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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
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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.
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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
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All human rights
are universal, indivisible, and interdependent. Civil and
political rights are mutually interdependent on
economic, social and cultural rights.
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Women’s economic
and social empowerments are fundamental to full realization of
women’s human rights.
Gender analysis is crucial to advance all ESCR.
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Human rights
mechanisms are on organizing, mobilizing and empowering tool in
addition to an international legal framework.
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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.
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Do you work on
women’s economic, social and cultural rights? What are the areas
of your focus?
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What has your
experiences been both in terms of successes and challenges
promoting women’s ESCR?
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What
priorities would you suggest PWESCR to consider?
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What advice
can you give us as we develop this new programme?
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Would you like
to receive information about PWESCR’s future activities?
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Would you like
to join our list serve?
Who we are: Board, Advisory Board and
Staff
Governing Board
Priti Darooka,
Managing Trustee, Executive Director
Priti Darooka is the Founder and Coordinator 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. Priti 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. Priti 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.
Manisha Gupte
Trustee
Manisha Gupte (M.Sc, Microbiology) has been part of the women's
movement in India since the mid-seventies. She has been
actively associated with training, research and interventions in
the area of health, violence, gender and sexuality. She has
done training for a wide range of people (government officials,
NGOs and grass root workers) at the national and
international level. She has also coordinated a one year long
state level training on Women and Health for middle level women
from rural NGOs from 1999-2001. She initiated the formation of
MASUM, a rural women's organisation while she lived in the
drought-prone villages of Pune district for five years from 1987
to 1991. She is on the board of several pro-people
organisations such as CEHAT, Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial
Trust, LOCOST Standard Therapeutics and CREA. She spent one
year (1997-98) in the Department of International Health in the
School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University as a
visiting scholar. She is actively associated with various
democratic and secular organisations in India.
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.
Advisory Board
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Pramada Menon
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Anuradha Rajan
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Joy Deshmukh Ranadive
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Yamini Mishra
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Govinda Kelkar
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Barbara Y. Phillips
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Charlotte bunch
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Manuel F. Montes
Our Staff
Priiti Darooka, Executive Director
Priti Darooka is the Founder and Coordinator of the new
international Program 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 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 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. Priti 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
Gurinder Kaur, Director
Gurinder is a geographer, urban and regional planner, and
development professional with international experience. She is
currently serving as Advisor to PWESCR. She comes to PWESCR with
a wide experience of the Indian NGO sector, senior posts in
Oxfam America (Regional representative, S Asia), Country
Director World Education, Executive Officer Oxfam Trust in
India.
She was formerly Director of development & management
consultancy firm, Project Associate of Indian Institute of
Management
in Ahmedabad and in Bangalore, Research Assistant of Gujarat
Institute of Area Planning.
She brings with her expertise in agriculture, worker’s rights,
forestry, gender in development and rural-urban, migration. &
MP), land rights and forest ownership and women’s income
generating activities. She is also serving as a Board member of
the
Consumer Education and Research Center, Ahmedabad as well as
other NGO Boards.
Kanthy Venkat, Accounts & Finance Officer
With over 11
years of experience in Finance, Accounts, Audit, and
Administration Kanthy Venkat has a comprehensive knowledge of
the functioning of NGO Sector. Added to a bachelor’s degree in
commerce and post graduate diploma in business administration
she is also trained in chartered accountancy.
Amit Ahuja, Administrative Officer
A motivated, young and enterprising person with extensive
knowledge of the working of the NGO Sector, Amit started his
career
by assisting Dr. Sanjai Bhatt, Professor, Delhi School of Social
Work, Delhi University.
He joined PWESCR as Administrative Officer in September 2005 and
has helped in setting up the Administrative Systems of the
organization. An IT savvy person, he has a Masters in Business
Administration with specialisation in Finance from M.D.
University. He also has a Diploma in Office Management with
significant expertise in Computers, Business Correspondence and
Office Management. He has wide ranging experience in Office
Administration, Vendor Management, Office Management, Event
Management, Computers Hardware, Software and Networking.
Ajay Kumar, Office Attendant
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