The All Bengal Women's Union was started in the 1932, when a group of women in

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

formed a cadre of like-minded women to help their helpless, exploited and victimized fellow women. The genesis of the group lay in the fact that

trafficking Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

and

children A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

had increased to an unprecedented extent in West Bengal and the

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

area and this

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

was an attempt to address the problem. In between the two World Wars, the number of sailors and soldiers had considerably increased and the flesh trade found a ready and expanding market in Calcutta. The ''Calcutta Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act'' and the ''Children Act'' were passed in order to enable the police to rescue women and children from the

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

s. A new bill entitled ''The Bengal Suppression of Immoral Traffic Bill'' was placed before the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1932 by Mr. J. N. Basu, an eminent

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

. The Bengal Presidency Council of Women and the All Bengal Women's Conference decided to form an independent organization for the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Bengal. This society came into being with the name of ''All Bengal Women's Union'' and registered under Act XXI of 1860. The All Bengal Women's Union is affiliated to the

International Abolitionist Federation The International Abolitionist Federation (IAF; ), founded in Liverpool in 1875, aimed to abolish state regulation of prostitution and fought the international human trafficking, traffic in women in prostitution. It was originally called the Brit ...

, Geneva. On 1 April 1933, the bill was passed. Romola Sinha, the founder member was the first chairperson of Central Social Welfare Board in West Bengal. Among the other notable ladies who had made significant contributions to the institution were Smt Maneck Modi, Smt Sheila Davar and Mrs Bela Sen. The visit of Princess Anne (in January 2007) was an important event in the history of the Institution. Mrs Davar became the president of the club on the death of Mrs Sinha. She also founded the Bustee Welfare Society located at Lovelock Place. Mrs Bela Sen was the chairman of the production department for a long time. The All Bengal Women's Union is assisted in their work by several NGOs such as

Save the Children Fund The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

Projects

The major projects of the organization have been: * Creating homes for the housing of old aged women * Creating children's welfare homes (Primary Schools) * Providing vocational training * Developing rehabilitation centers * The Refill Project for those with learning disabilities * The Bakery Project that provides employment to rehabilitated women * Research and documentation into the sex trade of children and women * Counselling services for mentally and psychologically traumatised women (sponsored by the Hope Kolkata Foundation) * Sponsorship programs for health and education needs (in conjunction with

ASHA ''Asha'' () or ''arta'' (; ) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right' (or 'righteousness'), 'order' and 'right wor ...

and

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

) * Free legal aid to women who are living below the poverty line to those who need it for any purpose * The Sahayika Project, which trains girls who are victims of various atrocities and violence as ayahs and nursing assistants. * The Shikshalaya Prakalpo Project, supported by

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

, aims to provide primary school education to the dropouts * The Swadhar Project, intended to work with 25 girls from the

red light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are partic ...

is in its genesis

References

External links

All Bengal Women's Union
{{Authority control 1932 establishments in India Sex worker organisations based in India Medical and health organisations based in India Organisations based in Kolkata Sexuality in India Organizations established in 1932 HIV/AIDS prevention organizations Organizations that combat human trafficking HIV/AIDS organizations in India Prostitution in India Women's rights organisations based in India Women's organisations based in India Human trafficking in India

Projects

See also

References

External links