PARVAAZ LEGAL FELLOWSHIP
CALL FOR APPLICATION

SUBMISSION DEADLINE – 25TH DECEMBER 2024, 12 MIDNIGHT IST
South Asia Women Foundation India ( SAWF IN) is pleased to announce an Open Call for Applications for a fellowship aimed at women and trans*1 lawyers practicing at district courts of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and all 8 North-Eastern States in India, enhancing their efforts to support women and trans* communities in accessing justice and legal remedy. The fellowship support is for a 10-to-18-month period.

About South Asia Women Foundation of India (SAWF IN)

South Asia Women Foundation India (SAWF IN) is a national women’s fund. We were set up with the vision of building a world where women, girls, trans and gender non-conforming persons realise their rights and fundamental freedoms to equality and non-discrimination. Our mission is to mobilise domestic and other resources, to support movements and initiatives led by women, trans and gender non-conforming persons, towards the realisation of their human rights.

Parvaaz Legal Fellowship – Background

Launched in 2017, the annual fellowship provides financial and technical support to women and trans* lawyers practicing in districts courts of India, which are the first site of legal redress and remedies for women and trans* persons. The fellowship support is aimed at enabling women and trans* lawyers hone lawyering skills, and advocate for gender and social justice using a feminist approach. At the same time, the fellowship offers opportunities for women and trans* lawyers to exchange learning and network with local experts and experienced feminist lawyers.
In the last 5 years, the fellowship has supported 26 women lawyers across 20 district courts. They have all extended pro bono legal services to those from underserved communities, engaged closely with the local socio-legal aid ecosystem and contributed to legal literacy efforts at the grassroots highlighting the rights and justice needs of women, girls and queer persons from socially and economically marginalised communities.

Parvaaz Legal Fellowship Call to Join the 2025 Cohort

SAWF IN is expanding its Fellowship to build a stronger cohort of committed women and trans* lawyers who will enhance their lawyering skills and grow into an impactful peer network that addresses gender-based inequalities and discrimination through as well as within the bench and bar.
Navigating India’s formal legal system can be difficult, even for the literat and educated, as laws and legal processes can be intimidating. The marginalised, especially women and trans* persons, due to their identity, face more barriers in accessing justice or any form of legal remedy. These communities continue to face structural exclusion and alienation, especially those who have been survivors of violence, systemic discriminations and institutional bias. Furthermore, the patriarchal nature, in addition to inadequate gender diversity in the Indian legal system, creates an environment that is not inclusive or responsive to needs of those at the margins. In short, the Constitutional promise of equality to all continues to be a distant dream for the marginalized in the country.