MITRA: Men’s Initiatives for Transform Relationships through Action

Violence Against Women

Violence against women and girls is a grave violation of human rights. Its impact ranges from immediate to long-term multiple physical, sexual and mental consequences for women and girls, including death. It negatively affects women’s general well-being and prevents women from fully participating in society.

Early Marriage

Child marriage is a human rights violation. Child marriage threatens girls’ lives and health, and it limits their future prospects. Girls pressed into child marriage often become pregnant while still adolescents, increasing the risk of complications in pregnancy or childbirth.

Adolescents and Youth

Adolescents and youth are shaping social and economic development, challenging social norms and values, and building the foundation of the India’s future. Maturing earlier than previous generations, both physically and socially, they have high expectations for themselves and their societies.

Men and Masculinities

A "men and masculinities" approach to promoting equality between the sexes focuses on how to address the male side of gender equality including the ways gender roles and stereotypes affect men and boys’ identities, behaviours and expected roles and responsibilities.

Women’s Empowerment

Women's empowerment includes improvement of their political, social, economic and health status. The full participation and partnership of both partners is required in productive and reproductive life, including shared responsibilities for the care and nurturing of children and maintenance of the household.

MITRA: Men’s Initiatives for Transforming Relationships through Action

MITRA functions as a resource centre driving practice around work with men and boys. It operationalizes and supports different approaches to engaging men and boys within a rights based framework for promoting ‘positive’ masculinities and gender justice at the community level.

MITRA promotes national and regional discussions and exchange of lessons on this issue and operates through a broad alliance of women’s rights and social justice allies. It acts as a bridge between activists, organizations, institutions, researchers, media and others working on women’s rights and social justice issues.

The key activities of MITRA include providing training and capacity building, supporting grassroots implementation of projects with men and boys, supporting campaigns and building and sharing knowledge on different approaches and aspects of work on men and boys. See About Us

Our Work

Ek Saath Campaign Photos

Ek Saath Campaign

The Ek Saath National Campaign engages men and boys as partners for gender justice in changing gender social norms that are discriminatory. Ek Saath in Hindi means ‘together’ and here it denotes both partnership between men and women as well as that of men with other men for ending violence and discrimination against women and girls. The campaign is based on the principle of togetherness to change social norms.

Vision: Ek Saath national campaign is based on the belief that if we want to change the situation for women it is time to shift the onus of change from those who are facing discrimination to those who create and uphold gender discriminatory social norms.

Gender equality is a vision for the whole of society and men must become equal champions of gender justice.