FFDA
Encyclopedia
The Forum for Fact-finding Documentation and Advocacy (FFDA) is an India
n human rights
monitoring organization founded in 1995 that fights to promote and protect human rights in India by working with the victims of human rights violations and their organizations. It educates the victims and their communities, and facilitates and builds the capacity of organizations of victims to take collective action on their own. It addresses the issues of displacement and forced eviction, violence against women and children, exploitation, torture, abuse and discrimination against Dalit
s (untouchable and low caste
poor), and attacks on minorities and indigenous
communities.
Based on learning and work experiences, FFDA integrated democracy monitoring into its core activity as the basic path to rights for the above mentioned target group; participating in decision making and asking for accountability and good governance
of the state in particular. It focuses on having a right to:
FFDA investigates, reports on, and campaigns against human rights abuses. Tribal and Dalit people, especially women and children, are its priority. FFDA is led by Subash Chandra Mohapatra.
-dominated economic, social, cultural, civil, and political structures.
FFDA's goals are:
s persist in rural India, although prohibited by Indian legislation since 1929. Such traditional marriages continue to be organised in massive numbers, principally in the poorest of families. Today, 33% of girls in India are married before they reach the age of 15. Another third are already married by 18, the legal age limit for marriage. It is a traditional ritual that affects primarily girls: apart from the fact that they are not physically equipped to give birth, forcing a child between the ages of 11 and 15 to marry condemns her to a life of illiteracy, economic dependency and psychological and physical incapacity. In 2003, FFDA filed a public interest litigation before Supreme Court of India seeking a ban on child marriages in India. The appex court directed to enact a new preventative law.
, after a political party rally, 150 party members rape
d 56 Dalit and tribal women working in the local stone-crushing industry. Mr Mohapatra, then working as a journalist for a leading national newspaper, helped the women get medical statements from reluctant doctors and pressed police to register the rapes and go after the rapists. Mohapatra exposed the rapist politicians in the newspaper, and as a result the state government fell.
In 2001, a steel company funded by the International Monetary Fund
displaced 3000 tribal people from their land. 250 people were then employed by the company. The tribal women went to the forest to collect leaves and roots to eat. Foresters and police forced the women to leave. When the women protested, the police and foresters kidnapped, raped and beat them in a government office. FFDA is helping the women to publicise the atrocities and take legal action.
in Orissa
. CARE International and Catholic Relief Services
gave GM bulgur wheat to survivors. After six months, thousands of people became ill from the wheat. FFDA picketed CARE International offices. After a long battle, the Indian government in the last week of February 2003 banned the GM food supplies by overseas organizations.
FFDA publicises the consequences of the mining industry’s destruction of the hills in Orissa.
marriage anywhere in India of two young tribal women in Chhattisgarh
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
monitoring organization founded in 1995 that fights to promote and protect human rights in India by working with the victims of human rights violations and their organizations. It educates the victims and their communities, and facilitates and builds the capacity of organizations of victims to take collective action on their own. It addresses the issues of displacement and forced eviction, violence against women and children, exploitation, torture, abuse and discrimination against Dalit
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
s (untouchable and low caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
poor), and attacks on minorities and indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
communities.
Based on learning and work experiences, FFDA integrated democracy monitoring into its core activity as the basic path to rights for the above mentioned target group; participating in decision making and asking for accountability and good governance
Good governance
Good governance is an indeterminate term used in development literature to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources in order to guarantee the realization of human rights. Governance describes "the process of decision-making and the process by which...
of the state in particular. It focuses on having a right to:
- Social and political participation
- A sustainable livelihood
- Education, particularly access for girls and tribal children
- Life and security
- Identity
FFDA investigates, reports on, and campaigns against human rights abuses. Tribal and Dalit people, especially women and children, are its priority. FFDA is led by Subash Chandra Mohapatra.
Aims and beliefs
FFDA dreams of a humane society where there will be freedom, justice, peace, and inherent dignity for all people. In India, FFDA's goal is a just social and humane order without class and casteCaste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
-dominated economic, social, cultural, civil, and political structures.
FFDA's goals are:
- Promotion, protection, and respect for human rights in the fight against political, institutional, and social oppression in India.
- Promotion and strengthening of the people’s organizations.
- Protection of human rights of deprived communities, especially indigenous tribes, women, children, DalitDalitDalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
s and other victims of human rights violations. - Human rights institution building.
- Promotion and protection of democracy as the basic part of accountability and transparency of the state.
Prevention of child marriages
Child marriageChild marriage
Child marriage and child betrothal customs occur in various times and places, whereby children are given in matrimony - before marriageable age as defined by the commentator and often before puberty. Today such customs are fairly widespread in parts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America: in...
s persist in rural India, although prohibited by Indian legislation since 1929. Such traditional marriages continue to be organised in massive numbers, principally in the poorest of families. Today, 33% of girls in India are married before they reach the age of 15. Another third are already married by 18, the legal age limit for marriage. It is a traditional ritual that affects primarily girls: apart from the fact that they are not physically equipped to give birth, forcing a child between the ages of 11 and 15 to marry condemns her to a life of illiteracy, economic dependency and psychological and physical incapacity. In 2003, FFDA filed a public interest litigation before Supreme Court of India seeking a ban on child marriages in India. The appex court directed to enact a new preventative law.
Anti-rape victory
In 1994 in the Indian state of OrissaOrissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, after a political party rally, 150 party members rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d 56 Dalit and tribal women working in the local stone-crushing industry. Mr Mohapatra, then working as a journalist for a leading national newspaper, helped the women get medical statements from reluctant doctors and pressed police to register the rapes and go after the rapists. Mohapatra exposed the rapist politicians in the newspaper, and as a result the state government fell.
Tribal people fight for land rights
In 2000, 26 families got their land back (225 acres). 47 other land cases are pending.In 2001, a steel company funded by the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
displaced 3000 tribal people from their land. 250 people were then employed by the company. The tribal women went to the forest to collect leaves and roots to eat. Foresters and police forced the women to leave. When the women protested, the police and foresters kidnapped, raped and beat them in a government office. FFDA is helping the women to publicise the atrocities and take legal action.
Organising against genetically modified food and environmental destruction
FFDA is exposing how genetically modified (GM) food makes people ill. In 1999, 30,000 people died in a cycloneCyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
in Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
. CARE International and Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the U.S. bishops, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 90 countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and...
gave GM bulgur wheat to survivors. After six months, thousands of people became ill from the wheat. FFDA picketed CARE International offices. After a long battle, the Indian government in the last week of February 2003 banned the GM food supplies by overseas organizations.
FFDA publicises the consequences of the mining industry’s destruction of the hills in Orissa.
First lesbian marriage in India
Mr Mohapatra, the team leader of FFDA, provided legal expertise for and was a witness at the first official lesbianLesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
marriage anywhere in India of two young tribal women in Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....
.