Campaign for Autonomous Nyaya Panchayats in Himachal Pradesh
Social Uplift Through Rural Action
(SUTRA), a non-governmental voluntary organisation, was
established with the support from Social Work Resource Centre (SWRC), Tilonia.
SUTRA has been
working in Himachal Pradesh since 1977 and was
registered in 1985. From service provision, the
organisation moved towards transformational change to address the problems
emerging from their erstwhile beneficiaries. These included alcoholism,
domestic and social violence, land encroachment, child marriages, health, girls’ education and declining sex ratios. Women’s collectives were formed and
various training programs were conducted to empower these groups.
SUTRA’s goal is to enable the establishment
of Gender Just Governance. It continues to work with several national and
international organisations on the issue of decentralized governance,
reproductive health, issues of single women and gender-just development.
SUTRA, through its network of small
voluntary organizations, works with village based Mahila Mandals and women
representatives of Gram Panchayats spread across 7 districts of Himachal
Pradesh. SUTRA also works on policy and advocacy of various issues at the state
and national level.
SUTRA is registered under Societies Act 1860
and with Ministry of Home
Affairs, Government of India to receive foreign funds.