Introduction

Goals

Principles

Be a part of PWESCR

Who are we

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


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

  • Pramada Menon

  •  Anuradha Rajan

  • Joy Deshmukh Ranadive

  • Yamini Mishra

  • Govinda Kelkar

  • Barbara Y. Phillips

  • Charlotte bunch

  • 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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