The activities of the centre include offering Extension Services, carrying out Confidence Building Measures, Capacity Building Workshops, Training Sessions, Round Table Discussions apart from Research, Lecture Sessions and Building Linkages with other Institutions.
Apart from establishment of Telemedicine centre for villages around Pilani under health initiative, the CWS extension services include for Raila Village near Pilani water management incorporating Rain water harvesting and water purification, training centre for stitching and tailoring, child care centre,,adult education for rural women, village agricultural fair and street plays; training women from Jherli village near Pilani for weaving, book binding etc; teaching support for the primary school at Dhindhua village near Pilani.
Under confidence building measures, CWS organized a series of four workshops in collaboration with British Council’s Springboard Women Development Program for Nurses. In collaboration with One World South Asia, CWS organized a project on Socio Economic up-liftment of Rural Women through Technology intervention for Realizing Millennium Development Goals through ICT.
The training activities of CWS include Training program in Computer Literacy for Rural Women and Girls; Training on Embroidery, rope craft and crochet; training on paper recycling, etc. In February 2007, CWS conducted a Round Table discussion on Sharing Best Practices for increased participation of women in Science & Technology Education & Career.
CWS organized lectures on topics like Livestock Production Management for Rural women at Jherli village near Pilani, Gender and Health for participants of M.Phil. Hospital & Health Systems Management degree of BITS Pilani, use of natural products as beauty aid etc.
CWS research activities cover study on prevalence of Anemia caused by iron deficiency among adolescent girls and its impact on their well being, study on acceptability of alcohol based waterless hand sanitizer among street food vendors in Pilani, studies on utilization of locally grown Aloe Vera for commercial applications, study on effect of alcoholism on society, study on safe motherhood and access to resources among nomadic populations in desert regions in Rajasthan in comparison with Negev desert region of Israel, study on gender related issues pertaining to admissions to higher professional educational institutions, etc.
CWS Pilani today has networked with not only Women Studies Centres at regional, national and international level but also with several NGOs, Government Institutions, UN and International agencies. It has active collaborative arrangement with Jacob Blaustein Institute of Desert Research Ben Gurion University Negev Israel and SUNY Buffalo USA department of Women and Global Studies.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women and CWS Pilani is planning Activities for Capacity Building of Teachers on CEDAW.
Considering the fact that more than one in three women and over 60% of children in India are anemic with the problem being more acute in rural areas, Prof Nirupama Prakash (Email rupa@bits-pilani.ac.in)
In the times to come, CWS Pilani is bound to grow from strength to strength.
