About SAWA

Mission

Our Mission is to provide a forum to further South Asian women and families’ interests through intercultural dialogues and initiatives.

Vision

Our Vision is to build a strong proactive social network of women and others interested in South Asian cultures.

History

South Asian Women’s Association (SAWA) is a public charitable 501(c)(3) organization.  SAWA was originally incorporated on March 2, 1993 under the name of Indian Women’s Association, and was re-activated and registered in May 2015.

Bylaws

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SAWA focuses on three primary purposes:

1. Domestic and Relational Violence and Abuse:
   To provide advocacy and resources to address issues related to all types of relational abuses including between spouses, family members, child-parent, parent-child, LGBTQ, or elderly abuse.

2. Inter-cultural and Intra-cultural initiatives
   To build strong proactive social and professional networks within and outside South Asian American community through (i) educational, awareness, and outreach work within and outside South Asian American communities; (ii) movie screenings/discussions; (iii) Book clubs/discussions; (iii) musical and cultural activities; and (iv) alliances with other community, social, and religious organizations

3. Public Policy and Advocacy
   To advocate for public policy and social research initiatives through: (i) social data collection and analyses; (ii) alliances with governmental agencies at local, State, and Federal levels; (ii) alliances with Indian Consulate offices and US embassies in South Asian countries; (iii) alliances with universities and other research institutes; and (iv) alliances with other South Asian organizations and South Asian leaders across North America.