TARSHI promotes safe, inclusive spaces that advance people’s well being and their agency over their sexuality and SRHR, using a feminist, intersectional lens and rights-based approach to sexuality.
For us, the intersectional approach to sexuality and SRHR is a way to recognise the many ways in which sexuality and SRHR are influenced by identities beyond gender and sexual orientation, including caste, class, livelihood, religion, disability status, educational levels and more.
TARSHI also acknowledges and works to address the paucity of content on rights-based, pleasure-affirming sexuality in Indian languages, especially Hindi.
Our audiences
We primarily work with two audiences: one, social sector organisations working on a range of topics, including NGOs, other kinds of non-profits and civil society organisations; and two, educators and institutions working in the field of education, such as teachers, counsellors, schools and education-focused NGOs. We will also work with young people and parents as secondary audiences.
TARSHI’s work focuses on three thematic areas: SRHR, CSE and SISA spaces. More about them here. We see five broad areas in which TARSHI could make a difference:
# Perspective Strengthening: Bring a rights-based, pleasure-affirming and holistic sexual wellbeing approach to sexuality as opposed to perspectives that focus solely on preventing infections, unwanted pregnancies, sexual violence, or that promote abstinence. In terms of wellbeing, to encourage reclaiming self-care as feminist and challenge its interpretation as purely commercial or as selfish; and to emphasise the importance of collective care in managing stress and preventing burnout, and how organisations and collectives can integrate this in their workplace.
# Capacity Strengthening: With some of our audiences, this entails building on the above perspectives with the knowledge and skills to integrate these aspects in their work with communities, with young people, with students, or in their resources.
# Resource Creation: Create a variety of resources that take forward rights-based and pleasure-affirming perspectives on sexuality, and on SISA spaces, especially in the workplace.
# Narrative Building: Contribute to strengthening intersectional discourses on SRHR; on the importance of CSE in India; and the significance of SISA spaces at the workplace. We see this as crucial to counter anti-feminist, anti-rights-based discourses that are growing in India and across the globe, which are leading to rights-based policies and laws being retracted in various countries.
# Networking and Solidarity: Leverage TARSHI’s years of experience in the larger social sector ecosystem to collectively take the feminist and SRHR movements forward.
To learn more about what we offer, please visit ‘Our Work’.
our history
Our Team
Supports TARSHI with capacity strengthening, information dissemination, and outreach activities. A post-graduate from LSE with interests in gender, sexuality, and SRHR. She enjoys petting dogs, discovering new coffee shops, and travelling.
Handles TARSHI’s Admin, HR and Finance functions. Likes to travel, draw, paint, and explore new things.
Nandhini believes in the power of advocacy for social change. She has completed her Masters in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK. Her interest lies in reading about gender and sexuality, travelling and trying different cuisines.
A Clinical Psychologist by training and a dreamer at heart, she writes (and also edits). Her main areas of interest are sexuality and rights, and her cat, dog, and plants.
Keeps the office up and running with administrative and logistical support. Enjoys travelling and spending time with his child.
Works on TARSHI’s capacity and perspective-strengthening activities, human resource management and staff development. Interested in creating self-affirming content on sexuality. A people and a dog person, dreams about travel and loves to cook new cuisines.
Maintains our office and helps keep team members fortified with coffee and tea!
Based in India, writer, seeker, roadie, travels with Dog Dustyray, exploring life hacks over decades. A post-graduate from XLRI, works with TARSHI and In Plainspeak, and maps multiple territories as content consultant and writing coach.
A postgraduate in Political Science, supports TARSHI with initiatives related to capacity and perspective strengthening. Interested in intersectional and affirming learning and sharing. Can be found petting animals, drinking tea, making memes, and occasionally playing the guitar.
Works across TARSHI’s diverse activities on resource creation, narrative building, and SISA Spaces. Avid reader, writer of personal essays and short fiction, and occasional singer.
Funders, Financials & Policies
For details of our current and past funders, click here. Visit this page for financials. Learn about our organisational policies here.