Abha Bhaiya
Abha Bhaiya has been active in the women’s movement for nearly 50 years. In her own words she has been shaped by the women’s movement and she has also shaped the movement. She has been active in the context of women’s social, political and economic rights
The status of single women, women’s right to health, bodily integrity and wellbeing; sex and sexualities; gender, food securities and livelihoods, the increasing erosion of civil rights of the poorest and a feminist perspective on sustainable development, etc.
Her major contribution has been in the field of feminist training methodologies. She has conducted extensive workshops in Asia, Europe and African countries. One of the unique features of her work has been the creation of linkages between the community and the international arenas. Through her work, she has also created a fresh idiom for feminist expression in terms of language and spaces.
She has worked consistently to shape the feminist movement and in the process was also being shaped by the movement. Abha has also worked out a powerful synthesis between the movement at the ideological plane and through the practice on the ground, thus bringing theory closer to practice based on the realities of the urban and rural marginalised women.
Although, in the last 17 years, rural, marginalised women have been the focus of her work , Abha’s work has also touched and influenced the lives of women in multiple country contexts thus reaching out to all women with the creation of a feminist consciousness. She has been a pioneer in giving visibility to hidden and silent issues.She has shown extraordinary quality of self reflection and has provided critique of the present feminist movement as an insider.
Another remarkable feature of her work has been her assistance to small women’s groups, helping them to evolve and gather strength. It is also typical of her style of functioning that she has evolved a truly decentralised method of working, with a firm belief in collective strength and involvement.
She has set up a feminist retreat – TARA in the lower Himalayan mountains in the northern part of the country. Along with a community based women’s empowerment and entitlement program that is active in nearly 200 villages. Her major passion is organic farming, gardening, yoga and friendships.
Professional Experience
Bhaiya has been on the board of national and international organizations:
National Organizations
- NISHTHA- Himachal Pradesh, A community health based organization- Founding Board member
- FREA – Akshara, Mumbai- Board member
- OLAKH, Gujarat- Board member
- Mahila Samakhya, National – Education for Women’s Equality- Member National Advisory committee
- Jagori Delhi ,1984- a Training, Communication and Documentation Centre- Founding member
- Jagori Rural Charitable Trust, 2002- Settler Trustee
- Doosra Dashak, Rajasthan - Member of the Executive Committee
International Organizations
- IASSCS – International Association for the Study Sexuality, Culture and Society – Board Member, since 2009
- One Billion Rising- since 2012, India coordinator and member of the Advisory council
Regional Network Founder
- SANGAT- South Asian Network of Gender Activist and Trainers
- THE Women’s Regional Network (WRN) founding member. Active in India, Afghanistan, Pakistan & Sri Lanka with a focus on Gender Peace and security in the South Asian sub region
- KARTINI- Asian Level Network of Women Activists and Gender studies.
1969-1971: Dept. of Sociology, University of Bielefeld, Germany
Research Assistant
Assisted with courses related to ‘developing’ countries
1974-1976: Rural Development Advisory Services, Hyderabad, India
Program Officer
Initiated a community development project in the slums of Hyderabad and leading a team of community organizers.
1984: Jagori, New Delhi, India
Founder
Foundation of the women’s documentation, communication and training center, with Bhaiya as Founder and institutional member with major responsibilities in:
- Overall coordination and organization building
- Capacity building of the team
- Administration, finance management and resource generation
- Providing vision for the growth of the organization
- Networking with NGOs
- South Asian solidarity, peace initiatives and alliance building for women in the region
- Organizing and conducting trainings/workshops for all levels of NGOs
- Production of multimedia material, primarily for women without literacy skills
- Community level intervention and building local leadership
- Designing and implementing action research in communities
- Advocacy for various issues such as violence against women, human rights, militarization
- Organizing national level conferences, dialogues
2002: Jagori Rural Charitable Trust (JRCT)
Founder Trustee, Managing Director
Bhaiya along with Kamla Bhasin and Barbara registered Jagori Rural Charitable Trust (JRCT) in 2002 and is led by Abha Bhaiya as a founder Trustee and the managing director. Jagori Rural committed itself to working with the most marginalized and challenging multiple systems of domination, discrimination and exploitation. It is a vision to transform relationships between people and between human citizens and nature, both shaping each other. Bhaiya also setup a feminist retreat in the mountains as integral to community intervention. The retreat provides facilities to hold workshops, seminars and alternative healing sessions.
2002: Jagori Rural Charitable Trust (JRCT)
Founder Trustee, Managing Director
Bhaiya along with Kamla Bhasin and Barbara registered Jagori Rural Charitable Trust (JRCT) in 2002 and is led by Abha Bhaiya as a founder Trustee and the managing director. Jagori Rural committed itself to working with the most marginalized and challenging multiple systems of domination, discrimination and exploitation. It is a vision to transform relationships between people and between human citizens and nature, both shaping each other. Bhaiya also setup a feminist retreat in the mountains as integral to community intervention. The retreat provides facilities to hold workshops, seminars and alternative healing sessions.
2007: UN Peace Resolution, Brussels
Chaired an internal Meeting on UN Peace Resolution in Brussels
2008: Kartini
Sexual Rights Researcher
Coordinated a two week long workshop for Asian participants on normative and non-normative sexualities, sexual rights and empowerment.
2008: Women’s Organization IWID
On behalf of EED, Germany, conducted a review of the women’s organization IWID for strategic planning.
2008 - 2009: Women’s Organization IWID
Completed a book on non-normative sexualities and sexual empowerment with Saskia Wieringa.
2009: Oxfam India
Gender Consultant
Reviewed gender national policy for recommendations; Strategic planning; identifying focus areas for gender mainstreaming.
2006 to 2010: GIZ – GM, Kabul
Gender Technical Adviser
Conducted Gender mainstreaming and gender strategic planning training for the ministry of finance, commerce, Women’s affairs and the Civil Commission.
2018 : Indian Feminisms
Editor
Indiviadual and collective journeys edited by Poonam Kathuria and Abha Bhaiya, published by Zubaan Academic.
