MRUDGANDHA 2021 - SAMYAK - SOCIAL CASE STUDY COMPETITION

VAASTAV FOUNDATION – CASE STUDY

Introduction
Feelings of oppression and injustice have always been at the root of each major
movement in our world's history. The movement's initiators, an unsatisfied
segment of society, seek to rebalance the discrepancy in access to equal rights.
Usually, these movements have been led by marginalized sections of society, be
it women, Dalits, or African-Americans. Being treated as second, third, or even
fourth (#CasteismInIndia) class citizens fuels their anger and determination
until that day arises when a voice finally breaks the deafening silence of
injustice. The men's rights movement (MRM), like any other movement, has the
underlying cause of the feeling of injustice, being perceived by aggrieved men
in India.
The MRM is a movement fighting for the introduction of gender-neutral laws
and the revision of laws that are negatively biased against men. The MRM
activists primarily rally against the anti-dowry laws, domestic violence laws,
divorce laws, and child custody laws in India. According to these activists, these
laws are misused to harass and extort money from men.
The MRM started way back in 1988 in Delhi by Supreme Court advocate Ram
Prakash Chugh to fight the psychological abuse caused by false claims of dowry
harassment by wives.
Section 498A, which deals with anti-dowry provisions had acquired the
reputation of being the most abused law in the history of Indian jurisprudence.
This section allowed the immediate arrest of those named in a complaint.
Accordingly, 2.7 million people, including 650,000 women and 7,700 children,
were arrested between 1998 and 2015 due to this Section. Understandably this
fueled the fire in the MRM movement.
Another reason for the MRM movement has been the false rape cases being
registered. According to the MRM activists, many women file false rape cases
after a consensual relationship goes sour. The Delhi Commission for Women
reported that 53% of the rape cases filed between April 2013 and July 2014
were found to be false.
To fight such injustices and bring out gender neutrality in India, NGOs such as
Vaastav have been founded in the country.
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 MRUDGANDHA 2021 - SAMYAK - SOCIAL CASE STUDY COMPETITION

About Vaastav Foundation

Vaastav Foundation is a Men's Rights NGO formed by families of men who
were falsely accused of 498A, Domestic Violence. These are a group of people
from different walks of life who meet every Sunday at Mumbai and give free
guidance to men who are victims of False Matrimonial Cases.
Vaastav Foundation is a registered NGO [MAHARASHTRA STATE,
MUMBAI 1205, 2014 G. B. B. S. D.]. The objective is to create a social
structure, for preserving and protecting Men's Human Rights, to foster a stress-
free society.
Vaastav comes under the Safe Indian Family organization which houses 28
NGOs from different cities in India. The NGO works with other brother NGOs
which work for men's rights.
Activities carried out by Vaastav:
❖ Suicide prevention helplines
❖ Counselling sessions by Vaastav counsellors and guides at Mumbai in
Borivali, Mulund, and Sanpada
❖ Regular meetings with individuals in distress to create a support system
for such persons/families
❖ Awareness campaigns, events for suicide prevention, promoting gender
equality and family values
❖ Stress management training programs
❖ Help in the rehabilitation of affected people and families

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 MRUDGANDHA 2021 - SAMYAK - SOCIAL CASE STUDY COMPETITION

Challenges
1. Volunteers’ Retention Challenge
Every day, the helpline number receives a lot of calls from men of diverse
age groups requesting assistance with concerns ranging from mental health to
legal matters that the victims are dealing with. A portion of calls from mental
health helplines in India is also diverted to Vaastav.

These calls are answered by volunteers who are simultaneously managing

their education and careers. As a result, they tend to give a limited amount of
time, as well as a short term of service towards Vaastav Foundation. Due to the
poor awareness about the NGO in the public domain, the net attrition rate of
volunteers is significant.

2. Administrative Challenge

The organization wants to set up an office and needs suggestions regarding the
problems faced in setting up an office (employee structure, office overheads,
recruiting employees & retention of existing volunteers).

As of now, the organization does not have an office. Generally, the volunteers
meet at public parks for meetings and discuss their cases. Having such an
environment helps people to open up and makes it easier for the new joiners to
get to know each other, but such an organizational style is not suitable for
sustaining in the long run. It often becomes difficult to coordinate with
volunteers about new and next locations to set up meets and needs extra
overhead from the organizational committee. Hence a need for an office arises
to streamline functions.

The volunteers working for the organization are not full-time employees; they
work on weekends and/or as per their convenience. The organization needs two
full-time employees for the below-mentioned tasks:

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 MRUDGANDHA 2021 - SAMYAK - SOCIAL CASE STUDY COMPETITION

❖ Person 1: Coordinating between brother NGOs and the victims to set up

meetings and consulting sessions
❖ Person 2: Organizing meetings with different politicians, accompanying
leaders in the meetings, and keeping a track of the calendar. Aim to meet
at least 1 influential politician per month

3. Financial Challenges

Expenses per annum Amount (Rs)

Office Rent 3,60,000
Employee for engagement with Politicians and Police 2,40,000
Employee for Admin work 1,80,000
Total Admin Expense 7,80,000
Shelter house for Domestic Violence Victims 1,80,000
Public Interest Litigation Cost (3 Nos) 15,00,000
Miscellaneous 2,00,000
Total Expenses 26,60,000

1. Office Rent Cost: The NGO currently does not have an office space and
wants to set up a new place that is easily accessible to volunteers belonging to
Western and Central Mumbai. An appropriate location that is accessible from
Borivali, Vashi, and Mulund has to be considered

2. Employee Cost: Two permanent employees are needed by the organization

to help with the mentioned tasks. Both should have basic educational
qualifications with some legal background

3. Shelter House for Domestic Violence Victims: As a prospect the

organization plans to take up next year, a suitable location has to be selected
where victims of Domestic Violence can stay. The shelter should have basic
amenities to support such people

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 MRUDGANDHA 2021 - SAMYAK - SOCIAL CASE STUDY COMPETITION

4. Widening the Reach

Vaastav Foundation was established to create a social structure, to preserve and

protect men's rights and to foster a stress-free society. The NGO has its helpline
which receives about 1 lakh calls per year. They have more than a hundred
volunteers to handle the calls and their resources are not being utilized
efficiently. This can be changed by reaching out to the right audience and
increasing the number of calls received on their hotline so they can help
maximum people. They have also conducted events such as:

❖ Dream Run with Vaastav Foundation, a marathon organized in Mumbai

❖ Signature campaign outside CST station (received over 1000 signatures)
in support of men's rights
❖ Musical nights at Veer Savarkar Hall at Dadar to reach out to more
people etc.

With the rate of fraudulent cases against men increasing day by day, it has
become more important for NGOs like Vaastav to raise awareness about their
work and make sure the people in need can reach them.

Being a taboo, men are generally reluctant to seek help unless the situation gets
out of hand. The organization wants to create an environment where men can
come forward and talk about their issues with an open mind. An element that
bonds individuals together and makes it simpler for them to open up is required.

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 MRUDGANDHA 2021 - SAMYAK - SOCIAL CASE STUDY COMPETITION

Questions
1. How can awareness about men's rights be created in the society?
2. Suggest a structured and sustainable fundraising strategy.
3. Recommend strategies for attracting and retaining volunteers in the long
run.
4. Identify the target groups amongst which awareness needs to be created
and design a marketing campaign for online and offline channels to
increase the outreach of the NGO.
5. Find an ideal location for office space/ rescue home and project a realistic
financial plan for the next year.
6. Find the factor that can help create a healthy environment for aggrieved
men to open up and talk about their issues freely.