DIRECTOR'S NOTE
Dear Friends,
A new year heralds new responsibilities and new resolves. 2014 has begun with an agenda to take on another decade by striving for the cause of women and gender-equality in the country. I commit on behalf of the organisation ceaseless and non-compromised action.
Our efforts this year began with the continuation of a high-pitched campaign to push for the Women's Reservation Bill. Lobbying efforts were on by meeting members of Parliament, organizing rallies and press conferences with other women's rights organisations. This led us a notch higher in terms of our movement for the cause of political inclusion of women in India. We released a Gender Manifesto with WomenPowerConnect, which was a comprehensive listing of women's concerns and demanded redressal through inclusion of women in politics. In fact, with other activists I courted arrest for voicing our demands outside the Parliament, two days before the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. The 15th Lok Sabha dissolved without tabling the Women's Reservation Bill but our resolves have been strengthened for a more active debate in the next Parliamentary session.
We took our initiatives further and released the report of a year-long study in India, Nepal and Pakistan on Violence Against Women in Politics. The study found that more than 60% of women do not participate in politics due to fear of violence.
CSR's determination to address the social malaise of pre-natal sex selection has made a fresh start in the state of Haryana, which is infamous for being the worst hit in terms of declining sex ratio in the country. The Meri Shakti Meri Beti project has found new audience and appreciable reception in the state. We have already formed four Community Watch Groups (CWGs) and one Committee Against Sex Selection (CASS) in Haryana.
Our flagship project on 'Water Conservation and Climate Change' in rural Rajasthan has moved on to its next phase. We have begun conducting the series of pilot testing of our modules for elected and to-be-elected women representatives in five villages. The Gender Training Institute's newly designed training modules and a calendar can be accessed on www.gendertraining.in.
This April I was also invited to an international Conference organised by the Doha International Family Institute (DIFI) where I presided over a productive discussion on "Gender Equality: Not Just About Equal Rights".
I am pleased that CSR has completed a year's commitment to its project 'Engaging Men & Boys in Countering Violence Against Women' by conducting 108 trainings across schools, communities and police stations in Delhi.
I now look forward to a fruitful year with my team and wish to thank you all for your continued support to us!
Dr. Ranjana Kumari