Astha Sansthan was established with an objective to help people organise and expand their capacities and equip them to fight the struggle and overcome various deprivations in life. It is working mainly with the poor, tribal, marginalised, women and identifies people who are living under economic marginalisation, feudal traditions, gender stereotypes and inequalities.
Main programs are:
Single Women’s Rights Resource Unit (SWRRU): Astha works with Single Women to unlock their own strengths and helps them realize their potential through organization and awareness. The team provides training, confidence and makes them aware of their rights. Widows benefit by receiving pension, getting possession of their land/property and obtaining waiver of fees for their kids in government schools. Ekal Nari Shakti Sanghtan (ENSS), a mass-membership based organization of low-income widows has evolved as a structure that allows for its Single Women Members to work together to solve their problems. ENSS has established its presence in all 33 districts of Rajasthan, with 50,752 life members in 125 blocks.
Tribal Rights Resource Unit: In association with Rajasthan Tribal Rights Forum, this unit struggles for rights and challenges encountered by tribals and efforts are made for amendment in existing laws, rules, policies, schemes of the government. They also work with the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act which gives recognition to traditional customs, practices and systems prevalent in tribal villages.
The Livelihood Resource Unit organizes workshops on training site supervisors on group based measurement of work done so that people can get wages in accordance with the amount of work completed. They are also involved in lobbying and advocacy for food security, maternity benefits implementation of other provisions of National Food Security Act (NFSA) at Chief Security Level.
Budget Analysis Rajasthan Centre (BARC) was setup to analyse the state government budget and examine policies. Main activities of BARC is collecting resources and creating budgetary information for NGOs, POs, media and civil society.
The Local Self Governance Unit is involved in efforts and interventions to improve self-governance and strengthen the position of women representatives in local governance thereby creating ample socio-political space for women in society.
