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Jharkhand Mahila Uthan Jharkhand, India
Training elected women representatives in panchayats
Neelam Besra, a resident of Hazaribag district, Jharkhand strongly believes in creating a world where everyone can live a just and equitable life.This led to the beginning of Jharkhand Mahila Uthan in 2002 in response to the need for a support agency to strengthen women’s voice against domestic violence and to sensitize Chuurchu, a community development block in Jharkhand, on gender equality and gender justice. The organization holds workshops and training programs dedicated to helping women and girls through activities like education, health, women empowerment, and leadership role training.
This women-led organization offers a platform for victims and survivors to discuss rights and violence issues, especially intersectional gender and caste-baste violence against Tribal, Scheduled Caste and other marginalized communities. The team works on prevention of both child marriage and forced marriage of young adolescent girls, and also focusses on enhancing the leadership capacity of adolescent girls.
The organization believes in women’s representation in Panchayats for long-term sustainable change. They work with elected women representatives to introduce a feminist lens to developmental initiatives through community organizing, training and leadership development programs. Neelam has worked with 110 elected women representatives over the last 10 years.