It was “she power” all the way as several educational institutions and social outfits in the steel city celebrated International Women’s Day on Friday.

For students of Jamshedpur Women’s College it was the perfect occasion to celebrate the recent upgrade of their college into a university. From cutting a cake to taking part in dance drama and nukkad natak, over 450 students celebrated the milestone achieved by the institute at Shiksha Bhavan on itspremises in Bistupur.

“With a university dedicated solely to women, it is no less than an achievement for us. Even though it will take some time for the college to completely function as a university, it is no mean feat. We are happy to have witnessed Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the online foundation stone of the university last month. Today there are too many reasons to celebrate,” said Rekha Jha, a final -year postgraduate student of botany.

While the nukkad natak highlighted the challenges faced by pregnant women, students showcased the strength of women in a dance drama. An audio-visual presentation highlighting well-known personalities like Sarojini Naidu, Indira Gandhi, Kalpana Chawla, Rita Faria and Sushma Swaraj was also presented.

“It was like a festival. Students were really happy. Education is of utmost importance and our new university will be a standing example of empowering women in every spheres of life,” said college principal Purnima Kumar.

Other institutions like JKS College in Mango, affiliated to Kolhan University, also celebrated the day with a seminar. Students spoke about various schemes of state and central governments that caters to women and why it was necessary to promote gender equality.

The Inner Wheel Club of Jamshedpur felicitated 14 women, including Rotarian Anita Gupta, social workers Surya Venkat, Purabi Ghosh and Shuvra Dwivedi, pugilist Aruna Mishra, among others.