NCIS

Some images from our colleague Imna’s visit to Rajasthan..

*note: these images are property of Imnasenla Jamir and may not be used without her permission. As you can see…we have permission

Keeping the fervour of Women’s Day Celebration (March 10, 2012) alive, women from Jaishankar Memorial Centre (JMC) and New Concept Information Systems (NCIS) came together to ponder over and discuss the state of women’s empowerment. The programme began with an opening address by Vimala Ma’am, to connect the threads between the women’s day event, intermittent discussions among the womenfolk of JMC and NCIS and the present get together with a purpose of providing a forum to deliberate on various emergent concerns of women in our society. The main theme of the programme was the issue of the space women have to make their decisions regarding their own and their children’s health, education and economics.

Bharatnatyam by Janhavi

The event was kick started by an enthralling Bharatanatyam dance performance by Janhavi. The performance depicted immense strength a woman has, to create and foster life on one hand and to destroy social evils on the other. The dance showcased the different forms Goddess Durga–an embodiment of womanhood, assumes to care for her loved ones and to punish the perpetrators. Following this a short audio-visual named ‘Girl Effect’ was played to show the precarious situation of a 12 year old girl child who is deprived of education and her very youth – married off and bearing children before she reaches adulthood at 18. However the cheerful conclusion of the audio-visual was put on hold to be played at the end of the event.

JMC-GRC staff sharing their experience on women and health

After this the workers from JMC narrated, with visuals, real life examples and enacted a skit to throw light on the lack of decision making power that women suffer. The victims of this are their own health and nutritional requirements among others. In addition, the important role women can play as decision makers in handling the household finances was demonstrated through posters. The presentation depicted contrasting situations where in one situation women actively participated in financial decision making leading to effective management of household as against situations where monetary matters were solely controlled by the man, often resulting in denying himself and his family the necessities of life while draining it on alcohol or in gambling.

JMC-GRC staff explaining types of incomes into a family

Another important aspect of women’s plight was brought out in terms of keeping the health requirements and reproductive needs of woman last in the priority ladder through a role play. The role play centred on the story of a woman who is bearing her fourth child and suffering from severe malnutrition and her husband who is apathetic to her condition, completely ignoring her repeated requests to see a doctor. He has no idea what she is going through, and therefore no empathy. An articulate health worker’s intervention opens his eyes to his wife’s serious condition and he is easily persuaded to take her to the doctor.

Puppet show focusing on patriarchal oppression of women

This was followed by a short puppet show, focussing on the patriarchal oppression of women. The show revolved around a dialogue between father and daughter, where the father tries to silence the daughter every time she speaks saying, girls should live within societal boundaries and limits. The show concluded with a message that the struggle of women to resist societal pressure has been long standing and would continue till the women achieved victory.
The concluding part of the audio-visual – Girl Effect was screened, describing a situation where the girl had access to education; she earned a living and made her own decisions on her education, job and marriage. She took control of her life and nurtured the future generations of girl children and the cycle went on.

Capturing the essence of the whole programme Uma Ma’am concluded the session by underscoring the lack of decision making power that women suffer from around the world. She said what is happening around us fills us with anguish and we, may be in small ways, can put in our best efforts to change the scenario. And it is not just an individual issue or within a family, but one for all of society. We have to understand where the barriers to decision making are coming from. Appreciating the efforts of organising committee, the need to engage in further discussion on issues of women was stressed upon.

Post the summing up, floor was opened for comments and reflections from the participants. The salient points emerging from the discussion were importance of education in empowering women, participation of women in decision making at familial and social levels to assert their rights and men and women joining hands to improve the conditions of women in our society.

Some images from Imna and Parveen’s visit to Myanmar border. More images coming soon.

*note: these images are property of Imnasenla Jamir and may not be used without her permission. As you can see….we have permission

Bloom

Border

Burmese women at Moreh Market

Dusk at valley

Frienship Gate

Sunset in the valley

Tuktuk

View from Myannmar

As our work expands in terms of domain areas, services offered, and geographical reach it was but natural to reaffirm our commitment by establishing a quality management system as per internationally recognised system of standards…read more about it here

Some images from Imna and Parveen’s visit to Mizoram. More images from the other states will follow soon.

*note: these images are property of Imnasenla Jamir and may not be used without her permission. As you can see….we have permission

Mizo village

Lunglei airport

Lunglei

Dry flower bokeh

Bamboo home

Aizawl at night

Mizo women

Two of our colleagues Imna and Parveen recently went to the north-eastern part of India as part of an ongoing project. Here are some images from their visit to Manipur. More images from the other states will follow soon.

*note: these images are property of Imnasenla Jamir and may not be used without her permission. As you can see….we have permission

Andro Village

The valley in the afternoon

Tapioca Leaves

Manipuri Indigenous Woman from Andro Village

Loktak Lake

Keeping strict vigil over the Loktak lake

Dusk in the valley

cute Manipuri girl

Basket weaving

Loktak Lake

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.

New Concept created a wall calendar this year, in four languages – Hindi, Odiya, Tamil and Telegu (English on each calendar). The theme this year can be best described by the introductory lines in the calendar –

When our actions change,
our world changes.
When our world changes
for the better, the year
becomes truly new.

We have received positive response to the calendar and share some of it here with you.

Dear New Concept,
What struck me– was the weaving together of the idea of harmony & oneness through words used very succinctly, simply and illustrations which made it come alive.
Unlike many other calendars/publications–it is subtle– it allows you to think & meander & does not throw the message in your face. I feel it shows the thought and the care behind creating it–what we want to say to the world at this point of time.
Cheers
Sujata Raghavan
Documentation Team, New Concept Information Systems

Dear Team,
Thank you very much for remembering us and sharing your calendar.
It created a new reference for the calendars- not just shape and size, but for the art work and the thoughts expressed. Yes, it is beautifully bilingual and well designed
Have a great day ahead.
Warm regards,
G. Sreenivasa Rao
Clinton Health Access

Dear Raghavan/Uma,
As usual an excellent product from New Concept. This year there are some very obvious changes viz, localized variants (English – Tamil), wall hanging instead of the desk top etc., It does give a refreshing feel. And as always, great to having it in your desk err… wall!
Many thanks for sending one to me.
Regards
T.R.Gopalakrishnan,
Partner – Kalyanasundaram & Associates

Dear Mr Raghavan,
Thank you very much for the lovely New Year calendar. A very Happy New Year to you and to your colleagues. Please convey my greetings to Maya also.
Regards
Rama Narayanan
M S Swaminathan Research Foundation

Dear Sudha,
Thank you for the lovely calendar. It was a pleasant surprise to see it on my desk, as I returned from a field trip. The conceptualisation is really cool.
With warm regards,
Anita Victor
National Coordinator – HIV and AIDS
World Vision India

Dear sir,
I must thank you so much for sending me a beautiful and very specialy designed calendar. I particularly liked the wordings and paintings in each page, both in Tamil English language. I am sure i will cherish this through out the year 2012.
Thanks & Regards,
Satheesh
Statistical Consultant

Our very own macchar maar Sanjay Sir demonstrates the right method.