about us

When Saheli came into being, it was a time when women from many Left parties, socialist formations and peoples’ movements were seeking political spaces that would be more responsive to women and women’s issues. We were talking about what affected us as women—our lives, bodies, labour, sexuality, the hold of religion and community, and the role of laws and the State in our lives. In such a context, our organisational autonomy from both, political parties and the State, was and remains, central. Likewise on funding, we maintain our distance from institutional agendas and support, both Indian and international. While members have ‘other’ jobs/ occupations to earn their living, we sustain our organisational work through individual donations, periodic fund raising and contributions gathered against publications. This autonomy reflects in our choice of work and strategy, as much as it informs our effort to work outside the framework of hierarchical structures, as a feminist collective, with all its limitations!

So, from the contradictions of collective functioning to accountability and 'housekeeping' anxieties within the office, you’ll find a range of organisational debates in the articles featured in this section.