Knock, knock. It seems that 2020 had just started, and everything was alright. But now we are almost closing ledgers for the year bygone, and we still find ourselves feeling overwhelmed by the pandemic. Even after all these months, we are still dealing with the same questions repetitively. Is the vaccine almost there? Are there other ways to curb this disease? And so on. Sometimes it gets monotonous and boring to discuss this same thing over and over again. Isn’t it? And so it is with us! Since 1981, we have been raising our voice against violence against women. Since then, we have been listening, answering, and readdressing something over and over again.
Don’t take us wrong, we love to hear from you, but wouldn’t it be easy if there was a space to have all those questions answered in one place? A space to know some of the doubts you might be having? Hence this blog!
In today’s blog, we have listed down a few common questions that we deal with often enough. It will also serve as a quick FAQ for someone who is looking up for more information about us.
So let’s get started!1)Do you think women are still victimized? Aren’t there enough laws to protect them?
The numbers don’t lie. When we started spreading our cause back in 1981, everyday 19 women died in Gujarat. When we did thorough research, we got to know that these were not deaths but suicides. And since then, there isn’t much improvement. The recent laws like the Sexual Harassment at Workplace or amendments in old laws would not have come into effect if women were protected and their rights were considered as human rights. The very fact that there is a law indicates that a majority of women are still victimized mentally, physically, and even financially.
2) Do you have a shelter home at AWAG?
Back then, when we started our cycle of awareness-raising to economic empowerment, we did include a shelter home within our premise to support women and give them a space to get independent and have skill development at the same time. But now, since the government is actively doing that bit, we are happy to step back and divert the needy towards one of the government shelters. But if we have a critical case that needs protection until a further decision comes into effect, we accommodate the victim with adequate care and protection.
3) You have a self-empowering unit, so do you still accept donations?
We started the economic empowerment unit for two main reasons: We wanted women in the shelter home to get independent, learn some skills. But it is impossible to keep an organization functional without peoples’ support. Over the years, we have undertaken different projects and have relied on funding and donation programs, and we are still open to those kinds of opportunities. However, we value our mission and cause, and we have a high criterion for choosing our donors too!
4) Is your funding private or government?
People generally have a notion that a non-profit is mainly driven by private funding. But that is not the case. While we mostly do projects with funding agencies or private companies, we rely on government projects too. One of our effective projects ‘Mental Healthcare for Women and Adolescents’ that is functional since 2007 is an ideal example of our initiatives of government funding. We believe in the greater cause and benefit of society, and hence we are open to accepting projects that may be either private or supported by the government.
5) What other activities do you undertake besides violence against women?
That seems a good question. AWAG does not mean just participating in rallies, doing candle marches for a victim. You might see us doing pop-up shops at a college campus or participating in an online crowd-funding program. For more information about what we do and why we do what we do, you might want to subscribe to your newsletter that we are happy to roll out every month. It will give you a glimpse of our mindset. (https://www.awagindia.org/about/publications/newsletters/)
6) Do you accept volunteers?
If you have come looking for an answer to this question, then you are probably enthusiastic to do something good for society. We are always on the lookout for people with excellent skills. What are you? A good writer, good at film-making or product designing? Are you excellent at fundraising or have strong PR skills? We are happy to connect with you and see if we are a good fit for one another. You can send your resume and cover letter explaining your interest to be a part of our organization at info@awagindia.org
7) What activities do you undertake to share your stories?
We believe to share our work with others and let society know what we are up to. One of the ways we do that is by our monthly newsletters. We also have an active facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/awagindia) and blog post (https://www.awagindia.org/blog/) that we keep active. Besides, we use online crowd-funding platforms that have helped us significantly to spread our message with others. Through videos and articles simultaneously supported by public events and propaganda we reach out to people continuously. (https://www.globalgiving.org/donate/30766/ahmedabad-womens-action-group/)
8) How can I contribute?
First of all, let us congratulate you for this thought. It is a kind gesture and we welcome any positive initiative from your end. We are open to the thought of more, the merrier! You can always contribute to our cause by volunteering or donating or coming up with a great idea. If nothing clicks, be our guest and write for us as a guest writer! We would be happy to know your views too.
9) What is the best part about working at AWAG?
Working in a non-profit should not be boring. We have a very open and supportive work environment and a great team that believe in bringing out the best in one another. Our core team consists of philanthropists, accountants, writers, designers and of course our counselors and field workers. We believe in a cross-training culture and try to collectively work towards accomplishling a project goal.
And lastly, before we end this, we want to highlight something very important that keeps coming back and we have to clarify it. We pronounce our organization as AWAG with a ‘J’ sound in the end and not ‘G’. Ending it with a ‘G’ sound means to curb the voice against violence against women and that is entirely opposite to our ideology. So next time you ring us in we hope to hear the right name!