Where: Mumbai, India
Area of Work: Sexual and Reproductive Health, Ending Violence Against Women
SEHER works at the intersection of Gender, Health and Law in India. The organization engages through strategically planned interventions to address issues pertaining to menstrual health, gender-based issues and other violations at the intersection of marginalized social identities. It uses a combination of advocacy sessions, legal interventions, and seminars/workshops to address these issues.
?SEHER’s ‘Gender Equality Story’ rests in the success of their ‘Legal Intervention Project’ which aims to create systemic changes through strategic engagement with state authorities to address cases involving human right violations. This redressal is done through the National-Level Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Through this project, the organization claims to have successfully increased accountability, strengthened the rights-based approach in local government bodies and led to gender responsive and child friendly policy changes.
SEHER’s states that its cases are filed through credible news articles, using stories to indicate impact it’s organization’s legal engagement:?
Reproductive Health of Garment Factory workers across State of Tamil Nadu, India
SEHER filed a petition calling for an independent investigation in all garment factories across the state of Tamil Nadu based on a Reuters investigation that claimed female workers were being given unauthorized pills for menstruation related concerns. These pills being administered over a long duration had led to severe mental and reproductive health issues in the female workers who often belong to marginalized communities and work on a contractual basis at these workplaces with no health care support. The petition led to the state & central labor department investigating over 228 factories through task forces involving industrial safety officers and certified doctors. The investigation revealed the presence of this practice. This is an ongoing petition where SEHER is now calling for gender responsive policy revisions at the state and central level. SEHER argues its intervention is unique because the safeguarding principles and policies around the reproductive health of female workers in the informal sector in India is severely lacking. This has further marginalized these women who belong from already vulnerable backgrounds.?
Photo credits: Thomas reuters Foundation and Surashtri Puri
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