adds Sutapa. Sutapa’s journey out of her village was not a cakewalk. Born into a farmer’s family in Kamalpur village of Sunderbans, eyebrows were raised when she left the village for her education. Though her parents were supportive, neighbors and relatives questioned the decision. “What was the need to send a girl to school?”was the unanimous demand. But none of this deterred Sutapa. Alongside her education, Sutapa trained in Wen lido.Once she got a trainer’s certificate, she started sharing the martial arts form with other girls. “Wen lido teaches a woman to not only apply physical moves but also mental techniques to ward off attackers. Unlike other forms of martial arts, many moves of Wen lido can be picked up in only three sessions:’ she said. From schoolgirls to homemakers, many have benefited from Sutapa’s lessons. Sutapa has set up Amader Prerana in 2008 with the vision to help girls and women stir a greater sense of value and confidence within themselves. Sutapa takes keen interest in the day-to-day activities of the organization as she helps women realize their power and capacities. Sutapa wants to work with 5 to 1 O schools so that more girls can be trained. Sutapa dreams of a violence free world where women are viewed as equal citizens with valid claims to justice and freedom.