Panel Discussion on the theme “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate and Change”

Chandigarh, March 8, 2019: The Department-cum-Centre for Women's Studies & Development (DCWSD), Panjab University, Chandigarh celebrated International Women’s Day by organising a Panel Discussion on the theme, "Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate and Change" Int'l Women's Day theme, 2019, here today. The Panellists inlcuded Mrs.Jyoti Gaikwad, Former Director, State Resource Centre, Maharashtra and Ms.Aruti Nayar, Assistant Editor, The Tribune, Chandigarh. Mrs. Jyoti Gaikwad showed a Video-clip of a biopic in Marathi on Anandi Gopal, who became the first lady doctor in India in nineteenth century India, in the process, breaking the glass ceiling. She was immensely supported by her husband in the endeavour. The speaker cited many anecdotes, experiences to give examples of women empowerment from the state of Maharashtra. She began with the quote, “Be the Change You want to see in the world”. She compared various problems region-wise faced by women across the country like lack of access to education, poverty, female foeticide, son preference, violence against women, women’s safety, etc. She concluded by reciting a poem signifying that culture of silence is leading to persisting women’s disempowerment. Ms. Aruti Nayar critiqued the commodification of women in various forms of media. She also expressed her concerns over lack of gender sensitisation in law-enforcement, media, etc. She was the first to start a gender page in the newspaper where she is working. The common perception of men that all laws are being mis-used by women was also critiqued by her. We are also living in multiple Indias-some highly modernised regions, other developing regions and some regions are highly under-developed; she observed. The triple burden faced by dalit/adivasi women i.e., gender, caste and class hierarchies was also underlined. She also cited various examples from day-to-day life experiences to prove her point. Earlier, Dr. Rajesh Kumar Chander, Chairperson, D.C.WS.D., welcomed the panellists and asserted that to have gender quality in the society, gender sensitising everybody, including the educated people is the need of the hour. The gender discourse should be made more Inclusive. Introspection into one’s mind regarding gender issues and changing deeply entrenched attitudes of others is of pivotal importance. Innovative strategies/interventions as academicians are required to transform the patriarchal attitudes prevalent in the society, to begin with, gender sensitised language like chairperson should be used instead of chairman. The deliberations were enriched by the presence of Dr. Ameer Sultana, Dr. Praveen Goyal, Dr. Vishwa Bandhu Singh, Dr. Kuldeep Singh and Ms. Madhu P. Singh. The panel discussion was followed by discussion between the panellists and students of Women’s Studies department. The event was also marked by involving students in poster making activities, dissemination on the significance of Women’s Day Celebrations to mark the event. The event was attended by almost 70 participants, including students from various departments of Emerging Areas Building.