Partners

Parvatiya Mahila Vikas Trust (PMVT) is a progressive and autonomous women's organization of 2270 members. These women representatives are elected in various Panchayats across 5 districts: Kangra, Chamba, Bilaspur, Mandi, and Kullu. PMVT endeavours to stand against caste-based discrimination, abuse, and violence.
Parvatiya Mahila Vikas Trust is active in 25 out of a total of 50 Panchayats in the Baijnath tehsil of Kangra district. The organisation further aims to increase its presence in every panchayat which is possible through increasing memberships by identifying and recruiting women leaders, through skill development programs, education, and psychosocial consulting.
Focused on women and adolescent girls from Dalit, and marginalized communities, PMVT uses its intersectional lens to empower women. Most of the Panchayat women representatives are working with rural Dalit women to create a harmonious environment in the families. The trust has consistently tried to create an environment in which the woman survivor or family feels safe in every way, therefore, PMVT envisages its organisation as a safe space for Pahari women.

Project with MHI

A year-long project has been implemented by PMVT with MHI’s support for the Capacity building of 50 active women elected representatives to provide socio-legal support and basic counselling for women victims of domestic violence and abuse. With MHI’s support, the women panchayat members will integrate mental health intervention and appropriate linkages to services to improve their response towards the women clients. This includes psychological first aid, self-protection activities, panchayat-level meetings for perspective building, and legal aid for women facing gender and caste-based violence.