Shillong, March 10: The International Women’s Day was celebrated by the Border Security Force Wives Welfare Association (BWWA), Shillong under the leadership of Dr. Smti Manishi Dubey, BWWA President, Meghalaya, Shillong in which approximately 260 ladies and young girls of BSF took part.
In this celebration the Programmes that was organised are. Financial Literacy Programme. Educational Activities, Singing / Poetry Competition. Seminar, Debate Competition on important ongoing topics on women. Painting and Slogan Competition. Cooking Competition. Medical Camp on various diseases related mainly to women and family. Kalyan Yojana.Hair Style Competition. Vegetable Jewellery Competition. Mehandi Competition and beauty Contest.
The celebration remained focused on gender disparity and empowering women in decision making in the family. All the women were red attire as a mark solidarity in demanding gender equality. Issues like domestic violence, physical victimisation, bias against women in ‘Health Care’ and Sex-specific abortion were stressed upon.
Topics like adverse effects of very high birth rates including the denial of women’s freedom to do other things – through persistent bearing and rearing of children were debated. Female literacy, high rate of maternal undernourishment, high incidence of underweight birth and widespread erevalance of under nourished children were highlighted.
Young girls who amidst their preparation for board exams participated with great enthusiasm and reminded their seniors that in the national movement for Indian Independence, there were many more women in positions of importance than in the Russian and Chinese Revolutionary Movements put together. The women became emotional when the young girls informed them that Sarojini Naidu, the first woman President of the Indian National Congress, was elected in 1925, fifty years earlier than the election of the first women leader of a major British Political Party i.e. Margret Thatcher in 1975. The celebration concluded with rewarding star women performers in Meghalaya Frontier, BSF.
