Hyderabad, Sep 29 (IANS): A day-long consultation on 'designing a social inclusion plan for marginal and vulnerable communities such as sex workers and transgendered women' will be organised here Oct 1.

The National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW), Ministry of Women and Child Welfare, Government of India, is organising the consultation with technical support from the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR).

According to the organisers, this is the first time that such an exercise is being held in India, with Andhra Pradesh taking the lead.

"The whole exercise is aimed at reaching the unreached and most excluded in a convergent manner and addressing the social barriers and pain of exclusion that these communities experience," said Ratna Prabha, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, NMEW

The consultation will bring together key officials and leading civil society organisations and community groups from seven districts, including Hyderabad.

The participants will work towards developing a socially inclusive plan for the development of communities such as sex workers and transgendered women who are victims of trafficking, exploitation, indignity and social stigma.

Representatives of grass-root level organisations will share their perspectives and insights on what has helped strengthen the mainstreaming and greater integration of marginalised women.

NMEW has been set up for ensuring the socio-economic empowerment of women. The mission addresses cross-cutting issues affecting women through the convergence of multiple women-centric schemes that focus on improving outreach, the maximising of output and effective implementation.

CFAR, a public interest research and advocacy group, works among marginalised communities like sex workers, transgenders, sexual minorities, drug users, people living with HIV/AIDS, the urban poor and socially vulnerable groups.