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MRA State Process
Sangamner Convention
The second MRA convention was organized at Sangamner on 14th and 15th June 2001 with a broad objective to review the process and to plan future strategies. Almost 5000 participants including the network partners, village level women activists, alliance partners were present.
Smt. Vimal Mundada, Minister for Women and Child Welfare inaugurated the convention with Adivasi activist Navakiba Gavit. Kushavarta Bele reiterated commitment of MRA in the inaugural session. Noted social and political activists Mrunal Gore, Nirmala Sathe, Vasudha Sardar, Kiran Moghe and Raosaheb Kasabe participated and gave inputs in various sessions. The women's SHG groups in Sangamner Taluka took lead role in planning and overall management of the two-day convention. The experience sharing of women on gramsabha participation, election and other field interventions presented an overall picture of the one-year journey. These narratives pointed the challenges and struggles women faced and also innovative strategies they adopted and how they created spaces for themselves by interlinking women's issues to the issues of overall village development.
In one of the sessions intensive brainstorming took place on the possible structure to consolidate the village level processes. The necessity for institutionalizing is evident; however it was difficult to arrive at a common form or banner with region wise diversity of processes. Some challenges were spelt out. One was the conflict before the voluntary organizations that being an outside agency how far they should intervene on village matters. The other was tackling differing views on how to constitute the structure that encompasses the diversities.
The resolutions in the convention included a commitment to spread the philosophy and activism of MRA across villages in the State and secondly to work towards fulfilling demands to strengthen gramsabha and village committees.
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