DIRECTOR'S NOTE
Dear Friends,
The Indian women's movement for true democracy is aiming at addressing and resolving a major contradiction of democracy in India. Our demand for 33% reservation of seats for women in state and national governance and the zero-tolerance of violence against women are interrelated constructive solutions for deepening of democracy.
Violence against women and exclusion of women from active politics are not only issues for India. I had the opportunity to participate in a Conference organized by the Hanns Seidel Stiftung (HSS) in Germany, as well as in meetings by Zonta International in Munich and Berlin. It was motivating to encounter global support for women's rights in India. At the same time it may be said that women across the world converge on several issues. Patriarchal aggression continues to hinder women's freedom at all levels, globally. Centre for Social Research had strongly advocated for amendments to the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act. Grave crimes such as acid throwing, stalking and voyeurism which were so far ignored by the law, have now come under its ambit.
It gives me a sense of closure to see justice delivered to Nirbhaya and her family. However, this drives us towards the need for sustained advocacy and lobbying. The nation's mechanism is still flawed and gender-sensitization continues to be our focus for empowering society.
I am proud of my team for a timely intervention in preventing a child marriage in Uttar Pradesh. Yet, it distresses me to reiterate the issue of child-marriage in the country and how laws and legislations have failed to revoke its practice.
Recently, I had the chance to interact with rescued victims of human trafficking in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha through a flagship project started by
CSR through which we are attempting to rehabilitate rescued women and girls. I also represented India in a meeting with the Hon'ble President of Nepal, Shri Ram Baran Yadav, and presented to him, with the South Asian women's group, an outcome document to address violence against women in politics in South Asia. We also facilitated state consultations in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to ensure effective implementation of the Umbrella scheme 'Assistance to States for PWDV Act, 2005'.
In the midst of this and much more I wish to ack-nowledge a privilege. They say music in the soul can be heard by the universe. I had the absolute pleasure of attending music maestro, Zubin Mehta's peace concert, Ehsaas-e-Kashmir, in Srinagar. I wish to appreciate all our supporters for being an intrinsic part of our network and continue to reach out to all individuals, societies and groups to look at women's rights and empowerment as an inevitable for national progress.
Dr. Ranjana Kumari
On 26th August 2013, the Review Meeting of Committee Against Female Foeticide (CAFF) took place in R. K. Puram, Sector I, New Delhi, as a part of the GE-MSMB Project. It was formed during the implementation of the MSMB programme in South-West District of Delhi last year in collaboration with RWAs of R. K. Puram Sector 1. The members had actively participated in the Silent Demonstration organized by CSR and voiced their thoughts during the Conference on Sex Selection at India Habitat Centre early this year. With renewed efforts for implementation of MSMB project in the whole of Delhi, CSR is continuing its networking with CAFFs established in South-West district last year and with further formation of CAFFs in rest of the ten districts of Delhi.
The office of Dy. Commissioner, District North-East in collaboration with CSR and other GRCs organized a Multipurpose Mega Camp on 31st August 2013 at Govt Girls/Boys Sr. Sec. School, Shastri Park, Delhi, under the Mission Convergence Programme of Delhi Government.
Given the importance of the issue of Violence against Women in Politics (VAWIP), CSR has partnered with UN Women to undertake a study on women's experiences of violence within the political sphere in India, Nepal and Pakistan. The study is the first of its kind and uses a mix of secondary and primary data to analyze women's political participation within India, Nepal and Pakistan and to examine the extent and nature of violence against women in politics throughout the region.
The study found that VAWIP is underpinned by the concentration and centralization of patriarchal mind set within Indian, Nepalese, and Pakistani societies. The most widespread forms of VAWIP according to stakeholders interviewed related to expectation of sexual favours, character assassination and the threat of violence rather than actual physical violence.
The present study investigates the issues restricting women's participation in politics and the dynamics of socio-political inequalities affecting women in politics. Analysing the data from primary research following factors came up as reasons for VAWIP:
As a part of the Water Conservation and Climate Change Project, a team consisting of three members, Dr. Manish Tiwari, Ms. Blessings Okorougo and Ms.Ritika Bhatia, from CSR made a visit to RampuraUnti, Thikariya and Muhanna villages of Sanganer Block on July 27, 2013. The team on the project is in the process of drafting the training module.
In a bid to address the new trend of technology based violence on women, an e-gender sensitization seminar was organized in Indore on 6 August by the Police Radio Training School (PRTS) and Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR & D), New Delhi. Justice Prakash Shrivastava was the chief guest. Addressing the police personnel present, Mr. Shrivastava said, "It is a burning issue. Women have equal rights and they are entitled for equal treatment too."
Is whistling at women a form of violence? Does scribbling sexually explicit statements against girls both in general and specific, on walls, desks, doors of schools denote violence? These were the basic questions which facilitators inquired of the students of the Govt. Senior Secondary School – Gautampuri, Usmanpur, during the second session of Engaging men and boys in countering VAW- A new generation of change makers Project, at the school. The questions were a reflection on the conduct of the boys and their attitude towards the opposite sex.
A desire for change is what initiates it. Dr. Kumari was welcomed by the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Munich on 29 July, 2013, to a Conference titled: Women as Engine for Development in Society and Politics. Dr. Kumari shared her 30 years' experience of which she has spent a considerable part of her struggle towards increasing women's political participation in order to build a true and participatory democracy.
Zonta International is a global organization of executives in business and other professions which works together to advance the status of women worldwide. A meeting was organized with the President's of various districts in Munich on 30 July 2013, by Zonta International, to address the issue of growing violence against women. Having represented Centre for Social Research, Dr. Kumari had the opportunity to understand the magnitude of the impact which the 16 December gang rape case has made globally. While rape is an issue of patriarchal aggression on women and is experienced by women globally, it is important to underline the fact that justice continues to evade Indian women. The group engaged on the very critical issue of violence against women and its redressal. Another meeting on this agenda was subsequently organized by Zonta International, in Berlin on 1 August 2013.
A group of around 30 students from Penn State University, USA and Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), New Delhi, visited the CSR Head office on July 11, 2013. The foreign students, who had studied Contemporary India, with a strong emphasis on gender, were visiting India with a purpose of developing a deeper understanding of gender issues in the country.
The unregulated reproductive tourism industry of 'procreating' through surrogacy is burgeoning in India while there is still no legal provision to safeguard the interests of the surrogate mother, the child or the commissioning parents. The Study: Surrogacy Motherhood: Ethical or Commercial? was conducted by Centre for Social Research and supported by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in the years 2011-12.