Mahila Panchayat Programme at Bhalswa Dairy, Delhi

Aims and Objectives –

• To stop violence against women through awareness and action by changing values and attitudes in our society.
• To build the capacity of grassroots women to become legally aware, gender sensitive and nonjudgmental, to listen with empathy to victims of domestic violence.
• To provide a forum for conflict resolution to resolve family disputes.
• To prepare women for legal action and seek legal aid when necessary.
• Follow up and process documentation of all the cases.

Structure of the programme- Women’s collective acts as women’s court.

Nature of members – Neighbourhood groups of women who volunteer their time and inputs. In the Mahila Panchayat Project there is one Coordinator and two community workers in a Panchayat. These women are selected from the community, are trained by the Commission in the various laws pertaining to women and guided in the process of handling a case and counselling women in distress.