GANDERBAL: The School of Education, Central University of Kashmir (CUK) organised a one-day national seminar on “Women Empowerment in Jammu and Kashmir: Reflections from Ancient Knowledge Traditions,” to commemorate the international women’s day here Thursday, under the auspices of G20 presidency of India.
Vice Chancellor, Prof. Farooq Ahmad Shah, Registrar, Prof. M Afzal Zargar, Dean School of Business Studies, Prof. Fayaz Ahmad Nikka, Dean SoE, Prof. Syed Zahoor Ahmad Geelani, faculty members, scholars and students were also present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Vice Chancellor, Prof. Farooq Ahmad Shah said, the women across the globe have proved their mettle in every field and sphere of life. “The need of the hour is to give space to them in the field of Governance and Economics so that they would contribute immensely in these and give an entirely new dimension to the women empowerment,” Prof. Farooq Shah said, adding the women have transformed the social fabric of the society by successfully shouldering the responsibilities with their male counterparts and also completing all the domestic chores, including the upbringing of the children. Prof. Shah advocated for providing a level playing field to the women folk.
Speaking on the occasion, Registrar, Prof. M Afzal Zargar said, the women across the world, particularly in Kashmir, are fulfilling their roles and responsibilities, both in the professional field and at respective homes, successfully. “Women were discriminated on several fronts, but with the passage of time, they have bravely fought and countered the patriarchal mind-set and are now excelling in all the fields, thus giving a tough competition to men,” Prof. Zargar said, adding that the empowerment of women is the empowerment of society at large. He called for holding of more such programmes to provide a platform to the women to share their thoughts and ideas vis-à-vis women empowerment.
Dean School of Business Studies, Prof. Fayaz Ahmad Nikka, in his address, underscored the need and importance of imparting education to the girl child for their holistic growth and development and enabling their empowerment on all fronts. “Women empowerment is directly linked to their education,” Prof. Nikka said. Describing women as caring, affectionate, selfless, strong and an embodiment of love and kindness, he said, the society has full and huge respect for the women folk and the stronger women would make a stronger society.
In her keynote address, former VC SNDT Women’s university Mumbai, Prof. Shashikala, traced the contribution of women in different forms, in ancient India. She said the women have always been on the forefront in literature, arts, and even in warfare. “In ancient Indian culture, there was no discrimination on the bases of gender, instead of that women were honored by society, and society at the time considered women as Janani which means mother,” she added.
Dean SoE, Prof. Zahoor Ahmad Geelani in his welcome address, said the National Education Policy-2020 has made women empowerment a thrust area and has asked the higher educational institutions to conduct sensitisation programmes about the same. He said women are excelling in all the spheres of life including space, medicine, engineering, armed forces, and are contributing immensely, once a platform is provided to them.
Consultant Academics, Prof. Parveen Pandit, in her presentation, discussed the role played by different influential women in ancient Kashmir. She said that during prehistoric times, in Kashmir, several women were capable of participating in the decision making process like their male counterparts in all walks of life. She said the women folk were a complete symbol of protector and caretaker.
Asst Prof. Dr Sumreen Gilani conducted the programme proceedings while Asst Prof. Dr. Tariq Ahmad Wani proposed the vote of thanks.