Srinagar, June 5: Speakers on Monday stated that gender sensitivity and its equality was not confined to pitting women against men and stressed on shifting the paradigm in the discourse of gender.
The speakers deliberated upon various dimensions of gender sensitivity and its implications for gender equality were addressing during the inaugural ceremony of the two-day international conference on ‘Gender Sensitization: Rights, Policies and Issues’ organised by Cluster University Srinagar (CUS) at Government College for Women (GCW), MA Road, Srinagar. The conference was organised in collaboration with the Human Welfare Voluntary Organisation and J&K Bank.
Advisor to J&K Lieutenant Governor (LG) Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar, who was the Chief Guest at the inaugural event, spoke about several major initiatives taken by the Government of India in the past few years aimed at reducing the gender gap and empowering women in all aspects of social, economic and political life.
“Government launched the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, Mahila Shakti Kendra programme, Working Women Hostel initiative and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana for the welfare of the women folk,” he said. Bhatnagar said the UT government of J&K has been creating a gender-inclusive eco-system so that women could have better education opportunities and contribute to economic growth.
Director Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Dr Parvaiz A Koul was the Guest of Honour at the inaugural ceremony. In his address stated that Gender Sensitivity was one of the important goals of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) put up by the UN.
“There is a difference in terms of longevity between men and women as women outlive men in India by a few years and their disease profile is different as well,” he said.
Speaking at the occasion, Vice Chancellor (VC) Cluster University Srinagar (CUS), Prof Qayyum Husain said the aim of the conference was to explore the experiences and research of policymakers, academicians and research scholars to identify suitable indigenous strategies for gender sensitisation and gender equality.
He said the root cause of gender discrimination is the patriarchal mindset prevalent in our society.
“Though this mindset is changing with urbanization and education, there is still a long way to go for a permanent change in the scenario,” the VC CUS said.
Earlier, Prof. Ritu Gairola Khanduri of University of Texas (US) delivered Keynote Address on theme ‘Gender-Diverse Sensitisation: Dialogue and Strategies’ while in her Special Address, Prof Vijay Lakshmi Brara of Royal Global University (Guwahati) referred to brief history of feminism while stressing on the need to shift paradigm in the discourse of gender.
Earlier in her welcome address, Principal of the GCW MA Road, Prof (Dr) Ruhi Jan Kanth spoke about the relevance of the conference theme in contemporary times.
In the Inaugural Address, Dean Students Welfare, Cluster University Srinagar, Dr Shabnam Ara said the conference aims to cover relevant dimensions related to gender issues.