The District Administration Bandipora on Wednesday celebrated International Women’s Day by organizing a seminar at Mini Secretariat, here. Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC) Bandipora Ali Afsar Khan was the chief guest on the occasion, while DDC vice Chairperson Kousar Shafeeq was the special guest.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Waseem Raja, Joint Director Planning Imtiyaz Ahmad, Nodal Officer Coordination M A Hakak, Deputy Chief Education Officer Bandipora Rafiq Ahmad and other senior officers besides a mixed audience of men and women were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, ADDC talked about the rights of women and highlighted the significance of International Women’s Day. He said that it is not the day just to commemorate the achievements of women but to analyze and diagnose the reasons behind the helplessness of women in the society and asked for changing age old notions by bringing the social re-orientation in addition to bringing their economic, social and political upliftment.
While talking about violence and against women, ADDC urged the female folk to report violence so that such crimes are minimized. He said the laws are always there but not reporting the violence is the major reason that violence continues.
He enumerated the achievements of the Mahila Shakti Kendra (MSK) that is functional in Mini- Secretariat Bandipora. He said MSK aims to empower rural women through community participation and to create an environment in which they realize their full potential.
He urged the female audience to visit MSK to know about women centric schemes in place besides other relevant assistance by the centre. The Vice Chairperson reiterated that to make women economically independent, self-reliant and self-sufficient it is of utmost importance to conduct gender sensitization of all the stakeholders in society and by motivating the girls and women to excel in non conventional fields like Engineering, Technology, Sports etc.
She said the aim of inviting a mixed audience was to provide opportunity to both genders to speak to each other and listen to each other’s points of view. She said the programs like these would not be beneficial unless we start from our own houses to empower the women.
ADC, Joint Director Planning, Dr Fowzia Afaq, Assistant Professor Media Studies, Arifa Touseef, Supervisor DSW, Aisha Shah - Gender Specialist DHEW and Dr Midhat Hafiz also spoke on the occasion and threw light on the aspects of observing the day.
At the conclusion of the day-long ceremony, the Administration felicitated female employees for remarkable work, including JJM women workers, ICDS staff and doctors, CDPOs, besides media persons for highlighting the issues of women.