The Commonwealth Professional Fellowship
The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission awards the Commonwealth Professional Fellowships in the UK. The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan, established in 1959, was designed as a system of awards to men and women from all Commonwealth countries chosen for their high intellectual promise and their capacity to return to make a significant contribution to life in their own countries. One of its guiding principles is that it be based upon mutual co-operation and the sharing of educational experience among all countries of the Commonwealth.

More about the Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowships Plan

Commonwealth Scholarships

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Hasrat's Visit
Hasrat Arjjumend was nominated for the Commonwealth Professional Fellowship award by the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO), and The Haven Wolverhampton agreed to host him for the three months of his Fellowship in the UK.

Aims:
The aim of the visit was to enable Hasrat Arjjumend to attain policy level, managerial, networking and negotiating skills in order to handle NGOs, development action and people’s movements in the national and international arena. Holding an influential position within his NGO, Grassroots India, Hasrat will now be able to apply the lessons learnt from his experience in the UK to further the rights of women in India. His journalistic training and involvement with Grassroots India means that the knowledge he has gained from this fellowship will be disseminated widely, helping many women and families as a result.

The Fellowship aimed to enable Hasrat to be trained in the legislation, services, rehabilitation measures etc. used to combat DV and women’s exploitation. Skills in management, policy formation and networking have been gained and can now be used to work with other NGOs and communities, improving the quality of life for more and more women in India.

Activities:
Hasrat visited The Haven Wolverhampton's hostels, received training on the Criminal Justice System of England and Wales (including meeting personnel from the Wolverhamtpon Specialist Domestic Violence Court), spent time with all the sections of The Haven, attended management meetings, received training on business plan development, visited organisations (e.g. Wolverhampton City Council) with whom The Haven works, and carried out his own research.

Talk: Violence Against Women in India (28th November 2007) As part of The Haven Wolverhampton's activities to mark the '16 Days of Activitsm Against Gender Violence' (25th November - 10th December), Hasrat Arjjumend gave a talk at the Brickkiln Community Centre on Violence Against Women in India. The Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Trudy Bowen, along with the Chair of the Board of The Haven Wolverhampton, Gillian Atkins, Support Services Director Kath Rees, International Project Manager Elvira Wilson, Grants & Development Officer Kaye Bartlett and Administration & Research Assistant Marianne Simmonds also contributed to this event.

Grassroots India operates a Media Initiative, giving a voice to the poorest, most oppressed sectors of Indian society (e.g. one project involves strengthening the skills of rural children, who then write for print media. Their stories telling of the pain caused by violence in society thus reach a wide audience). Hasrat is a trained journalist, and through the Media Initiative, media links have already been created, and will continue to be utilised. The knowledge accumulated by Grassroots India on how to prevent violence against women will be publicised efficiently, allowing as many people as possible to read of the activities and initiatives involved in such work, so that they themselves can enact similar initiatives. Grassroots India helps to build the capacity of communities and small NGOs, so it will be able to provide direct training to these groups on how to prevent Domestic Violence. As the result of the fellowship Hasrat is now more knowlegable about how to set up and develop women’s organisations and what support they need.

Domestic Violence, as a manifestation of gender inequality, contributes to the failure of women to obtain education, drains health services, and blocks the access of women to power and thus true democracy. This in turn prevents India from achieving its full potential, as the inefficiencies of gender inequality are maintained, wasting the potential contribution of women and maintaining the image of India as a country of ‘lower advancement’, which falls short of attaining international standards of human rights. India is a rapidly developing nation, with a fast growing population. It is imperative that work is carried out to improve the situation of women, by changing attitudes and improving services available. India’s influence in the world is likely to increase over coming years, and so by implementing a widespread improvement in women’s situation now, the groundwork will be laid for India to contribute to better the position of women in neighbouring countries and regions.

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Grassroots India

Grassroots India is an Indian NGO which aims to strengthen the capacities of grassroots communities and organizations for self-reliance, human rights, peace and sustainable development so that hunger-free and just society can be achieved. Grassroots India works mostly in partnership of grassroots NGOs and action groups. The organization works intensively in Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand regions, although many activities are openly undertaken all over the country. Grassroots India Trust principally builds the capacities of partners/ people by providing information, technical know-how, and on-field training and orientation, which is a sustainable way of empowering the communities and partners.

Aims of Grassroots India:

Violence Against Women in India

Violence against women is widespread in South Asian countries, especially in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Women remain victims of feudalistic institutions and stringent customs in socially divided societies. From home to crop field, from home to office, or from home to parliament, women continue to encounter violence. Over 37% of married women are victims of physical or sexual abuse by their husbands in India. More women face violence in rural areas (40.2%) than those in urban areas (30.4%).  Approximately only 5-10% cases of domestic violence or violence against women are reported to the police. Domestic violence, as a manifestation of gender inequality, contributes to the failure of women to obtain education, drains the health services, and blocks the access of women to power and thus true democracy.

Although providing or taking dowry is illegal under the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, dowry is practiced widely. If they believe that a new wife has not provided them with a sufficient dowry, then members of a husband's family may harass a new wife. This harassment sometimes ends in the wife’s murder, which family members will often try to portray as a suicide or accident. Honour killings of daughters and wives is very common. Sati, the practice of burning widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands, though banned, continues sporadically. In remote villages, witchcraft accusations and punishments are still popular. Dalit (the preferred name for the caste popularly known as 'Untouchable') women are exploited with gross inhumanity. If members of the Dalit group protest about the injustices which they are subjected to in daily life, they will often be humiliated by mobs who will strip naked Dalit women and parade them around in public as a punishment for such protest. In 2005, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act was passed in India, providing the framework necessary for the protection of women - at least in legislative terms.

A number of women’s organisations are actively addressing the issues at the grassroots level. They have been trying to resolve the issues through several approaches e.g. gender-based, legal (litigation as well as literacy), policy advocacy, and empowerment of women. Grassroots India is currently supporting two organisations in their struggle to address violence against women, using legal analysis, research, strategy preparation, planning, documentation, dissemination of learning and, importantly, media advocacy. GIT is to extend its support, as well as action, on gender and violence issues in many more locations in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. About 12 more women’s/grassroots organisations from Madhya Pradesh and 10 more from Uttar Pradesh will join this programme in 2008. Between them, they will cover about 500 villages, or 50,000 families, providing education, rehabilitation, empowerment, and legal advice/litigation against Domestic Violence.

Download: Information on the Grassroots India Gender Resource Centre Initiative

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