Creating Space for Women in India’s Ekta Parishad
“The best women leaders that I’ve seen anywhere are those that continue to have a group of women behind them.” – Jill Carr-Harris
Recently nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, Ekta Parishad, or “unity forum,” has been facilitating nonviolent resistance by marginalized communities in India since 1991. Today Ekta Parishad has over 200,000 formal members across 13 Indian states and addresses issues faced by the poorest and most marginalized communities: governance and welfare, land acquisition, agriculture, the rights of tribal dalits, industrial expansion, tourism, energy, and especially mining, forestry and water.
Selina Gallo-Cruz interviews Jill Carr-Harris, a longtime-leader in Ekta Parishad’s women’s wing, about women’s roles in the movement and the leadership successes and challenges women face within it. “Originally from Canada, Carr-Harris worked in India with the United Nations Development Programme for two years and then with other grassroots organizations for several years.”
Read the interview here
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