Research Centre for Women’s Studies (RCWS), Juhu

A pioneering institution established in 1974, the Research Centre for Women’s Studies (RCWS) is the largest and oldest of its kind in India. Its contribution to the development of Women’s Studies is widely recognized both nationally and internationally. Since its inception, the RCWS has undertaken several research projects with generous grants from national and international donor agencies, with a very broad-based research focus which has led to theoretical studies (some of which have had policy implications) and action based projects. It has also contributed to the development of Women’s Studies curriculum and training manuals. It has a well-established publications programme, including a quarterly newsletter; and it reaches out into the larger community through its regular seminar series and networking programmes. It was in recognition of its contribution to the development of Women’s Studies (specifically in research, curriculum and faculty development programmes) that the University Grants Commission (UGC) identified the RCWS as a centre of excellence during (the 9th Plan period) with the mandate of providing the necessary leadership for the development of Women’s Studies. The RCWS envisages its role as a catalyst of social change; the various components of the programme, namely research, teaching, community development, networking and dissemination are not seek as separate, but rather as inter-linked components of a cohesive whole. Drawing from each other these various components will enrich the entire programme and initiate a process of change. The target group of these multi-pronged interventions is women at the grassroots, activists, students of Women Studies and other disciplines, policy makers and others. The RCWS motto is “Change and Challenge”.