Regional Level Dialogue of Women at Sevagram Ashram September 9-10, 2023

Regional Level Dialogue of Women

Women for a better country and better world

Gandhi  Peace Foundation, New Delhi  Delhi, Sevagram Ashram Pratishthan, Vidarbha Bhoodan Gramdan Sahyog Samiti and Rashtriya Yuva Sangathan   jointly organized a  regional level two-day women's conference at the   premises of Sevagram Ashram Pratishthan on September 9-10 .  More than 100 women from 12 districts of Maharashtra as well as Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh were present for this programme.  The programme was inaugurated by Ashaben  Bothra, President of Sevagram Ashram Pratishthan at   the Seminar Hall of Yatri Niwas.  Prerna Desai, National Coordinator of Rashtriya Yuva Sanghatan was present on the occasion.  The programme  started with Sarvadharma Prarthana.

 

 

 Ashaben  Bothra in her  inaugural speech said that today in modern times women are relying on intelligence to make their mark in various fields.  Women  are not secure   in this country,  the incident of Manipur proved this again.  She raised the pertinent question whether we are moving forward or backward in this regard? Women have a natural feeling of love and compassion. Women should think about how they can create a better world by nurturing these qualities.  The programme is befitting one and it is a ray of hope in troubled times, she said . In this forum there will be free exchange of ideas and the role played by women in the Bhoodan movement and freedom movement will be brought into limelight.

After the inaugural session various topics were discussed in the following brainstorming sessions.  In the first session of dialogue, Prernaben Desai, Mumbai, while participating in the discussion highlighted the current situation of women prevailing in the country.  She said that the current state of the country is not at all conducive to getting justice for women.  Women cannot get justice in this world created by men for their convenience ,she asserted.   In the ensuing discussion, women expressed their opinion that the current situation has been deliberately created.   They have been made as  victims and gross injustice is perpetuated on them. This situation needs to be changed.   The session was conducted by Sharubi.  After this, Sushma Sharma, speaking on the role of women in social change, said that just as the world is incomplete without women, it is also incomplete without men, and so many problems can be solved by symbiosis.   This session was directed by Suchita Ingole.  Prof. Nutan Malvi  in her presentation discussed the  following questions: What is leadership?  Where do women fall short?  Why?  How democratic leadership is essential for this. Women's leadership is very important in a male-dominated culture. Decision-making ability should be developed in them. Women are holding important positions in many places but it is unfortunate men take the decisions on their behalf. This scenario needs to be changed. The session   was moderated by Sanika Neware.

 

On the second day of Mahila Samvad,  Prof.  Suchita Thackeray spoke on the topic of women's role in bringing cultural and religious unity.  Women have had to fight a great battle to get their rights. The constitution gave us the right to live as a human being, freedom of religion is the freedom to use it with our conscience, religion is our personal matter, but today there is a conscious effort to spread bigotry. That’s why women have stood up for religious and cultural unity.  It was followed by a discussion about various efforts that can be taken up in this direction.   The session was conducted by Reshma.  After this, Prerna Desai gave  her  opinion on the topic of women's leadership in the financial sector. She said that we collect money from people and deposit it in banks, and the bank now gives the money to an industrialist for their benefits.  She said ideally  the goods should be consumed in the village itself, where they are produced.  Pratiksha moderated the session. In the ensuing session,  Adv.  Pooja Jadhav discussed the topic of women leadership and their approach to politics. Women don't want to join politics. They think that politics is not their arena.  The fact is that our life cannot be complete without politics. Therefore, women should think about how they can make politics better.  In her presentation she asserted its importance and necessity. Dwarakaben conducted the session. 

The two days' women's dialogue concluded with discussion about what strategy needs to  be adopted  in each district to put into action the ideas discussed in the sessions. The program concluded in the presence of Prernaben  Desai and Ashaben Bothra.   In the program women  brainstormed for two days on how to make this country better in this world. The programme concluded   with a firm   resolve to move in  this direction to create a better society.  Yamini Gajpure, Prashant Nagose, Manoj Thackeray, Bhalchandra Lode, Sanika Neware, Sharubi, Dwarka, Reshma, Prakishta, Malti and many partners of the Rashtriya Yuva Sangathan worked hard to make the program a success.   The total number of participants was 105 women.  The session  was moderated by Yamini Gajpure