प्रिया जर्नल
CGAMP Workshop On Different Aspects of Gender and Women’s Empowerment, July 2, 2009
The Committee on Gender Awareness and Mainstreaming in PRIA (CGAMP) organised a half-day workshop on July 2, 2009 for all the head office staff members on gender dynamics and women’s empowerment. This workshop focused on the different aspects of gender and women’s struggles vis-à-vis the social, economic and political framework of our society.
Attempting to do something different, the committee identified 16 books on gender related issues from PRIA’s library and divided all participants into eight groups, assigning two books to each group. Since the books were assigned a couple of weeks in advance, the groups were required to choose one of them and make presentations using role-play, poetry, songs or drawings on what they thought to be the key learnings of their study. The selection of books was made keeping in mind the diverse choices available in English literature, Hindi literature and compilation of essays on gender.
Through the medium of role-plays and presentations various themes like domestic violence, sexual abuse, patriarchal system, typecasting of women in their different roles of a daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, wife and mother, women unable to make choices for themselves due to male domination, facing discrimination at home and workplace due to gender stereotypes and others were discussed.
To sum up the session Martha Farrell, Director, PRIA shared with the members how this typecasting of women is common even among the intelligentsia and is not a thing of just the ‘narrow-minded’ sections of society. To prove her point she quoted few great thinkers of our times who have commented on women in a derogatory manner, subjecting them to discrimination. She lauded the CGAMP effort and said that it was a good opportunity for the staff members to understand a women’s constant struggle for survival in a male dominated society. The workshop ended with Namrata Jaitli, Chairperson, CGAMP thanking all members for their enthusiastic participation.
Attempting to do something different, the committee identified 16 books on gender related issues from PRIA’s library and divided all participants into eight groups, assigning two books to each group. Since the books were assigned a couple of weeks in advance, the groups were required to choose one of them and make presentations using role-play, poetry, songs or drawings on what they thought to be the key learnings of their study. The selection of books was made keeping in mind the diverse choices available in English literature, Hindi literature and compilation of essays on gender.
Through the medium of role-plays and presentations various themes like domestic violence, sexual abuse, patriarchal system, typecasting of women in their different roles of a daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, wife and mother, women unable to make choices for themselves due to male domination, facing discrimination at home and workplace due to gender stereotypes and others were discussed.
To sum up the session Martha Farrell, Director, PRIA shared with the members how this typecasting of women is common even among the intelligentsia and is not a thing of just the ‘narrow-minded’ sections of society. To prove her point she quoted few great thinkers of our times who have commented on women in a derogatory manner, subjecting them to discrimination. She lauded the CGAMP effort and said that it was a good opportunity for the staff members to understand a women’s constant struggle for survival in a male dominated society. The workshop ended with Namrata Jaitli, Chairperson, CGAMP thanking all members for their enthusiastic participation.
