To celebrate India’s chairmanship at G20, All India Radio has been organising educational and cultural events across the country. In Kolkata, Akashvani Kolkata’s women’s division, Mahila Mahal, organised a similar event at the Satyajit Ray Auditorium of Indian Council For Cultural Relations (ICCR) on Sunday. ‘Amra Karbo Jai’ was all about celebrating womanhood and women’s empowerment.
The first part of the event included a panel discussion with accomplished women leaders from diverse fields. Personalities like entrepreneur Keya Seth, director of the Zoological Survey of India, Dr Dhriti Babandyopadhyay, IPS Shanti Das and professor Dr Mahua Das were the panellists. “When I joined the police force back in 2010 or 2011, the number of women officers was very little. However, at present there is a big change and we have a visible woman force. There are not only more opportunities for women but also a general change in mindset,” said IPS Shanti Das.
The participating students received certificates All India Radio
Talking about the growing participation of women in education and the workforce, Dr Bannerjee pointed out a crucial issue. “At the school and graduation levels, we see almost equal participation of male and female students. But the number of women declines as it goes higher up. If there are 50 per cent of women in graduation, there are 30 per cent in master’s degrees and 10 per cent in PhD. And finally, maybe 1 per cent assume the role of leadership. I think this is a crucial problem to address,” she added.
The panel discussion in progress All India Radio
After the panel discussion, there were a number of cultural events organised by the students of Maharaja Manindra Chandra College and Women’s College, Kolkata. The students presented a number of dance recitals on women’s issues from Indian mythology and Indian beliefs. Finally, there were special performances by singer Chandrabali Rudra Dutta and elocutionist Bratati Bandyopadhyay.