MAHILA PANCHAYAT
The concept of creating a gender just jurisprudence grew out of our experience of the last 25 years of working with women in the urban slums of Delhi. Women, Law and Social Change was conceived as an action-research project in 1994. Our strategy for intervention has been based on the mobilization of women to actively participate in the debates on the need for legislative reform in the process of social transformation.
The legal system and the state failed to deliver justice or resolve disputes abounding in a growing population in the metropolis. The crisis intervention strategy initiated by the Sabla Sangh was formalized by developing Mahila Panchayats. The strategy of crisis intervention was also carried forward to other women’s organisations working on domestic violence.
Working with the Government
The Delhi Commission for Women in Septemeber 2000 invited over 50 NGOs with a call to “Make Delhi Safe for Women”, with a four-point programme providing
- Helpline
- Legal counselling
- Women’s support groups in the community
- Shelters for battered women
Ongoing Projects
