Commemorating International Women’s Day – March 10, 2012
16 Mar
Woman – an epitome of courage, determination and perseverance. She plays myriad roles and shoulders numerous responsibilities including her struggle for realization of her basic rights and entitlements not only for her, but for her family and the community at large. She is not just moving ahead but marching ahead with remarkable zeal and gusto on the path of empowerment. Her continuous strife to achieve what she aspires is truly inspiring.
We salute the everlasting spirit of womanhood!
The International Women’s Day was organized under the aegis of New Concept and Jaishankar Memorial Centre and celebrated at Darshan on March 10, 2012. Although it was not marked on the March 8, the official day (as it coincided with Holi), the change in date and day did not impact the essence or purpose of this celebration; on the contrary the celebration witnessed enthusiastic participation from all our colleagues in Darshan, D&E offices, Gender Resource Centre, Jasola. The celebration was centered on three core themes – connecting girls, learning from our struggles and inspiring futures.
The celebration began with a song – ‘yeh honsla kaise jhuke’ highlighting the never say die attitude of women who are fighting against the social and political evils across the world. Followed by the song, a presentation was made on the origin of International Women’s Day and how women in different parts of the world connected together to demand their civil and political rights. In progression to this the initiatives taken by UN to create a women friendly society and the steps taken by Indian Govt. in terms of formulation and enactment of various policies and legislations were put forth. The gaps in existent policy and legislative framework and corresponding struggle of women to bridge the gaps were brought out by sharing real life examples from communities with which JMC works. The examples ranged from pressing the local authorities to provide basic amenities – water, public toilets and education to availing social security benefits. After this, women at New Concept shared the moving stories of women inspiring futures including legendary freedom fighters like Mai Bhago, Queen of Kittur Chennamma; visionaries like Maathai Wangari and indeed the most important woman in everyone’s life – the mother. A special segment of the day was dedicated to depict the resistance of women in Kashmir and North-eastern states against the atrocities of militants under the pretext of Armed Special Forces Act, 1958 and a very short documentary was screened on civil rights activist Irom Sharmila’s battle against atrocities of the armed forces under AFSPA in Manipur.
In a bid to motivate everyone to do their best in making the world a better and safer place for women, a documentary called ‘Humming Bird’ was shown. The celebration ended on a breathtakingly beautiful note when Anjali presented a contemporary dance, which left everyone speechless and of course breathless.
The event concluded with a suggestion that the women, along with men, at New Concept meet once in a month/two months to discuss the issues and concerns of women today, contemporizing the essays on women in The Review, a magazine that used to be published by New Concept in the 1990s.
On this note, we can proudly say that this celebration was not the end but a beginning towards joining hands to achieve women empowerment.
What made this celebration special was the collective planning and the implementation of individual responsibility taken up by each person. As a result, the event was organized, almost, with no hitches and thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated by all.
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