The Fourteen affiliates of IFUWA
are autonomous in matters of finance, management, and programmes
aimed at improving the economic, political and social status of
Indian women and girls.
Associations engage in programmes of many kinds: Non-formal
education, teaching literacy skills, computer education,
scholarships, workshops and seminars on important issues, legal
literacy, human rights, security rights of girls and women, consumer
awareness, rural development, national integration, care of the
elderly, and fund-raising. Scholarships on need cum merit basis are
one important part of their agenda. India is also a member of
Project 5-O and CEDAW. Hostels for working women have been built
with government aid by the UWAs of Mumbai (Women Graduates Union of
Bombay), Pune and Bangalore.
All UWAs work with other NGOs to further common aims. It is
creditable that they have survived all these years entirely on
voluntary donations, in time as well as money. The challenge for new
members, associations and IFUWA is to increase membership,
visibility and impact, and devise new projects to face the many
challenges of the Third Millennium and Globalization.