Family has a unique place in Bharatiya social order and a woman has the pivotal role in the well being of the family. However, in her family and society at large, a woman has been relegated to a secondary status, of which gender based oppression, exploitation and injustice are inevitable fallouts.

Bharatiya Stree Shakti was founded in 1988 and has been active in its efforts for women's development and resolution of their problems. It is a voluntary, autonomous, apolitical organization.
Any woman above the age of 18, agreeing with aims, objects and programmes of Bharatiya Stree Shakti can be a member of BSS and any male above 18 years may similarly be an associate member.

	To create a place of honour for women in family and society.
	To achieve equal status and equal opportunities for women in social, economic and political fields.
	To aggressively oppose gender based oppression, exploitation and injustice.
	To generate awareness among women about their participatory role in the task of national reconstruction and social change, at all levels.

To achieve these, Bharatiya Stree Shakti organizes various programmes, workshops, awareness campaigns, conferences, many other constructive activities and agitations.

Networking of activists has spread this work to 18 branches in Maharashtra Mumbai, Thane, Dombivli, Ratnagiri, Pune, Solapur, Sangola, Sangli, Latur, Aurangabad, Dhule, Nagar, Nashik, Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Nagpur and Chandrapur.

To create a place of honour for women in family and society.

The needs of man, woman and child resulted into family structure and social order. This had many advantages - emotional satisfaction, security, sharing of responsibilities and progressive development. Some advantages and practices culminated into customs, which established patriarchal system. Due to the anomalies that crept in over centuries woman was pushed to secondary status.

Hence the problems of a woman are gender based, related to her status in the family & society. They are not merely her personal problems, but the problems of the society as a whole.

To resolve these, we emphasize -

	Gender sensitive family structure based on equal status and equal opportunities with consensual process.
	Mutual respect, co-operation and tolerance.
	Sharing of responsibilities without inhibitions.
	Social change initiated by family.

To achieve equal status and equal opportunities for women in social, economic and political fields.

Women's problems are serious social problems. They can be resolved by increased social awareness and a unified, holistic approach by both men and women. The special provisions for the development of women in social, economic and political fields should be welcome, remembering that any social change is incomplete without the participation of women.

To aggressively oppose gender based oppression, exploitation and injustice.

Eradication of oppression, exploitation and injustice can establish happy and healthy co-existence of women and men in the family and society.
Equality of men and women, and also women and women irrespective of their marital or reproductive status, caste or creed will lead to a harmonious, strong society.

To generate awareness among women about their participatory role in the task of national reconstruction and social change, at all levels.

Women should not remain shackled to their own problems and hurdles. Any society is incomplete without their contribution. They must understand the national challenges and participate on the personal and collective level. They should exercise their rights of decision making prudently and effectively for positive social change.