The SWAN Strategic Planning Meeting, held on 12–13 April 2025 in Yelagiri, brought together 46 participants (20 women, 26 men) from 21 districts as a follow-up to the state convention on 22 March 2025. The gathering aimed to build on previous discussions and lay out a clear roadmap for SWAN’s five-year strategic vision for empowering single women across Tamil Nadu.
The meeting began with a session reaffirming SWAN’s vision: to build an inclusive, empowered, and equitable society for single women.
Why: Address systemic exclusion and injustice faced by single women
How: Enable grassroots leadership and institutional transformation
What: Implement long-term actions for sustained impact
What Do We Need?
Key needs identified across five pillars:
- Economic Stability: Livelihood access, interest-free loans, housing, and education support.
- Legal Protection: Legal awareness, fast-track justice, and entitlement facilitation.
- Mental Health & Dignity: Panchayat-level counseling and anti-stigma campaigns.
- Political Representation: Participation in local and state decision-making spaces.
- Social & Cultural Inclusion: Storytelling and mass mobilization campaigns.
How to Proceed
Strategic steps co-developed by the network:
- Build decentralized leadership across districts.
- Enhance data systems to reach 70,000+ single women.
- Establish district-level accessible support infrastructure.
- Conduct regular capacity-building and rights-awareness programs.
Strategic Framework for Supporting Single Women
Five focus areas were identified:
- Political: Increase representation in local bodies and policy forums.
- Cultural: Use storytelling and media to challenge stigma.
- Social: Promote mental health and dignity through local support.
- Economic: Provide training, access to schemes, and self-employment resources.
- Mobilization: Strengthen grassroots networks and collective voice.
Closing Commitment
Core team members committed to monthly strategy meetings, underscoring their dedication to sustained collaboration and collective progress.