Renowned women rights activist Kamla Bhasin delivers special lecture on gender equality in higher educational spaces

Jalandhar, September 18, 2019: On the second day of the International Workshop on “Gender Equity and Inclusion: Transformative Pathways in Higher Education” at Kanya Maha Vidyalaya, Jalandhar, Kamla Bhasin, a renowned women rights activist & Advisor, delivered a lecture on Gender Equality in Higher Educational Spaces.
Kamla Bhasin was extended a floral felicitations by Principal Prof.(Dr.) Atima Sharma Dwivedi, Dr Meenakshi Gopinath, Director, WISCOMP and Conrad Turner, Counsellor for Cultural Affairs US Embassy.
At the very outset, Bhasin lauded the role of KMV for initiating women's movement for emancipation & empowerment way back in 1886. She averred that transformative education aims at liberation from ignorance, greed, lust of power, hence women studies centres in colleges need to work tirelessly to challenge age-old patriarchal orders in society and restore gender justice. She clarified in an illustrative manner the difference in perceptions between sex and gender. The term 'Gender' induced by Patriarchal and ideological structure of any society exists in every institutional space denying equity to both sexes.
Bhasin maintained that gender disparity, discrimination and women education necessitated the need of campaigning against such social evils that have led to heinous crimes like rape epidemics. The session concluded with an interactive session where Bhasin responded to the queries of students.
The speaker for the second session of the day was Dr Vandana Vasudevan, Writer & Independent Researcher. She presented a PowerPoint presentation on Gender Audits and Time Use. It was a very interactive session in which Dr Vandana explained that women are too much burdened with pressure of doing so many tasks at one time & how they can draw a balance between work & life. The third session for the day was based on Exhibition & Discussion in which all the participants were divided into various groups & each participant was assigned a photograph depicting different gender issues. The session was named Calling out Patriarchy: When Women Write. Each participant had to give opinion on that particular photograph in order to interpret & understand the various issues pertaining to feminism. Dr Anandini Dar, Assistant Professor, Ambedkar University, Delhi gave her comments & observations during the conclusion of this session. The last and the concluding session of the day was unique in itself. The session was named Youth Speak: Young Voices from Across the Campus. During the session, young students of KMV & other universities presented their opinion on gender issues openly & spoke their heart out amidst the gathering of various scholars. The session also included artistic & highly thought provoking performances of KMVites.
A special fashion show was also organized in which students displayed their talent by walking on the ramp. The special feature of this fashion show was that Transgenders were also made a part of this fashion show in order to give out a message of gender equity. Principal Prof. (Dr.) Atima Sharma Dwivedi expressed her views and gave very valid comments. She averred that women must take it upon themselves to emerge as successful career makers. If they have faith in themselves and work with mission, their families will automatically support them. She further maintained that such type of workshops help in raising the awareness about the gender issues in the society & the institute like KMV is always committed to women education & women empowerment, therefore, it becomes imperative for us to sensitize the people about gender equity so that we can create an equal & balanced society.