WHAT WE DO | spandhana

SPANDHANA is a grassroots organization and we work with women, children, youth, laborers and marginalized communities as front line defenders of justice. Our focus areas of intervention can be broadly categorized as 'Gender Equality, 'Social Justice', and Community Development and Environmental Justice'.

Social Justice

Environmental Justice

Cultural Approach

The origin of SPANDHANA is enrooted in the struggle for gender justice. Hence ‘Gender Equality’ is a major component of our interventions and we aim to defeat patriarchy in all forms through effective social activism. We have been active in rural areas and slums with a broad vision to establish a society which understands the need and significance of gender equality and is sensible towards the women’s human rights.

The women from marginalised communities are triply victimised due to class descrimination and caste oppression along with patriarchy. Caste and class hierarchies have adversely played a role in making women as secondary citizens and socially and culturally curbed their freedom and rights. Therefore, we started our work among unorganized sector laborers and Dalit communities to achieve a holistic change, with a special focus on women. .

As we strive to eradicate some of the deep-rooted social, economic, cultural hegemonic values, the new challenges are emerging in the wake of changing socio-cultural and economic situation posing a major threat to the lives of most marginalized as well as the environment. The neo-liberal global economic policies which are emphasizing more on mass-production driven development is not only ecologically disastrous but widening the cleavage between rich and poor. The most marginalized are pushed to further marginalization. In this background, we started fighting for environmental justice.

The real change at the grassroots happens by bringing the changes in the power structures. Promoting groups among women, youth, children and unorganized sector laborers and generating awareness on their citizen rights and labor rights made them more empowered to demand basic amenities, proper working of public institutions, decent wages, and human rights. The groups have been successful in demanding and getting implemented basic amenities like proper roads, drinking water, schools, PHC's, anganawadis and proper working of grama sabhas and public institutions.

The origin of SPANDHANA is enrooted in the struggle for gender justice. Hence ‘Gender Equality’ is a major component of our interventions and we aim to defeat patriarchy in all forms through effective social activism. We have been active in rural areas and slums with a broad vision to establish a society which understands the need and significance of gender equality and is sensible towards the women’s human rights.