Programme on Women's Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (PWESCR)

Introduction	Who are we
Goals	Governing Board
Principles	Advisory Board
Be a part of PWESCR	Our Staff

Introduction

Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (PWESCR) is an international initiative in the area of gender and economic, social and cultural rights. PWESCR works to promote women’s human rights, especially in the context of economic, social and cultural rights by bringing a gender framework to policy, law and practice at local, national, regional and international levels through ever-evolving strategies and activities in both conceptual and practical realms. PWESCR, in its initial phase will have a South Asia regional focus. However, as we get support from other regions, we plan to expand this initiative globally.

What is PWESCR?

PWESCR is an international advocacy and educational initiative in the area of women and their economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR). From its base in India, PWESCR, works to promote the human rights of women, addressing women’s poverty, health standards, and right to food, education, water and work. We do that by bringing a gender perspective to policy, law and practice at the local, national, regional and international levels.

PWESCR is currently particularly focused on South Asia. It is estimated that women form 70% of the world’s poor and two third of the world’s illiterates while they own only 1% of the world’s wealth. Women often work longer hours than men, but substantial part of their work remains unrecognized under-valued, and unappreciated. And the possibility of violence permeates their lives from birth to death. Women’s poverty is our focus and we seek to explore how international human rights framework can be used to address these issues.

PWESCR was started in 2005 out of a critical need to develop international human rights organizations in the Global South that are able to network, share expertise, strengthen human resources, and create tools to raise awareness around women’s ESCR. Our leadership development programme is aimed at addressing these needs from the local to the global.

One in every two women in South Asia faces violence in their daily life (Unifem, 2007). There are 50 million fewer women in South Asia than what a balanced demography demands. PWESCR’s work gives special attention to implementation and 3monitoring of women’s rights in South Asia by working with UN Treaty Bodies.

PWESCR seeks partnerships with other networks and continues to strengthen its relationships with key organizations working on an agenda similar to ours in Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe and North America.

What Does PWESCR Do?

PWESCR carries out its work for ESCR on a number of fronts. We conduct action-oriented research to provide deeper analysis of women’s economic, social and cultural issues and to facilitate new strategies for defending human rights.

PWESCR’s programme facilitates collaboration between various networks and organizations to work at all levels for the
actualization of women’s human rights. We are actively engaged in pushing for social security as a right for workers in the unorganized sector. The Social Security Now campaign is aimed at highlighting the survival needs of the poor, particularly women and the marginalized. While leading the campaign in two states of India, PWESCR has also trained others in monitoring skills.

We engage in advocacy, working to strengthen standards and full implementation of government’s commitments within the international human rights framework. In order to monitor women’s economic, social and cultural rights in India, PWESCR has initiated a collective action process. The short term goal for this peoples’ collective is to develop a shadow report to India’s Government report for the UN Committee on ESCR. India is scheduled to report in May 2008.

PWESCR also provides technical assistance and imparts human rights education to individuals and to women’s groups on monitoring and self-representation skills through leadership development programs. Towards this objective PWESCR also organizes its leadership development school each year. Grassroots women leaders from South Asia benefit from the trainings by acquiring knowledge and new leadership skills. These women leaders in turn train others.

PWESCR provides human rights education and training to enable participation of other social organizations in the monitoring of human rights bodies such as the Council for ESCR and CEDAW among others.

Goals

To establish links and foster collaborations in order to enhance learning, as well as develop shared strategies to advocate problem- solving alternatives at all levels in the context of gender.
To build leadership and capacity of groups, organizations, activities and other actors in the field of human rights and economic justice to promote women’s ESCR

Principles

All human rights are universal, indivisible, and interdependent. Civil and political rights are mutually interdependent on
economic, social and cultural rights.
Women’s economic and social empowerments are fundamental to full realization of women’s human rights.
Gender analysis is crucial to advance all ESCR.
Human rights mechanisms are on organizing, mobilizing and empowering tool in addition to an international legal framework.
An intersectional analysis ensures that women from marginalized communities are not left behind.

Be a part of PWESCR

We take this opportunity to invite you and your organization to join us in this endeavour — to develop shared vision and to strengthen partnerships to advance women’s human rights. Your input based on your experiences working in this area would be critical as we start conceptualising on women and ESCR priorities.

Do you work on women’s economic, social and cultural rights? What are the areas of your focus?
What has your experiences been both in terms of successes and challenges promoting women’s ESCR?
What priorities would you suggest PWESCR to consider?
What advice can you give us as we develop this new programme?
Would you like to receive information about PWESCR’s future activities?
Would you like to join our list serve?

Who we are: Board, Advisory Board and Staff

Governing Board

Priiti Darooka,
Managing Trustee, Executive Director

Priiti Darooka is the Founder and Executive Director of the new international Program on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (PWESCR) and has over 12 years of extensive experience in the field of social justice. Priiti has a Masters in Women’s Studies from Rutgers University, US. She was previously at the Ford Foundation, in New York Human Rights unit and has focused to promote Women and Economic empowerment. Prior to the Ford Foundation, she was at UNIFEM (United Nation’s Development Funds for Women) where she worked on violence against women indicators and assessment and coordinating UNIFEM’s work in Afghanistan. As a consultant to the Center for Women's Global Leadership, she organized a women's rights hearing at the UN conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa. She was the National Campaign Coordinator with UNITE for their Global Justice for Garment Workers Campaign. Priiti has also worked with Manavi, a South Asian women’s organization working with women and children who faced violence in their lives. At Urban Justice Center (UJC), she worked with the NYC Welfare Reform & Human Rights Documentation Project, where she developed policy brief on welfare reform and women, which were used as a media and advocacy tool by welfare advocates of New York City to expose human rights violations. She was also involved in the Stop FTAA (Free Trade Area of Americas) campaign and focused on different aspects of trade, and women’s lives, from a feminist and human rights perspective.

Dr. B.B. Dutta
Governing Board Member

Dr. Dutta (M.A Ph.D in Economics) retired as Head of the Department of Economics, St.Anthony’s College, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong.. He was a member of State Planning Boards of the State of Meghalaya and the State of Assam during 80s and 90s. He was also a member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha- Upper House) from 93 – 99 as a Presidential Nominee. He served in Standing Committees of Defense, Human Resource Development and Rural Development and also as a member of the Consultative Committee of External Affairs.

Dr. Dutta is the Founder member of the NEICSSR (North East India council for Social Science Research; Founder Member and President of the Women’s College – Shillong and the Shillong Academy High School; Founder Chairman & Managing Trustee of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Indian Culture, Shillong. He has published many articles, edited books on Economics, Social Science and Political Science.

Mr. Alok Khemka
Governing Board Member

He is an engineer by training with Masters in Business Administration. He is a successful entrepreneur in Delhi, heading
Epsilon Technology

Mr. Gagan Sethi
Governing Board Member

Mr. Gagan Sethi, Executive Secretary of Janvikas since 1987 and Managing Trustee since 1997, has been involved in initiating and co-ordinating Janvikas sponsored programmes. As an expert, he provides training, organisational development (OD), project planning and evaluation support towards institution building to various NGOs, government programs and funding agencies in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India. Mr. Sethi’s areas of specialization include Team Building, Conflict Resolution and turnaround OD Intervention and Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation for NGOs and development support organizations. In the course of his career, he has designed and conducted over 400 training programs for these client groups in the field of rural & urban development related to the following issues: Social Forestry Co-operatives, Ecology related grassroots programs, Organization of Schedule Castes and Tribes, Legal Awareness, Lobbying and Advocacy work, Youth & Women and Development and Training of Trainers for support organizations. Mr. Sethi has consulted for notable clients and projects, conducting Zopp Moderation, Planning, OD and Review Workshops for GTZ, Swiss Development Co-operation, Misereor, IGSSS and others. He has also consulted on Curriculum Development and Long Term Training Program in Gender for Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation and
Diploma in Human Rights for Centre for Social Justice.

Dr. Gita Sen
Trustee

Professor Gita Sen is professor at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, India, and has been a visiting professor at the Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard University and a Fellow of the Centre for Development Studies in Trivandrum, India. She combines a distinguished academic career with policy advocacy and NGO activism. She is a pioneer in the field gender and development. Her academic and policy activism in this field has been an inspiration to a whole generation of researchers, policy-makers of South and North, and non-governmental activists. Her recent work includes reserach and policy advocacy on the gender implications of globalisation and economic liberalisation, the gender dimensions of population policies, and the links beteen population and the environment.

She is the author, co-author or co-editor of several books on these gender-related issues. She is a founding member of DAWN (Development Alternatives with Woman for a New Era); a network of Third World researchers, activists and policy-makers committed to alternative development and gender justice.

She is a trustee of Health Watch (Indi) and of the Institute of Social Studies Trust (India). She is on the Board of the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) and on several other international organisations and advisory groups. Among many honours she received the Volvo Environment Prize in 1994, and an honorary doctorate from the University of East Anglia in the UK in 1998.

Advisory Board

Pramada Menon
Anuradha Rajan
Joy Deshmukh Ranadive
Yamini Mishra
Govinda Kelkar
Barbara Y. Phillips
Manuel F. Montes

Our Staff

Priiti Darooka, Executive Director

Priiti Darooka is the Founder and Executive Director of the new international Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (PWESCR). She was previously at the Ford Foundation, in New York Human Rights unit, and has focused to promote women and ESCR. Prior to the Ford Foundation, she was at UNIFEM where she worked on violence against women indicators, assessing and coordinating UNIFEM’s work in Afghanistan. As a consultant to the Center for Women's Global Leadership, she organized a women's human rights hearing at the UN Conference against racism in Durban, South Africa. She was the National Campaign Coordinator with UNITE for their Global Justice for Garment Workers Campaign.

Priiti has also worked with Manavi, a South Asian women’s organization working with women and children who faced violence in their lives. At Urban Justice Center (UJC), she worked with the NYC Welfare Reform & Human Rights Documentation Project, where she developed policy brief on welfare reform and women, which were used as a media and advocacy tool by welfare advocates of New York City to expose human rights violations. She was also involved in the Stop FTAA (Free Trade Area of Americas) campaign and focused on different aspects of trade, and women’s lives, from a feminist and human rights perspective

Sanjay Dhadwal, Office Manager

Sanjay holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He is an administration and finance professional with 17 years of experience in the field. A great believer in the NGO sector, he was the National Director (Admin) with the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) for seven years. With tremendous interpersonal and administrative skills, Sanjay has organized and implemented several staff benefit schemes. He has also initiated and activated systems and procedures in accounting, finance, and administration.

Kuldeep Sharma, Accounts & Finance Officer

Kuldeep received his M.Com degree in Business Administration from Jaipur University. He has over 23 years of work experience in finance and administration with national and international NGOs, including Cendit, Greenpeace India, and Oxfam India, as well as with media organizations. He has expertise in the areas of management, supervision, financial and human resource planning, and budgeting and monitoring of projects. He is also experienced at working with donor agencies’ reporting formats. Kuldeep has the capacity to establish and implement effective systems for financial reporting on grants.

Veda Bharadwaja, Programme Associate for South Asia

Veda holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (Honors) from Lady Sriram College for Women, New Delhi, as well as a Masters in Politics (specialization in International Relations) from JNU, New Delhi. Before joining PWESCR, she was a Programme Associate with Amnesty International India, where she was in charge of the Response Desk and the ESCR – Housing and Dignity campaign. Veda has also worked with International Market Assessment India Private Limited (IMA, India) in New Delhi and with NDTV 24/7 as a Research Intern. In addition, she has been a member of the National Social Service Scheme, and has volunteered with the Child Development Programme. She also organized and participated in a workshop on disability issues, which was hosted by CAN (Concerned Action Now) New Delhi in September 2003.

Nehal, Communication Officer

Nehal received her Master’s degree in Mass Communication from PU, Chandigarh. She also holds a Diploma in Public Relations and Advertising. Before joining PWESCR, she served as a Communication Associate at Rotary International’s India National PolioPlus Society, a global initiative to eradicate polio. She has also worked as an Assistant Editor with SAGE India, which is a quality publisher of topical debates in all areas of the social sciences and also publishes contemporary business books. At PWESCR, she develops, implements, and evaluates the organisation’s communication and advocacy strategy for effective impact, visibility, and dissemination of all aspects of its work. She is also responsible for developing and maintaining strong stakeholder relationships.

Harsh Vardhan, Administrative Officer

Harsh attained his B.Sc. degree in Psychology from Annamalai University. Currently, he is pursuing his Master’s degree in Social Work from IGNOU. He has five years of work experience in both administration and projects related to community development. Previously, he worked with Ideosync Media Combine, an organisation that works towards integrating innovative communication methodologies into development and social change initiatives and programmes. As the Administrative In-charge, Harsh worked on the administrative part of two radio series focused on safe migration and HIV/AIDS, which were aired on All India Radio and World Space. Prior to that, he worked with CASP-Plan as a Project Coordinator where he initiated the working children project.
Harsh also won the Adobe Youth Voices award in 2006 for making the best video and photo story.

Sayantoni Datta, Programme Officer- Research

Sayantoni has graduated from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai with an MA in urban and rural development studies and has been working in the field of human rights and development for the last ten years. She was earlier associated with South Asian Dialogues on Ecological Democracy (SADED)/CSDS (Centre for Studies on Developing Societies) where she organised dialogues and research on behalf of grassroots movements engaged in ecological justice issues as well as with child rights initiatives and the right to education campaigns during her association with Child Rights and You(CRY). She has worked on a pioneer research initiative supported by the UNDP and Planning Commission, called the People’s Report of Chhattisgarh, 2005, and a study on the impact of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) on agriculture and livestock communities in Gujarat and Punjab in 2009. Sayantoni is committed to human rights and environmental justice issues, and her main focus of work has been in tribal areas. She has a firm belief in building critical perspectives, creative processes and democratic principles within the praxis of organisations and movements as a means to building a positive human rights culture for the future.

Debika Goswami, Programme Associate

Debika holds a Bachelor’s as well as a Master’s degree in History (with a specialisation in Social History) from Presidency College, University of Calcutta. She has also received her Master’s Degree in ‘Non-farm Activities and Rural Development in Developing Countries' from the University of Rome, La Sapienza. Before joining PWESCR, she served as a Research and Documentation Executive in a NGO, Udyogini, working for livelihood and enterprise promotion of the rural poor women in six states of the country. She has also worked with an Italian Donor Agency, Pangeaonlus as a Focal Point and Research Liaison Officer in India. She has traveled extensively in both North and South rural India documenting cases and monitoring closely the actual state of women in the countryside.

Sunil Kumar Kohli, Office Assistant

Sunil is currently pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from IGNOU. He has a wide-ranging knowledge of software and technology, which makes him a valuable asset to the office. Sunil is a motivated and enthusiastic worker with a will-do attitude. A quick learner with the ability to grasp new technology, he is an energetic team player with the capacity to work under a hectic schedule.

Phaedra Engel-Harrison, Intern

Phaedra holds a Masters in Human Rights from the University of Sydney, Australia, as well as a Bachelor of Arts from Southern Cross University and a Diploma of Journalism. She worked as a journalist in Australia before deciding to utilise her communication skills in the humanitarian sector. She spent time in the pacific nation of East Timor with a local NGO researching and producing a report demonstrating how grassroots action can better protect and promote human rights. She has also recently worked in non-profit fundraising in Australia and the U.S. as a campaign manager raising money for organisations such as UNHCR, Medicins Sans Frontieres, CARE Australia and CHILDFUND. She is currently working with PWESCR in India assisting with their communications and fundraising strategies.