25 Oct 2017|Noida | Amity University Campus, Sector-125, Noida
“Mindset of men needs to be changed in order to empower women”, opine experts during Seminar on “Rights of Women” at Amity
Amity Law School, Noida , in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), organized National Seminar cum Training Programme on “Rights of Women” on the theme "Women Empowerment In India: Challenging Stereotypes and Strengthening Nation" at Amity Campus,Sector-125, Noida.
Ms. Archana Dalmia- Author & Chairperson of The Dineshnandini Ramkrishna Dalmia Foundation and Activist with Indian National Congress, Hon'ble Dr. Justice Bharat Bhushan Parsoon- Senior Advocate, Supreme Court; Hon'ble Mr.Justice P S Narayana -Former Judge, High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Eminent Journalist, Mr. Sumit Awasthi inaugurated the Seminar.
Addressing the gathering, Prof.(Dr.) Aditya Tomer, Additional Director, Amity Law School, Noida stated that women empowerment and their protection against abuses are essential for the development of society. He shared that the Seminar has witnessed humongous participation of audience across India which shows their dedication to the cause.
Prof.(Dr.) Dilip Kumar Bandyopadhyay-Chairman, Amity Law Schools thanked the distinguished guests for sparing their time and giving directions to the social Engineers of future. He stressed that there are 6 rights given by Constitution to the citizens of India and Human rights are one of them, which are essential and applicable to everyone. He opined that stereotypes existing in the society are holding back women empowerment; the mindset of the people needs to be changed and abuse and misuse of law has to be restricted. He expressed his hope that discussions and debates during the Seminar will lead to a change in the mindset of people.
Addressing the cradle of leadership and future leaders of the country, Ms. Archana Dalmia- Author& Chairperson of The Dineshnandini Ramkrishna Dalmia Foundation and Activist with Indian National Congress stated that having more representation of women or reservations for them in various sectors may not help women empowerment since even in 21st century women are dying of hunger and poverty. There is a dire need to ensure minimum basic necessities for women. The inner-consciousness of the people needs to be shaken and they need to be sensitized to the problems faced by women. She opined that the in courts there is a big gap between jurisprudence and justice and called upon the budding lawyers to shoulder the responsibility of bridging the gap between the two or make it as less as possible. She encouraged them to follow their souls, their inner conscience and through that serve people.
Eminent Journalist, Mr. Sumit Awasthi stated that since independence, there have been discussions and debates about women empowerment but nothing substantial has been achieved in this area. Suggesting the ways to deal with the same, he stressed that leadership of the country, youth and everyone else need to have willpower to bring about women empowerment. Men need to be sensitized about the respect they owe to women and their mentality, thinking process and attitude towards women need a change. He called upon the budding lawyers to stand with poor, needy and honest people and always stand with truth.
Hon'bleDr. Justice Bharat Bhushan Parsoon- Senior Advocate, Supreme Court, while sharing his views,stated that India, even after 70 years of becoming democratic republic, is still debating about the rights of women and women empowerment. He opined that the winds of change are blowing fast now; the Courts of Law have become Courts of Justice, judges are going to villages to administer justice and the clarion call has been of accountability. He stressed that women need different support systems and mechanisms than men at different categories and levels. He averred that people need to be sensitized about women empowerment and supportive environment needs to be created where women can visualize and see her worth. He suggested that rather than controlling and regulating her life, abilities need to be created in women so that she can take her own decisions and can live a life of dignity.
The inauguration was followed by three plenary sessions-“Challenges and Barriers for Women with Disabilities and empowerment of women in India”,“Discrimination of Health and reproductive Rights of women in India” and“Sexual and Gender based violence against women in India” wherein articulate speakers such as Ms. Tanu Priya-Advocate & Arbitrator, Dr. Subhash C Gupta-Advocate & Professor of Law, Supreme Court of India, Dr. Arvinder Ansari- Professor ,Jamia Milia Islamia, Ms. Deepshikha Bharti-Advocate, Supreme Court of India, Dr. Pamela Singla,-Professor, Department of Social Work,University of Delhi and Dr. Archana Sinha- Head of Department, Department of Women Studies, Indian Social Institute shared their views.
Sharing his views during the session on “Discrimination of Health and reproductive Rights of women in India”, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Zaki Ullah Khan- Former Judge, High Court of Allahabad stated that the real discrimination is between “have and have nots” in India. Literate women from better off families still receive better pre-natal and post natal facilities as compared to their poor counterparts, who are not even aware of their rights, leaving aside the access to facilities. He implored to give even the poor in the country their due. He stressed that there are many Acts existing in the country to ensure equal treatment and well-being of the women but they are not followed. He lamented that although Indians worship Goddesses but real women are not respected. He suggested that women from all strata of Society should be equally treated, failing which the gender ratio in the country would become skewed.
Presenting a Research Paper on “Marital Rape” during one of the sessions, Ms. Tavisha Kohli- Assistant Professor,Gitarattan International Business School, Rohini stressed that as per the Indian Legislature, Marital Rape cannot be termed as crime or offence since terming it as crime flouts the sanctity of the marriage and marriage is considered to be private affair between two people. She remarked that as per Statistics, 10-14%of married women are raped by their husbands in India. She lamented that on one hand, a woman has a Right to Life and Right to Liberty, but on the other hand she has been deprived of the Right to protect her life. She stressed that Marital Rape should be criminalized under India Penal Code and the punishment to the guilty should be as grave as that for rape. She also suggested that Marital Rape should be considered as a direct ground for Divorce which will help to keep in check the cases of growing Marital Rapes in India.