Hanns Seidel Foundation India

Hanns Seidel Foundation India
F - 158 Malcha Marg, 1st. Floor
Chanakyapuri | New Delhi 110021
Tel.: 0091 11-41680400/01/02
Fax: 0091 11-41680405
E-Mail: delhi@hss.de

Women empowerment & Civic education programmes

The right to information seminars are organized for the sole purpose of making women understand about Right to Information Act (RTI) and how women can use this particular act at their disposal for their betterment and to make authorities work as they should. By imparting information on this act, SIDART tries to make women realize power vested to them by the government through acts like RTI, which would help them solve their problems.

SIDART also tries to make women learn the relevance of RTI in today’s scenario, why it is important to seek information, the proper legal procedure on how to exercise this right, what all information can be accessed through this act and most important how this information is to be used. Practical sessions are also held to let the women fill in the requisite forms. This is an empowering process for them as they feel that some information that they had sought for a long time is now within their reach. Moreover, women are made to understand how they can curb corruption and get to know, how to make the authorities more accountable and transparent through this act.

Exposure Visits for the facilitators of SIDART and the village volunteers from different villages are regularly held. These exposure visits are undertaken so that the women get to know how the processes are running at different government offices like police stations, Zila Parishad etc.

These exposure visits are important for the women because through these visits they learn how they can make changes in their own lives and how they can participate in politics. It helps women to gather confidence to go to the offices like the Police Station or the Zila Parishad and other official institutions. They learn to communicate their complaints and their problems on different issues. It empowers the women to full fill their rights and to get help and support.

Village Volunteers are becoming the central pillar of the women empowerment programme. In every village volunteers are picked, groomed and trained to take up strategic planning for the overall development of their village in a collective manner. Each volunteer have ten or more women in her group. The group then works for the betterment of the whole village. Regular workshops are held to make the volunteers acquire the necessary skills. They also need the cognition to manage and work with a group and bind them together. Over a period of time the concept is showing results and helping to achieve desired multiplier effect.