SYNOPSIS

AR-501 THESIS

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT CENTRE, KARNAL, HARYANA

SANIYA AHMAD THESIS GUIDE

B.ARCH 5TH YEAR AR. KULSUM FATIMA
ROLL. NO. 13BAT0066 F/O ARCHITECTURE & EKISTICS
F/O ARCHITECTURE & EKISTICS JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA
JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA
INTRODUCTION
Empowerment of women is a socio-political ideal envisioned in relation to the wider
framework of women’s rights. It is a process that leads women to realize their full potential,
their rights to have access to opportunities, resources and choices with the freedom of
decision making both within and outside home. Empowerment would be achieved only
when advancement in the conditions of women is accompanied by their ability to influence
the direction of social change gained through equal opportunities in economic, social and
political spheres of life.

The current status of women with respect to human development parameters, legal rights
for women to life and freedom from violence, economic and social discrimination and their
rights to equality and equity shows that a lot still remains to be done. It is necessary
therefore, to reinforce the rights-based approach for creating an enabling environment in
which women can enjoy their rights. Today we have looked different Acts and Schemes of
the central government as well as state government to empower the women of India. But in
India women are discriminated at every level of the society whether it is social political and
economic participation, acquire education, and also reproductive healthcare.

Empowerment of women would mean equipping women to be financially independent, self-

reliant, have positive attitude to enable them to face any tough situation and they should be
able to participate in development activities. The empowered women should be capable to
participate in the process of decision making.

RATIONALE
Women empowerment is all about restoring the dignity of women, by removing all forms of
gender bias and facilitating their personal, social and financial independence. It is all about
putting control of their lives back in their own hands and re-enabling their right, power and
ability to make decisions in all areas that touch their lives. It is about acknowledging,
facilitating and reinforcing their personal, social, political and educational rights to bloom
and prosper as human beings. It is about supporting women to freely assert their
reproductive rights. It is about women not being scared, embarrassed or apologetic for any
form of freedom. It is about eradicating all social ills prejudiced against women.

This design project seeks to employ architecture and design as a tool that could improve the
lives of women in by supporting and enhancing their economic ventures. The project is
aimed at enhancing social economic empowerment of poor women dependent on the
informal economy by providing a central location for economic empowerment training
which gives access to invaluable resources for women to equip them with innovative skills.
CLIENT
Women & Child Development Department, Haryana

Project: Poorna Shakti Kendra (PSK) Under National Mission For Empowerment

The PSK, which has been approved by the central government, would focus the areas of
declining sex ratio, crimes against women, skill development leading to employment and
other issues for empowerment of women.

OBJECTIVE
 To cater to the primary need of shelter, food, clothing, medical treatment and care of the
women in distress and who are without any social and economic support.
 To enable them to regain their emotional strength that gets hampered due to their
encounter with unfortunate circumstances.
 To enable them to take steps for their readjustment in family/society.
 To rehabilitate them economically and emotionally.
 To act as a support system that understands and meets various requirements of women in
distress.
 To enable them to start their life afresh with dignity and conviction.

DATA COLLECTION SOURCES

 Research papers

 NGOs & Government Schemes

 Books

 International projects

 Internet

 Libraries

 Building codes

 Building Byelaws
SITE:

WHY HARYANA??

Though Haryana is relatively well-developed state but it is pointed out the social indices are quite
low. The social status of women is very poor. The female literacy rate in the women have low status
in terms of socio-economic conditions which directly affects their role in decision making power,
mobility and social esteem. In Haryana 41% of girls are married off before the official age on 18
years, 42% of women doesn’t have 3 ANCs during their pregnancy. In education there is a huge gap
of 22.76 % between male and female literacy rates - 78.49% for the males and 55.73% for the
females. The State has a skewed child sex ratio which is a grim indicator of the persistence and
severity of discrimination against children, especially girls. Of the 10 districts with lowest child sex
ratio in India, four are in Haryana.

SITE LOCATION: VASANT VIHAR, KUNJPURA- GRAND TRUNK ROAD, KARNAL, HARYANA.
SITE CONTEXT

The site located on grand trunk road which connects the city to nearby villages, therefore it can be
accessed by the residences of the city as well as villages of Karnal district. The site lies in institutional
area comprising Govt. Industrial Training Institute (BMCJ), Gandhi College Of Pharmacy, ICAR,
Research & seed production farm. It is surrounded by residential area
OCCUPANCY
The designed centre will cater to all the girls/women in need of nearby areas and villages.
The project envisions a supportive institutional framework for women victims of difficult
circumstances such as

 Women who are deserted and are without any social and economic support;
 Women survivors of natural disasters who have been rendered homeless and are
without any social and economic support;
 Women prisoners released from jail and are without family, social and economic
support;
 Women victims of domestic violence, family tension or discord, who are made to
leave their homes without any means of subsistence and have no special protection
from exploitation and/ or facing litigation on account of marital disputes; and
 Trafficked women/girls rescued or runaway from brothels or other places where
they face exploitation and
 Women affected by HIV/AIDS who do not have any social or economic support.

so that they could lead their life with dignity and conviction. It envisages that shelter, food,
clothing, and health as well as economic and social security are assured for such women. It
also envisions that the special needs of these women are properly taken care of and under
no circumstances they should be left unattended or abandoned which could lead to their
exploitation and desolation.

DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
 Admin. Office
 Visitor centre
 Rehabilitation, health & guidance centre
 Commercial facilities food court etc
 Anciliary spaces: courtyard area, public square, auditorium/multipurpose hall
 Technical training and skills centre
 Hostel/residential block

DESIGN COMPLEXITY:
 This design problem brings up the challenge to plan a space which can help to
rehabilitate and empower women at the same time. This is a center for women who
have lost hope in themselves and need to regain strength, skills and confidence. So
the design should be powerful enough to develop confidence and power in its users.
 Another challenge is to design the center taking into consideration the needs and
requirements of women of different age groups, different background, going
through different problems.
METHODOLOGY
 Site selection: based on master plan, landuse, need & surrounding
 Data collection and Literature study: from research papers, books,
newspapers & magazines, surveys, videos
 Case studies: for better understanding of the needs and requirement of the
project
 Analysis: in terms of social, cultural, economical & individual aspect
 Design proposal: based on
literature study, inferences
from case study & analysis
 Thesis report: report of overall
project.

OBSERVATION &
ANALYSIS
TENTATIVE CASE STUDIES
 Women Empowermant Centre, Malleshwaram, Banglore
 State Resource Centre For Women, Haryana
 Women’s Opportunity Centre, Kayonza, Rwanda
 Women's Empowerment Centre, Kawangware, Kenya
 Women's Centre, Rufisque, Senegal
 Songtaaba Women’s Center, Gando, Burkina Faso
 Women's Technology Empowerment Centre Nigeria

REPORT PLAN (TENTATIVE)

 Introduction
 Literature study
 Case study I
 Case study II
 Inference
 Site analysis
 Design concept
 Drawings
 Material study
 Conclusion