Despite strong legal protections, people living in slums in and around India’s capital city are routinely denied their fundamental rights to health, food, sanitation and housing. Marginalized groups, such as Dalit communities and women, face overwhelming barriers in accessing basic services and benefits from the Government. Lack of access is due to poor infrastructure, insufficient resource allocation and discrimination on the basis of caste and gender. Dalit women are doubly marginalized and often live in precarious conditions.

Nazdeek, in partnership with Action India, Amplify Change, Every Mother Counts, Hamaari Ummeed, ICAAD, SPTWD and Swadhikar, has launched the "SMS for Justice" project. Working with over 50 women across 3 slum areas and 1 rehabilitation colony in Delhi, the Project seeks to improve access to reproductive health, nutrition, sanitation and housing services for women living in Delhi's slums. Through an innovative fusion of legal training, mobile technology and community monitoring, the "SMS for Justice" project builds a Dalit women-led network of paralegals who will possess the skills to document rights violations and use existing grievance mechanisms to demand accountability for the delivery of basic services.

Read the Report - SMS for Justice: Women Demand Access to Vital Services in Delhi

This initiative builds off the success of the EndMMNow project which aims at increasing access to health services for Adivasi women living in Sonitpur District of Assam. For info: endmmnow.org