North East Network (NEN) will mark its 30th anniversary on March 22, 2025, celebrating three decades of advancing gender justice and women’s rights in Northeast India. Founded on March 22, 1995, by Dr. Monisha Behal and Dr. Roshmi Goswami from Assam and Meghalaya, respectively, NEN emerged during the pivotal year of the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing.
Recognizing this moment, the founders aimed to amplify the voices of women from Northeast India on a global stage. NEN mobilized women from across the region’s hills and plains, leading a 20-woman delegation from seven Northeast states to Beijing. This delegation included academics, women’s organization members, and activists.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
Prior to the conference, NEN facilitated regional workshops, gathering women from both rural and urban areas to discuss critical issues such as livelihood, the impact of customary laws and conflict, violence against women, political participation, and health. These discussions were incorporated into the NGO report for the Beijing Conference, and the Indian government’s official paper acknowledged the concerns of Northeast Indian women.
Upon returning to India, NEN’s founders began their work, addressing challenges such as conflict, diverse ethnicities, limited societal understanding of gender, funding constraints, and technological and communication barriers. NEN adopted a comprehensive approach, providing direct services through health collectives, building women’s leadership, and initiating livelihood activities.
As the region’s earliest feminist organization, NEN created a platform for individuals, women’s groups, and educational institutions to collaborate on women’s issues. It also bridged the gap between Northeast India and the rest of the country, raising awareness of the region’s women. Through collaboration, NEN placed women’s issues on the national agenda, prompting the broader women’s movement to address them. NEN has also established itself as a respected thought leader in global networks.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
NEN’s vision centers on placing women at the forefront of decision-making in both private and public spheres. Today, the organization sees a second generation of leadership in Meghalaya, Assam, and Nagaland, committed to its mission of creating an equal and just society. NEN emphasizes understanding intersecting social identities and the rights of all women, regardless of ethnicity, disability, religion, or sexual orientation. The organization works with diverse groups, including farmers, weavers, vendors, home-based workers, homemakers, violence survivors, low-income migrant workers, and youth.
NEN has developed grassroots feminist women leaders, now forming the third line of leadership. Through women-led community spaces like the Gramin Mahila Kendra in Assam, the Chizami Resource Centre in Nagaland, and Community Support Centres in Meghalaya, women have exercised their agency. These spaces have established NEN’s presence in 20 districts across three states, providing safe havens for domestic violence survivors and creative learning environments for youth and children. Young people have been empowered as change agents, their voices amplified on issues of social injustice and prejudice.
NEN’s work spans four thematic areas, driving community-level transformation. Promoting livelihood diversity is a priority, with hundreds of women receiving capacity-building and skill-development training in areas like textile weaving, farming, tailoring, and food processing. NEN has strengthened ecosystems for gender-responsive approaches to combat gender-based violence by training barefoot counselors, peer leaders, and support groups.
The organization engages with state agencies to improve the implementation of gender-sensitive laws and policies, facilitate women’s access to entitlements, conduct collaborative training programs, and ensure women’s participation in local governance. Women leaders are increasingly included in Dorbar Shnongs, Village Defence Parties, village councils, biodiversity committees, and educational institutions.
NEN’s work on natural resource regeneration advocates for women as custodians of biodiversity and agroecology, emphasizing the importance of women’s knowledge in community interventions and environmental policies. NEN has supported women-led initiatives in biodiversity conservation, seed banks, ecological food and farming systems, and regenerative local food production.
NEN’s strategies are continually evolving, integrating various approaches to influence public opinion, drive community development, build partnerships, and strengthen documentation. The organization remains committed to promoting women’s agendas, building solidarity, and preparing for the future. NEN upholds principles of non-discrimination, substantive equality, respect for diversity, inclusivity, plurality, peace, and secularism. It aims to create a lasting impact, amplifying women’s stories and realities to ensure a women-led future.