TCN News
Hyderabad: “Respect for each other (men and women) is essential both at home and in public spaces. The status of women a few decades down was not so bad as today. There is a need to sensitize people and organizing such awareness programmes can go a long way in achieving the goals of gender equality.” These were the observations made by Prof. S M Rahmatullah, Vice-Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) in a valedictory session of the webinar on gender-based violence held on January 29.
The Centre for Women Studies (CWS), MANUU in collaboration with Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP) Hyderabad organized a 16 days campaign to eliminate Gender-Based Violence as per the directive of the Ministry of Women & Child Development. Series of webinars on “Gender Inequality: the yawning gap between law and the justice delivery system” and other activities were held from January 12 to 29. Smt. Rekha Sharma, Chairperson, National Commission for Women delivered a keynote address in the inaugural function of the series.
Prof. Rahmatullah expressed concern at the increasing cases of gender-based violence and how each one should adopt good practices and create an atmosphere of justice.
Prof. Siddiqui Mohmmad Mahmood, Registrar of the University spoke about the need to create a safe environment for women and how gender-based violence is a scourge on civil society. He addressed the issues and the ways to erase this abrasion. He said both men and women have to follow the norms and values of society to create a balance.
Prof. Amir Ullah, Research Director, CDPP, spoke of various areas where women are denied their share and that it is essential for women to be partners in all fields to achieve real development. “It’s time we, the members of civil society organizations take steps to eliminate all gender-based inequalities,” he remarked.
A book titled “Gender and Inclusion” edited by Prof. Shahida and Prof. Amir Ullah Khan and published under the aegis of CDPP was released by Prof. Rahmatullah on the occasion.
Prof. Shahida, Director, Centre for Women’s Studies & the organizer welcomed the guests and presented the report of the campaign. She said there is no dearth of Constitutional and Legal provisions in India for women but unfortunately they do not percolate down to reality and all efforts should be made to implement the promises enshrined in our Constitution of Equity, Equality, Justice and Fraternity. She also proposed the vote of thanks and Dr Saheed Meo, Asst. Professor, Dept of Sociology conducted the programme.
Earlier, the inaugural session of the webinar was held on January 12, 2021. Subsequently, the second webinar deliberation focused on “Constitutional and legal provisions for women in India”. An expert on Constitutional Law, Prof. Vasanthi Nimushakavi, NALSAR University of Law laid out various constitutional and legal provisions and Mamtha Raghuveer, Technical Director of “Bharosa” centre addressed POCSO.
The third in series discussions were on “the cultural matrix and the GBV”; Prof. Shruti Tambe SBP University, Pune, elaborately presented a critical view of the whole societal structure.
The fourth and fifth webinars in the series dealt with “Sexism, misogyny and representation of women in media”. The eminent speakers were – Al Sharada from Population First, Japleen Pasricha, founder Feminism in India, Monarose Sheila Pereira, author and journalist, known as Enid Blyton of India, Fatima Khan of The Print.
Prof. Afroz Alam, Head Dept. of Political Science, and Director, CSEIP, Prof. Farida Siddiqui, Head, Dept of Economics and Prof. Saneem Fatima, Dean School of Commerce & Management, MANUU presided over second, third and fourth, fifth sessions of the webinar respectively.