In total, the Sai Maa Woman's Empowerment project has now been in operation 7 months. As part of this project, the Sai Maa Woman's shelter has been supporting women in need for 4 months. In the past 3 months, 62 new cases have been opened as well as providing ongoing support to many previous cases. In addition, there have been 326 calls to the help line and 166 women have come to the center for counseling. The top 2 reasons for needing support continue to be domestic violence and sexual assault.
A recurring theme in the domestic violence cases is a lack of skills and/or confidence. Often the women state they do not understand what is going on in the family, making it difficult for them to participate. This further undermines their confidence. To address this, skills training is provided at the women’s empowerment center. Between February and April, a number of training courses were offered in addition to the individual counseling. This included training in human rights, women’s rights and vocational training in revenue producing skills such as vegetable pickling.
A recurring theme in the domestic violence cases is a lack of skills and/or confidence. Often the women state they do not understand what is going on in the family, making it difficult for them to participate. This further undermines their confidence. To address this, skills training is provided at the women’s empowerment center. Between February and April, a number of training courses were offered in addition to the individual counseling. This included training in human rights, women’s rights and vocational training in revenue producing skills such as vegetable pickling.
An important component to creating strong, confident women is addressing cultural and personal beliefs that can undermine confidence. One such still widely held belief is that a woman cannot be without a man. Regularly, I am asked how I can be unmarried, often by educated young women for whom this is currently not an option. Parents too are incredulous and often cannot understand ‘how my parents allow this’. These attitudes are strongly influenced by the still prevalent culture in Varanasi, in which the father is responsible for a girl, the brother is responsible for a teenage girl and the husband is responsible for a woman. In this structure, the required confidence and life skills for a woman to support herself are often underdeveloped. Once identified, this is where the training at the Women’s Empowerment Center fulfills its purpose in re-educating women to become strong, confident role models in their society.
February March April
Case Files Opened 30 30 32
- Domestic Violence (18) (21) (18)
- Sexual Assault (5) (7) (8)
Calls to Hotline 111 117 98
Face to Face Support 91 93 82
Women Given Refuge 5 5 6
February March April
Case Files Opened 30 30 32
- Domestic Violence (18) (21) (18)
- Sexual Assault (5) (7) (8)
Calls to Hotline 111 117 98
Face to Face Support 91 93 82
Women Given Refuge 5 5 6
 Vocational Training for Clients |  Staff in Shelter Common Room / Training Area |
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