‘Women’s Counseling Center’ is the project which provides free counseling, referral, and rehabilitative services to female victims who are in mortal danger in their family or society due to marital discord or maladjustment. The aim of this project is to empower women and encourage them to emerge as confident individuals that contribute financially to their households. We have found that prioritizing the capacity building of women-led efforts relating to education and income generation can be augmented by introducing women to various schemes.

In Washim, counseling, referral, and rehabilitative services are currently being provided free of charge to female victims. Also in Nagthana, UVS has vocational training, a Women’s Counseling Center, skill development programs, health checkup camps, and self-help group guidance programs to help bring women’s issues into the mainstream.

Maharashtra is one of the largest agricultural states in India, and farmers in this region play a very important role in the configuration and maintenance of the Indian economy. However, women in agriculture are affected by issues of recognition, leading to an absence of land rights, lack of entitlements to institutional credit, pensions and other universal privileges. 

The chosen method to achieve these objectives is through a Self Help Group (SHG), notable for their success in economic development, social empowerment and poverty alleviation (Khasnabis et al., 2010).　The programme’s overall goal is to engage in development activities with the provision of knowledge, skills, motivation, and competencies that are inline with UVS’ border goal of achieving sustainable agriculture.

Aiming to solve the problem, the SHG will be a vehicle to mobilise women to build up some savings in an entrepreneurial fashion. Through mutual support, SHGs can provide members with small loans for business purposes or in times of financial emergency caused by illness, accidents, funerals or otherwise. They can be a tool against indebtedness, and can also prepare women to build up credibility when scouting for microcredit later on.