Centre for Women's Development Studies

The Centre for Women's Development Studies (CWDS) is a women's studies non-governmental organisation based in Delhi, India, established in 1980 under educationist J. P. Naik, with Vina Mazumdar as founding Director, Phulrenu Guha as first Chairperson, and Lotika Sarkar as a founding member. Its founders were scholars and activists who sought to expand gender research across the social sciences, building on the Towards Equality report (1974) and the ICSSR's introduction of women's studies (1976–80). CWDS engages in research, action, documentation, training and networking on topics such as globalisation and women's work, democracy and governance, children's rights, law and justice, migration, health, violence, disability, conflict, education, and histories of the women's movement. It pioneered action research through a project in West Bengal combining grassroots empowerment with livelihood skills. The centre houses a specialised library with extensive materials on women in India, publishes Occasional Papers and the journal The Indian Journal of Gender Studies (formerly Samya Shakti), maintains a photographic archive on women from 1875–1947, and contributes to teaching and curriculum development in women's studies nationally.