Shahoshini Phase III was officially launched with a two-day Gender Training and Annual Action Planning Workshop held on 2–3 August 2026 at the DRCSC Office. The workshop brought together Shahoshini members and the project team to strengthen their understanding of gender equality and rights and to finalize the implementation strategy for the coming year.

The workshop marked the beginning of the project’s expanded intervention, which aims to reach 2,000 women leaders from Mukti Community Development Fund (MCDF) through community-based programmes on gender equality and rights awareness. During the workshop, Ms. Nandita Jayaraman shared the detailed annual implementation plan and budget for Shahoshini Phase III with the team, guiding participants through the proposed strategy, priorities, and implementation approach for the coming year. Participants discussed the implementation strategy, identified target blocks, clarified roles and responsibilities, and finalized approaches for community mobilization, training delivery, monitoring, and follow-up.

As part of the preparation for Phase III, 12 community trainers were selected and oriented to facilitate gender training sessions at the community level. The trainers were introduced to the project’s gender curriculum, participatory facilitation techniques, and their roles and responsibilities in implementing the programme across the project areas.

The workshop also finalized plans to extend gender sensitization initiatives beyond MCDF women leaders by engaging approximately 600 Mukti Support School (MSS) teachers and 100 senior staff members. This broader engagement recognizes the important role of teachers and staff in promoting gender equality and creating safe, inclusive, and gender-responsive institutions.

Key Training Areas

The workshop covered core concepts that will form the foundation of future community-level gender training sessions, including:

• Understanding Sex and Gender
• Gender Socialization
• Gender Discrimination
• Patriarchy
• Power and Decision-Making
• Women’s Rights
• Gender-Based Violence (GBV)
• Women’s Social and Economic Empowerment
• Equality and Non-Discrimination

The workshop resulted in the finalization of a one-year implementation strategy to reach 2,000 women leaders from MCDF across the identified project areas. Block-wise implementation strategies, team responsibilities, training schedules, and approaches for community mobilization, monitoring, and follow-up were also finalized.

The sessions strengthened the capacity of Shahoshini members and trainers to promote gender equality, women’s rights, and non-discrimination within their communities.

Looking Ahead

Following the workshop, community-level gender training sessions will commence according to the finalized implementation plan. The selected trainers will conduct regular sessions with 2,000 MCDF women leaders, supported by continuous mentoring and follow-up. In parallel, gender sensitization programmes will be organized for approximately 600 MSS teachers and 100 senior staff members to strengthen institutional understanding of gender equality and foster more inclusive and gender-responsive environments.

Progress against the annual work plan and budget will be regularly monitored to ensure the timely and effective implementation of Shahoshini Phase III.