Description
Centre for Women?s Development and research ? CWDR was initiated during November 1993, by three women Activists. All of them had been working with different NGOs(Non-Governmental Development Organisation). They realized that in India only 2% of the NGOs are run by women, most of the women?s development programs are designed and implemented by women. So they felt a need for more women?s organizations and initiated CWDR.. At present we are working in 45 slums and 6 coastal villages of Eadaikazhinadu Town Panchayth, Kancheepuram district, Tamilnadu covering nearly 40,000 families, the area is situated in the southern periphery of Chennai City. We also serve as a support service organization for other NGOs, particularly in Women?s Human Rights. We have initiated local level women?s organizations in our working areas and all our programmes are implemented through them. Now we are organizing the women domestic workers as a Trade Union. We are a committee member of ?Tamilnadu Women?s Movement? a state level network of NGOs and activists. We are also a founder member of "Tamilnadu Primary School Improvement Campaign? a state level network of NGOs, schoolteachers and Panchayath (Village level government) Presidents.
Vision: Creating a gender just society
Mission: Facilitating a women?s movement to achieve human rights for women
Objectives:
- To raise awareness on gender, poverty and human rights violations amongst women/girls and men/boys in slums of Chennai.
- To expand access of poor women and girls to basic needs- food, clothing, water, shelter, education, child-care, health- and to reduce gender disparities in access to these.
- To expand asset base of poor women (including housing), their wages and employment opportunities, livelihood options and returns to trades, services and produce
- To reduce leakages on alcohol consumption, dowry and other practices, and to reduce risks that make poor women vulnerable to poverty
- To reduce violence against women and girls within the family and in the work place
- To further reproductive rights of women and girls, and reproductive responsibility amongst men
- To strengthen the political participation of women from slums
