WOMEN'S ORGANISATIONS
AIDWA (All India Democratic Women's Association) is an independent left oriented women's organisation committed to achieving democracy, equality and women's emancipation.
All India Federation of Women in Agriculture: The mission of the Federation would be to initiate activities, products, projects and programmes such as relevant policy actions, advocacy, network, livelihood action, information dissemination, training and grass-root level actions to achieve the vision.
AIWA (Asian Indian Women’s Association) is a group of Detroit area South Asian Women who seek to promote awareness of issues relevant to ourselves and our community.
AIWEFA (All India Women’s Education Fund Association) was founded in 1929 by a group of visionary women including Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Smt. Sarojini Naidu, Smt. Aruna Asaf Ali and Lady Dorothy Irwin. AIWEFA picked up areas of social development with priority for education. A giant step was the establishment of Lady Irwin College in 1932
Akshara, Mumbai grew out of the contemporary Indian women's movement in the 1980s with the campaigns against violence against women. It was established informally in 1986 as a response to the growing need for material with a gender perspective. After a series of struggles to access resources and space, it was formally launched in 1995 with the agenda of social change through information activism.
Centre for Women’s Development Studies (CWDS) was established on 19th April 1980, in the middle of the International Women’s Decade, by a group of men and women who were involved in the preparation of the first ever comprehensive government report on the ‘Status of Women in India’ entitled ‘Towards Equality’ (Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India, (CSWI), Government of India) and who were later associated with the Women’s Studies Programme of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).
FIWE (Federation of Indian Women Entrepreneurs) is a national-level organization founded in 1993. The objective of the organization is to foster the economic empowerment of women, particularly the SME segment, by helping them to become successful entrepreneurs and become a part of the mainstream industry.
IBPW, Bay Area, USA (Indian Business & Professional Women) is a non-profit support network for business and professional women that promotes education, leadership and self-development through seminars and workshops. Seminars are open to men and women of Indian and non Indian origin.
IFUWA (Indian Federation of University Women’s Associations) is a non-profit, non governmental organization (NGO), without party, political or religious bias affiliated to the International Federation of University Women (IFUW), Geneva, and is member of SAARCFEW and UW Asia.
Indian Association for Women's Studies (IAWS)'s evolution can be traced to the emergence of the women’s movement in India in the mid-1970s and the publication of Towards Equality in 1975, the path-breaking report of the government’s national Committee on the Status of Women in India.
International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care is a non-profit organization that was set up in Chennai in response to a need for a support agency for victims and survivors of domestic abuse. Their services include crisis management, legal advocacy, support and resource services.
IWA (Indian Women’s Association, Kuwait) is a non-profit organisation founded in January 1998. The Indian Women's Association has remained committed to its mission to help those in need.
IWA (Indian Women’s Association, Singapore) is a non-profit organization under the patronage of the High Commission of India. Founded in 1998, IWA comprises of a large exclusive member body representative of both the expatriate as well as local Indian community. IWA is managed by a volunteer executive committee elected annually.
IWSA (Indian Women Scientists’ Association) is a voluntary, non political, secular organisation. It has nine branches all over India and is headquartered in Vashi, Navi Mumbai.
Jagori is a women's training, documentation, communication and resource centre that was established in 1984 with the aim of carrying feminist consciousness to a wider audience using creative media.
Lawyers’ Collective was established in 1981, and is one of the leading public interest service providers in India with a proven record of setting high standards in human rights advocacy, legal aid and litigation. Today Lawyers Collective runs funded projects on HIV/AIDS related discrimination and women's rights.
NAWO (National Alliance of Women) is a national network of women, based in New Delhi. It is an umbrella organization and affiliation or membership is open to all progressive minded women's groups and institutions, non-governmental organizations, women workers, women's unions, individuals and others who share the principles, objectives and values of NAWO.
NWMI (Network of Women in Media, India) is an informal, non-hierarchical organisation comprising women journalists and others working in or on the media. It is currently linked to autonomous local collectives of media women in about a dozen places across the country. The NWMI is an autonomous body committed to democracy and gender justice within the organisation and in society.
Prajnya is a non-profit centre for research, public education and networking, working on issues relating to peace, justice and security. Prajnya is based in Chennai, and was formed in 2006.
Sakhi Women’s Resource Center was set up in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala with the support of the John D and Catherine T Mac Arthur Foundation in the form of a three-year fellowship awarded to Aleyamma Vijayan in 1996, after she worked for 16 years with the marginalized communities. After three years of the fellowship, Sakhi was registered as a charitable trust.
Sanlaap, Kolkata was founded in 1987 and works towards correction of social imbalances leading to gender injustice and violence against women and children. Sanlaap is also involved with issues relating to trafficking, prostitution and sexual abuse.
SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) is a trade union registered in 1972. It is an organisation of poor, self-employed women workers, who earn a living through their own labour or small businesses. Constituting 93% of the labour force, these are workers of the unorganised sector. However their work is not counted and hence remains invisible.
SEWA Bharat (All India Federation of Self Employed Women’s Associations) was set up in 1982 in response to the demand for setting up SEWA organisations across India. Its main aim is to facilitate the formation of new member organisations across the country and to promote their growth and development.
SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action) was founded by a group of dedicated doctors and social workers led by neonatologist and former dean of Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital and Medical College, Mumbai, Dr. Armida Fernandez, and works to empower women and slum communities to be catalysts of change.
SPARROW (Sound and Picture Archives for Research on Women), Mumbai took birth as an idea in 1988. Before that, those who are now the trustees of SPARROW had met several times and discussed the possibilities of setting up a Women's Archives with a difference. The need for such specialised archives has emerged from their own work in Women's Studies. The idea was not to set up a Women's Archives as just a collection centre but to create archives which would be more vibrant and more communicative.
Stree Mukti Sanghatana (Women's Liberation Organisation) has directed its efforts towards the upliftment of women by creating social awareness about women's issues and issues related to equality, peace and development. It is an apolitical, autonomous, voluntary organisation based in Mumbai.
Swadhina was organised as a civil society organisation with the prime objective of empowerment of women for self-reliance. Working primarily for the tribal and backward class women, Swadhina is active, through 52 village units, in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu with membership strength of about 1260 women.
Swayam is a women’s rights organization committed to ending violence against women and children, based in Kolkata, India. Swayam believes in the power of collective organisation, and much of their work is done in collaboration with other organisations and networks. Swayam literally means ‘oneself’ and was set up to provide a holistic support service to women facing violence in their lives.
WeWIT (We, Women in Technology Campaign) aims to bring out women pioneers in technology and break the stereotype that women can't be accepted in the technical field.
Women’s Collective is the outcome of the collective efforts of six organizations in Tamilnadu headed by women. Women’s Collective organizes people at the village level into small self help groups with average membership of 12 and which function as self help groups helping the members to deal with their personal, family and community issues which meets once in a month.
WORD (Women's Organisation in Rural Development) is a voluntary development organisation working for the upliftment of rural people especially women and children in Tamilnadu. WORD was formed in the year 1985 and got statutory registration in the year 1988.
Working Women's Forum, Chennai was born out of an activist's commitment that the poor are entitled to their rights, in terms of organised social platform, access to credit, education, health care and all the other basic services. The Forum entrusts key responsibilities of the organisation and its administration to poor women, by selecting and training internal cadres from neighbourhood communities.
LGBT ORGANISATIONS
GALVA (The Gay and Lesbian Vaishnava Association, Inc) is an international organization "dedicated to the teachings of Lord Caitanya, the importance of all-inclusiveness within His mission, and the Vedic concept of a natural third gender." Its purpose is to educate Vaishnavas, Hindus and the public in general about the “third sex” as described in Vedic literature. GALVA also wishes to provide a friendly and positive-oriented place where third-gender devotees and guests can associate together and utilize their time "to learn more about Krsna consciousness and advance in spiritual life."
Humsafar Trust was set up in April 1994 by the leading gay activist Ashok Row Kavi along with two more self-identified homosexual men who desired to reach out to the gay population in the Mumbai Metro and surrounding areas. After much networking and advocacy with the Mumbai Municipal Corporation for over a year and a half it became the first openly Gay Community Based Organization to be allotted space in a Municipal building at Vakola, Santacruz (East) Mumbai in October 1995.
Naz Foundation (India) Trust is a New Delhi based NGO working on HIV/AIDS and Sexual Health since 1994. The focus of Naz is on reaching out to marginalized populations infected and affected by HIV. Naz aims to sensitize the community to the prevalence of HIV, as well as highlight issues related to Sexuality and Sexual Health. Naz has also played a pivotal role in de-criminalizing consensual homosexuality among adults.
MEN'S ORGANISATIONS
498A attempts to create awareness among Indian nationals about the "rampant misuse of section 498A, IPC...by unscrupulous women to extort money and harass their husband's entire extended family." It also attempts to explain the future "disastrous results of badly formulated and gender biased laws Domestic violence against women law which grossly violates the liberty and dignity of an average man and his extended family members."
GHRI (Gender Human Rights Society) has its focus on saving the institution of marriage, & shared parenting, so that children can get care of both parents; free guidance to those facing gender related conflicts especially matrimonial conflicts, including help to financially weaker persons, old persons; and protecting basic human rights of both men and women . "Women Helpline is 09871763056 ( mostly Mother-in-law, sister-in-law call )." This organisation also "fights for Basic human rights specially for men and good women, usually against Radical feminists."
MAVA (Men Against Violence and Abuse) is the first men's organisation in India directly intervening against gender-based violence on women. MAVA's vision is to have a gender-just society, and it aims at preventing gender-based violence by primarily working with men. As on date, MAVA has been able to reach out to over 3000 men and women facing various gender-related problems. MAVA has a team of veteran professionals in the field of psychiatry, law, sexology and social work who volunteer their services whenever needed.
SIFF (Save Indian Family Foundation) is a registered, non-funded, non-profit, Non-Government Organization (NGO) headquartered at Bangalore, which engages itself primarily in "creating awareness about the Legal Terrorism going on in the country under the barb and paradoxical veil of Women Empowerment through various methods like television shows on news channels, protests, road shows, press conferences, article publication, online blogging to name a few."
Government Organisations Gender Resource Centres
