Strengthening Feminist Movement (SFM)
Sashakt Panchayat, Surakshit Nari (Empowered Panchayat, Safe Women). Since December 2023, CKN has been building women’s leadership in Gram Sabhas and panchayats, and making villages safer for women, in Thethaitangar block of Simdega district.
Project at a glance
Supported by
Women’s Fund Asia (WFA)
Location
Thethaitangar block, Simdega district
Meromdega and Tukupani panchayats (Gutbahar also in Phase 1)
Duration
Dec 2023 to Apr 2027
3 phases: 2 completed, 1 ongoing
Focus
Gram Sabhas, women’s leadership, safety from violence and mental health support
Project journey
Three phases, one movement
Each phase builds on the last: from getting women into the Gram Sabha, to making the panchayat a place where women’s safety is on the agenda.
Strengthening PRIs and Gram Sabhas
15 Dec 2023 to 14 Dec 2024
SFM 2023
Working in 15 villages across Meromdega, Tukupani and Gutbahar panchayats to bring women into village decision-making.
- Awareness drives in all 15 villages: street plays, IEC material, wall writing by women
- Gram Sabha meetings in every village, with minutes and regular schedules
- Panchayat workshops for Mukhiyas and ward members, and a block-level meeting with the BDO, CO and police
- Psycho-social support for women and girls facing violence
Empowered panchayats, safe women
15 Apr 2025 to 14 Apr 2026
Sashakt Panchayat, Surakshit Nari
A second WFA grant deepened the work in 14 villages of Meromdega and Tukupani panchayats, adding a strong focus on violence and mental health.
- 4,526 people reached: 3,460 women and 1,066 men
- 45 cases of mental health, domestic violence and gender-based violence identified and supported
- Regular women’s, adolescent girls’ and community meetings, Gram Sabhas and panchayat training
- Families linked to government schemes
Sustaining women’s leadership
15 Apr 2026 to 14 Apr 2027
Sashakt Panchayat, Surakshit Nari
The current phase continues the work in the same villages, so that women’s groups and Gram Sabhas can keep running on their own.
- Women’s meetings, adolescent girls’ meetings, community meetings and Gram Sabhas continue every month
- International Day of the Girl Child marked with students at Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Thethaitangar (Oct 2026)
- Continued support for survivors and their families
- Results will be shared at the end of the phase
The challenge
Strong Gram Sabhas for safer, fairer villages
We chose the panchayats and villages that are most vulnerable, home to marginalised tribal communities. Families here face low awareness of their rights, poverty, trafficking and exploitation, and domestic violence. Women are often missing from the Gram Sabha, and elected women representatives are sometimes kept out of public life by their own families.
Mental illness is another hidden burden. Superstition, lack of documents such as Aadhaar, and little family support mean that many women never reach treatment. Through regular meetings, training and casework, the project brings these issues into the Gram Sabha and the panchayat, and links people with the services that can help.
Goals and objectives
- Build the capacity of elected representatives, especially women
- Regular, well-attended Gram Sabha meetings where women speak up
- A functional Village Development Plan
- Support and referral for women facing violence or mental illness
- Every eligible family reached by social security schemes
Key strategy
How the project works
Women in the Gram Sabha
Women’s groups prepare issues together and raise them in Gram Sabha meetings.
Trained panchayat members
Training for Mukhiyas, ward members and women representatives on their roles and on village planning.
Girls’ and women’s groups
Regular meetings of adolescent girls and women build confidence, leadership and peer support.
Support for survivors
Counselling and referrals for women facing domestic violence or mental illness, with their families brought on board.
Access to schemes
Help with documents such as Aadhaar through Common Service Centres, and linkage to government schemes.
Working with the system
Block-level meetings with the BDO, CO, police and other officials keep women’s safety on the local agenda.
Key figures
The project in numbers
Figures from our Annual Report 2025-26 and reports to Women’s Fund Asia. Phase 3 figures will be added when the phase ends.
4,526
People reached in Phase 2: 3,460 women and 1,066 men
Phase 2 · Annual Report 2025-26
45
Cases of mental health, domestic violence and gender-based violence identified and supported
Phase 2 · Annual Report 2025-26
14
Villages in 2 panchayats of Thethaitangar block
Phase 2 · Annual Report 2025-26
15
Villages in 3 panchayats reached in the first phase
Phase 1 · WFA mid-grant report 2024
3
Phases of WFA support, from December 2023 to April 2027
Project timeline
6
Types of meeting held regularly: women, adolescent girls, community, Gram Sabha, panchayat and block level
Phase 2 progress report
Lessons from the field
What got in the way, and how we responded
Farming season
Attendance drops during paddy and mahua season.
Our response: Our team held meetings with women right in the paddy fields.
No Aadhaar card
A woman with mental illness could not get treatment or benefits without ID.
Our response: We took her to a Common Service Centre for Aadhaar and linked her family to schemes.
Families holding women back
A woman representative was stopped from taking part in public meetings.
Our response: We counselled her and met her family about her rights and role. She now takes part.
Superstition
Families preferred faith healers over medical care for mental illness.
Our response: Counselling and practical support convinced the family to take the patient for treatment.
Photo gallery
Highlights photos
Stories & updates
Stories from the villages
The latest stories and updates from the Strengthening Feminist Movement project.
Story of Meromdega Panchayat
Story of Kiran
STORY OF JORAMAINE
Madina Story
Story Of Rani
Story of change due to scheme in Tukupani Panchayat of Thethaitanger block of Simdega district.
Back women's leadership in the village
Your support helps CKN strengthen Gram Sabhas, train women representatives and stand by women facing violence, so that development and safety reach every household.