District:- Sehore , Sehore block covered 44 villages in MADHYA PRADESH

Supported by: - Department of Justice, Government Of India and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Women’s resource rights are their legal ownership of resources. These are land, housing, and livelihood. To sustain ownership of resources credit, information, Para legal training as well as access to services and amenities is prerequisites. The Project Community Action for Justice(CAJ) have shown a path to make women’s land rights a reality, there is a strong need for policy and law reform with gender equal approaches. Similarly strategies to be adopted which aim at creating and ensuring gender equal planning and recognition of women as equal contributors in building economic assets at several levels.

The cadre of WSHAG will thus fill very important gap that exists presently. Simultaneously the created cadre will work towards community mobilization by helping the vulnerable women in clearing pending, land claims thus paving way to equal access to common property. Since WSHAGs is part of the existing network of CBOs, they enjoy a relationship of trust and are strategically located to bring `awareness among the women is to disseminate legal awareness effectively and mobilize the marginalized groups to access justice.

Project title - "Women's Rights to Ownership on land, housing & resource right agenda by Justice Supported under Justice Innovation Fund, Access to Justice Project – GoI, UNDP.

This project of legal empowerment has the potential of bringing about fundamental change in perspective of the society to an impressive manner and way.It will have a direct impact on increasing the economic independence of the women and reduce violence against women. It will strengthen the access to justice of marginalized groups and enhancing their capability to enjoy their citizenship. Women will suffer less from violence because people will have the capacities to intervene and deploy legal and enforceable rights to end violence against women. By 2012, in the areas covered by UNDP project a significant and increasing number of women, especially SC/ST, will have improved their socio- economic and political rights. Support of UNDP is providing opportunities for capacity building of women in these villages, where it is required the most. No other organisation is doing this kind of legal empowerment work for women on housings and land rights, especially in Sehore District and in fact in the whole of Madhya Pradesh. It has the potential of creating a critical mass of women empowered within the community.
Under this project SVSS create 100 Women Self Help Advocacy Group (WSHAG) members - Women Para legal’s by training 3 no. of legal trainings on various laws & under follow up activity exposure visits organized for District legal service authority, police station, Protection officer - women & child department & office of registrar land records etc.

Key achievements of the project:
- Because, empowerment on law of RTI WSHAGs have know started using it to get governance in the right places. Against the target of 100 RTI in 2 years as stimulated in the proposal the WSHAG have file 77 RTIs in one year with the help of this RTI the WSHAGs of the project has impacted that with the help of RTI, The WSHAGs have made a change in the education department by lating the government teacher to come in the time. They have use the RTI in Nirmal Vatika scheme & revived the scheme in whole district sehore they have also use in MGNREGA, PRI institutions, & various welfare schemes in the block sehore.
- MGNREGA has been used by WSHAGs for getting the payment which due to the worker.
- WSHAG member told to the police officials about the DK Basu guidelines have been implemented by the supreme court which the police had no knowledge.
- 26 widow pension cases are solved by the WSHAGS members
- Despite the goons threat the WSHAGs not stop working & filling the RTI atheistically for the various welfare scheme.
- WSHAGs member participate in the decentralization planning process of PRIs
- 5 legal aid application was placed before a DLSA by WSHAGs.
- WSHAGs member participate Monitoring & Evaluation committee of MGNREGA in their village.

Activities / Events Conducted