PHILOSOPHY

Gender Equality is first and foremost human right. Women are entitled to seek and enjoy freedom of choice, authority and equal access to resources and opportunities within and outside the household. Empowered women contribute effectively to the global developmental processes. Their structural positioning in the society paves for enhanced productivity of whole families and communities and improved prospects for the coming generations. Yet, discrimination against women and girls including gender based violence, economic disparities, reproductive health inequities, and harmful traditional practices; remain the most pervasive and persistent form of inequality.

Bearing in mind, the mounting threat posed by gender disparity for the establishment of a balanced, progressive and peaceful society, Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan (DJJS) under the stewardship of its founder and Head, Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Ji has been continuously alleviating women from this vicious cycle of subordination through Ideological Capacity Building under its Gender Equality Program – SANTULAN. His Holiness says “Mind is the scriptwriter of our life. Our mental thoughts and expressions are the propagators of our actions. The root cause of ingrained Gender Inequality lies in diseased human mindsets”.

Therefore, Santulan uses its unique approach of ‘Grooming’ to ensure mental and social transformation in Gender Perspective at the grass root level. Because we identified that it is not the laws which can bring a change, rather, the change has to be ignited within individual mindsets. The changed thought process and way of living, parenting and grooming can definitely ensure a change in the overall societal consciousness in gender perspective. This is what we can contribute as an individual towards creating a gender just society.

 

Grooming Model highlighting the discriminative life cycle of a girl child'

 

 

Santulan follows a two pronged approach to realize its objectives. One is advocating against Gender Based Discrimination and Gender Based Violence with a main focus over social pandemic of Sex Selective Abortions, where we mainly focus on awareness generation and sensitization programs. These include one on one counseling, closed group sessions, seminars, conferences, workshops, information counters, awareness walks, street theater and spiritual programs (katha-amrits & jagrans). And the other is – Holistic Empowerment of Women through provision of functional literacy, basic livelihood generation opportunities and capacity building workshops to empower women ideologically by commencing them into Brahmgyan – the eternal science of self (soul) realization.

The underlying principle of the program is that - Equity for women can be achieved by total transformation of existing societal pattern. Only through self awakening can women realize their self worth and men acknowledge value and respect for women.