Azad strives to empower cis and transgender women, men, and young people from marginalised communities through gender-just skill education, livelihood generation, leadership development, and community-driven initiatives. Through a feminist lens, Azad’s focus on inclusion, respect, secularism, accountability and transparency reflects its commitment to creating a more equitable and gender-just society.

Azad aims to level the playing field for disadvantaged women in India by enabling them to participate in non-traditional livelihoods leading to economic independence, improved social standing, and stronger decision-making powers in all spheres of their lives. This is achieved through a gender-just skill education framework that ensures holistic development through transformative skill training for cis and trans women while addressing gender barriers within families, communities, markets and policies.

By engaging women in non-traditional skill education and subsequent livelihoods, Azad invests in their empowerment for a life with dignity, enabling them to become agents of change who promote inclusive values, mutual respect, and equality within their families and communities.

To create a supportive environment, Azad works with community members through programmes aimed at fostering acceptance and understanding of non-traditional roles for women and equal participation of men in unpaid care work.

We recognise that women’s participation in the workforce is deeply interconnected to gender-based violence, both in the private and public spaces, which acts as a deterrent to their access to skill education and livelihoods. Therefore, Azad also works towards preventing and combating gender-based violence to create a gender-just ecosystem. By gaining access to and control over financial resources after entering the workforce, women are equipped with the confidence and means to oppose violence and inspire other women to do the same.

Azad engages with policymakers, state agencies, markets and stakeholders to ensure wider access to non-traditional livelihood options and gender-inclusive infrastructure for women across India, championing social awareness in women’s livelihood programmes for a more inclusive and impactful future. Azad also engages with South Asian and global forums to promote and encourage generation of non-traditional livelihoods for women.

Through these efforts, Azad aims to contribute to achieving the goal of economic and social equity for women, in particular from resource-poor communities, in India.