MASUM works in the rural areas of Purandar Block, Pune District and Parner Block, Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra State in India with the oppressed, marginalised and minority groups with an emphasis on their participation in all activities and programmes. It aims at creating awareness about various forms of exploitation and abuse faced by the underprivileged and the minority groups in the community and help them organise themselves to deal with these problems. MASUM is a development group with a feminist perspective and a democratic approach. MASUM works on the issues of Health, Domestic Violence, Women's Resource Development and Self-Employment, with rights approach.

History –

MASUM is a registered public trust established in 1987. The evolution of MASUM can be traced to the action research project related to health education in the Purandar and Baramati blocks of Pune district. The two principal researchers Dr. Ramesh Awasthi and Manisha Gupte lived in Malshiras village of Purandar taluka for five years to develop deeper understanding of community needs and dynamics. This resulted in rapport building and establishing contacts with all the groups in the village and their reaching out to the most deprived sections of the community and involving them in the project. They were exposed to the various forms of socio-economic forces operating within the community. There existed a rigid caste hierarchy with remainants of an unequal ‘balutedari' (subsistence economy) system operating between the farmers and the ‘balutedars' i.e. the artisan castes.

The action research process introduced interventions to encourage community participation, especially of the minority groups. These included training dais and balwadis (pre-school education) teachers, school health education and organising groups of young women and men. Volunteers from community were identified and trained to impart health education and discussions related to various social issues were initiated.

The health education activities under the research process brought together women belonging to the backward and oppressed castes, minority religions and middle or higher castes but who had been deserted by their husbands and lacked familial support. Many of these women who worked as daily wage labourers on the fields of rich farmers were at risk for economic exploitation and faced various forms of abuse. These women needed a base to come together and voice their problems and hence the initial interventions strongly encouraged them to form active groups and get organised. And thus MASUM was formed in 1987 when these women of Malshiras village were organised to address the issues that affected their lives. They came together to support each other and collectively fight for their rights.

MASUM's objectives :

• To make women self reliant and conscious of their human and constitutional rights and to put pressure on the state for fulfilling its obligation towards its people.
• To nurture women's physical and emotional health.
• To provide vocational training and credit facilities to women for self-employment.
• To create a sustainable and humane mode of development through people's active involvement in rural Maharashtra.
• To create a progressive space in society for all its deprived people, and to specifically resist casteism, sexism, religious chauvinism and homophobia.
• To work towards the elimination of discrimination, inequality, intolerance and violence - both, within and outside the home.
• To work towards the creation of a society based on equality, freedom, democracy, diversity and peace.

Region –

MASUM works in 18 villages in Purandar block covering about 30,000 people. This area falls in the eastern part of Purandar block in Pune district. Located in the rain shadow region this area is perpetually drought prone with an average rainfall of 20-30 cms every year. The terrain is undulating with numerous hillocks and some villages are landlocked with hills surrounding them while others are situated at the far end of the plateau with no direct road links. Accessibility to many villages is poor, as there are no proper roads. Invariably the roads that lead to interior villages and various hamlets range from mud roads to precarious footpaths.

MASUM started work in Parner block in 1996. It works in 10 villages with a population of about 8000 people mostly tribals belonging to the Bhils and Thakar tribes. Located in a hilly tract, some of these villages are remote and inaccessible, except by foot. The traditional occupation of the tribal people was fishing, which has now been taken over by non tribals, forcing them to work as landless and migrant labourer. Most tribal people live here in poverty and are deprived of access to basic facilities like water, electricity, education or health care.