Centre for Women's Studies (cws)

About the Centre

The Centre for Women’s studies (CWS), at the University of Hyderabad, is an interdisciplinary Centre located in the school of Social Sciences.

The growth of the Centre can be divided into three phases.

In the first Phase, from 1984 to 2007, The University of Hyderabad had a Women’s Studies Cell. This was alternatively located in the School of Social Sciences and the School of Humanities. The Cell offered a course titled Social Construction of Gender as an optional course for M.A. It successfully organized various seminars and workshops and carried out many Projects.

In the second phase, this Cell was upgraded to a Centre from June 2007 onwards. It was a standalone Centre collaborating with different faculty and schools. It has a Advisory Board comprising of members from different Schools, and members from different Organisations and Universities, to run its day to day affairs. During this phase the Centre had an M.Phil and a Ph. D . programme and taught courses on Gender in different departments.

In the third phase, from 2014 onwards, the Centre became a part of the School of Social Sciences. At  present the Centre offers a Ph.D  programme, Foundation Courses in  Gender and a  M.A. (Gender Studies) Programme.

The vision of the Centre for Women’s Studies is an empowered woman who would balance tradition and modernity in the new age, and be a catalyst for change.

Its Mission is to:

• To promote gender equality through education
• To create, strengthen and disseminate information and knowledge about and for women globally
• To establish a network between women, researchers, lobbyists, and policy planners

Aims :

• Actively coordinate courses on gender and women in different departments, and introduce fresh areas of gender research.
• Build a systematic database on gender issues.
• Mainstream gender issues in teaching and research.
• Create a space for women to come together
• Facilitate gender analysis on critical issues

Some of the Thrust Areas in Which We Work Include:

• Women’s Education
• Globalization and New Economic Policy
• Women and Governance
• Women’s issues ( Private and Public)

Women’s Health and Child Development

• Women and Violence (Private and Public)
• Women’s Writing and Literature
• Feminist Theory and Methods
• Women, Media and Information technology
• Women and Development
• Women and Environment
• Women’s History, Women & Science

Its Objective is to bring visibility to Women’s Issues through:

• Teaching , Research, Projects, Documentation, Training
• Extension, Counseling and Advocacy
• Seminars / Workshops, Networking

In Research We Would Raise Gender Awareness at All Levels Like:

• Academia
• Policy initiatives
• Media
• Service sector

Our Trainings Would Attempt to:

• Build the capacities of women and children
• Develop training manuals
• Health issues, legal literacy
• Development schemes and programme
• Strategies for organizing
• Girl child rights

Our Advocacy Would be at Different Levels:

• Local
• Regional
• National
• International

Documentation:

• Creation of new information through different media
• Resource generation
• Publication and material generation
• Research in women’s history and the culture of Deccan

Seminars / Workshops:

• Regional Workshop
• National Workshop/Seminar
• International Workshop / Conferences
• Networking with other institution for joint conferences, workshops

Our Long-term Objective is to Become a Nodal Centre of Excellence:

• A Resource Base for South Asia
• A Digital Resource Centre
• Distance learning supplemented by C.D Rom and Internet
• Make documentaries and films on women’s issues

To Become a Cultural Resource Centre:

• Establish an archive for/of women
• Data base of women in Deccan
• Oral and Folk Histories
• Histories of the families in Deccan

Role of CWS:

• Mainstream gender
• Address the needs and concerns of women in research and teaching
• Build a sense of community and identity among women

Services Provided:

• Education and  Information
• Out reach services
• Advocacy and Networking

Our Future Plans:

• To offer a very strong teaching and research Programme.
• CWS’ services to be available to everyone and society at large
• To be well known among students and staff as a resource centre
• To become self-financed and self-sustained through its projects and consultancies