North East Network, popularly called NEN, was started on 22
March 1995. It was established by two young feminists, Dr Monisha Behal and Dr
Roshmi Goswami from Assam and Meghalaya respectively. 1995 was the year when
the 4th World Conference on Women was held in Beijing. The founders took it as
an opportune moment to represent the voices of women of North East India (NEI)
at a global forum. They left no stone unturned to mobilise women from across
the hills and plains of NEI. Led by NEN, a delegation of 20 women from 7 NE
states went to Beijing and they included academics, members of women’s
organisations and activists. Prior to the Conference, NEN participated in
regional workshops, bringing together women from rural and urban areas of the
NE states. Their voices on issues of livelihood, impact of customary laws and
conflict in women’s lives, violence against women, women in political
participation and health were included in the NGO report for the Beijing
Conference. The official paper of Government of India took note of issues of
women of NEI.
Back home, determined with courage and strong will power,
the founders of NEN started work on a war footing amidst challenges related to
conflict situation, diverse ethnicities, society’s limited understanding of
gender, inadequate funding support, technological and communication hurdles and
so on. To reach out to the last woman in the district, the organisation took up
various issues at multiple levels ranging from direct services through health
collectives, building leadership of women, initiating livelihood activities and
more, from a strong gender lens. In fact, NEN is the earliest feminist
organisation of the region. It provided a platform for individuals, women’s
groups and educational institutions to come together to brain storm on emerging
concerns of women of the region through collective feminist action and voice.
It also bridged the gap between the NE region and the rest of the country and
this helped to strengthen awareness about women of NEI. Though a collaborative
process, the issues of women were put on the national map and the women’s
movement of the country collectively started addressing the same. NEN has
emerged as a credible thought leader in global networks.
NEN started with the vision that women must be at the centre
stage of all decision making processes, both in private and public
spheres.Today, NEN sees the second rung
of leadership in Meghalaya, Assam and Nagaland and they are committed to carry
forward its mission for several generations to come and ensure a society that
is equal and just for all. To empower women, NEN strongly believes in
understanding the intersecting social identities and right of every woman as
crucial, irrespective of their ethnic origins, disability, religious belief and
sexual orientation. Today, we work with diverse women who are farmers, weavers,
vendors, home based workers, homemakers violence survivors, low income migrant
workers and youth.
NEN started the process of creating grassroots feminist
woman leaders who are now the 3rd line leaders of the organisation. The
different communities of women we work with have been able to exercise their
agency through initiatives led by them. These initiatives are channelled
through women-led community spaces such as the Gramin Mahila Kendra ( Rural
Women’s Centre) in Assam, Chizami Resource Centre in Nagaland and Community
Support Centres (CSC) in Meghalaya. These spaces have given NEN a distinct
visibility at the grass root level through a wide outreach in different
villages across 20 districts in the 3 states. These have become safe spaces for
survivors of domestic violence as well as creative learning forums for the
youth and children in the community. Young persons have been nurtured as change
agents through youth collectives and their voices have been amplified on social
injustice and prejudices against women.
Across four thematic areas, the organisation has ensured
transformational changes at the community level. Promotion of livelihood
diversity to enhance rural economies is a top priority of NEN. Hundreds of
women have been provided livelihood through capacity building and skill
development trainings on farm and non-farm activities such as textile weaving,
farming, tailoring, food processing, etc. Eco-systems for gender-responsive
approaches to mitigate gender-based violence have been strengthened by creating
pools of trained barefoot counsellors, peer leaders and support groups of women
in rural areas. The teams continue to engage with state agencies towards
strengthening implementation of gender-sensitive laws and policies,
facilitating women’s access to different state entitlements, collaborative
training programmes and ensuring women’s role in local governance. Inclusion of
women leaders locally in Dorbar Shnongs, Village Defence Parties, village
councils, Bio diversity Committees and other government bodies, educational
institutions, is visible. The thematic on natural resource regeneration
strongly holds feminist position that women are custodians of biodiversity,
agroecology and that the power of women’s knowledge must be included in all
community interventions and environmental policies.NEN has mobilised women led
initiatives on biodiversity conservation, seed banks, ecological food and
farming systems, regenerative local food production, etc.
Based on our lived experiences, our strategies are ever
evolving and we use them in an integrated manner to influence public opinion,
initiate community development, forge partnerships and strengthen action
oriented documentation.
As the organisation moves ahead, NEN remains committed as
ever and continue to march on to promote women’s agenda, building solidarities
and stands resilient to be future-ready. The main values upheld by NEN in its
quest for women’s rights and gender justice remain steadfastly the principle of
non-discrimination and substantive equality & respect for diversity,
inclusivity, plurality, peace and secularism. We will continue to create the
last mile impact, weaving stories of change out of women’s narratives and
realities and ensure a women-led future.
