PRCI’s Young
Communicators Club, Kerala Chapter, in association with the Department of
English,
St. Teresa’s College, Ernakulam conducted a lecture and discussion
sessionon Embracing Change and Challenging Norms: The Young Woman in Urban India
as part of Daughters’ Day celebration on 29th July 2016. The
discussion was chaired by Smt. Chitra Krishnan who runs Food for Thought, a food and catering enterprise along with 12 house
wives-turned entrepreneurs.
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| Dr Kalyani Vallath |
Kick-starting the discussion, Dr. Kalyani Vallath,
Chairperson of YCC Kerala and the Director of TES, sought to analyze the theme
in a refreshingly unconventional manner and proposed that “an emancipated and
empowered woman is an unsexed woman”.
The discussion that followed touched on various
issues like gender equality, gender divide, lack of freedom and respect for
women, increasing assaults on women, LGBT issues, and so on. Students and
faculty who actively participated in the discussion voiced their fears,
concerns and difficulties they face in a patriarchal world. The issue of
raising a son and a daughter differently within a single family was also
brought up and examined.
One faculty member posed a query pertaining to the
perception of woman as weak in spite of the tremendous strength and indomitable
spirit she often brings to the table in familial setup, especially in managing
several things at a time like taking care of a family, paying bills, doing her
job efficiently all by herself.
Students also lamented how familial bonds and social
expectations often present obstacles on their path and discourage their freedom
in moving around and doing things independently. They are often blamed and
castigated for daring to defy the established notions of gender roles in the
society
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| Dr Tessy Antony, HOD, English Department of St Theres'a College and Ms. Chitra Krishnan an Entrepreneur of Kochi |
Along with several pitfalls and struggles women have
had to encounter, the major strides that women have made in various fields were
also highlighted. The participants were urged to learn and elicit the right
lessons from the struggles already won so that genuine impetus for future
struggles and fights that remain to be fought could be gained. The experiences
and the resultant wisdom of women who have fought tremendous odds and succeeded
in many traditionally male bastions of career and life were discussed at
length.
The adage “without struggle, there is no progress”
was invoked to communicate in unambiguous terms the importance of keeping alive
the struggle for justice and equality alive. It was conveyed by various
participants in no uncertain terms that young urban women needed to be in the
vanguard of the struggle. They are expected to take initiative when required,
lead when they can and follow when they must.
The discussion went on to take up the issue of
working towards evolving concrete solutions and proposals to enable women to
tackle and overcome every day issues they face. When pondering on the issues of
rape and abuse on women, the faculty and the students unanimously voiced the
urgency to educate the boys through orientation programs and awareness
campaigns in schools. The necessity of consciously asserting the dignity of
woman and constantly claiming and occupying rightful spaces in various avenues
was touched on.
The various legal and institutional mechanisms that women could rely on in the urban space were also dwelt on.
The various legal and institutional mechanisms that women could rely on in the urban space were also dwelt on.
T. Vinay Kumar, Secretary of PRCI Kerala Chapter, said
PRCI has taken forward the Union Government’s programme - Beti Bachao Beti Padhao – by initiating beti DSuraksha (Girl
Security) with #shakti4beti campaign across the country.
Sandhya Balasuma, a noted media person, U.S. Kutty,
Chairman, PRCI Kerala, and Nateshan, Director-National Counci, PRCI, were also present for the session.
