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Ritanjali Hastir, Keekli Reporter, 25th November, 2014, Shimla
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women celebrated at the Gaiety Theater, Shimla !!!
Virginia Woolf once very wisely said, “As a woman I have no country. As a woman I want no country. As a woman, her country is the whole world”; and same holds good in present times when the whole world is celebrating the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women for raising their voice against the pitiable condition of women all around the globe. Every year, this day is celebrated on November 25, as a reminder of violence that women and girls experience in their daily lives. Women are beaten in their homes, harassed on the streets, bullied on the Internet. Globally, one in three women experience physical or sexual violence at some point in her life. Today’s eye opening event has been organized by Cedar Film Private Limited in collaboration with Big FM, Younglings, City Channel and department of Language Art and Culture Himachal.
While informing about the event one of the organizers said that the main objective of this event was to honour and celebrate the spirit of womanhood. A woman is a very beautiful and divine creation of God that needs to loved and cared. She has an equal right to grow and develop as an individual rather than be shackled in name of gender discrimination. The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power but you just have to take it. It is a step of awakening the society by amplifying the collective voice of women in Himachal against crime and violence.
In the event 16 women who managed to make their mark in the society were honored including Satwant Atwal (IG Crime, HPP); Suman Rawat Mehta (Athlete and JD Sports HP); Dr. Suneela Sharma (Assistant Professor, RKMV College); Manju Seth (Entrepreneur and Social Activist); Kusum Lata Goyal (Chancellor, APG University); Nandini Mittal (News Editor Doordarshan, Shimla); Ranchna Gupta (State Editor, Danik Jagran); Dr. Meenakshi F. Paul (Professor Evening College, Shimla); Suman Kanta (Teacher); Sadhna Sharma (Principal, Swami Vivekanand Sr Sec School, Gagret, Una); Navita Sharma (Deputy Commandant II Battalion, Home Guard); Shalini Sharma (RJ, 95 Big FM Shimla); Sanjana Goyal (Entrepreneur, Solan); Shipra Khanna (Chef Winner Master Chef India – 2) and Muskaan (Singer).
Other than that to mark the celebration of the day a rock show performance by the Lamha Rock Band and a play Sharap by The Real Victory Group was organized that dealt with the theme of exploitation of women in various walks of life sometimes via near and dear ones and sometimes by other men in the society. Other than that songs related to the theme of celebrating the spirit of a woman were also performed as a mark of respect for women and showing disagreement on violent practices against them.
The award winner Shalini- RJ Big FM, Shimla while speaking her heart out said, “Often females are discouraged from following their heart, I personally feel that we should not pay heed to it and work towards our goal. It is high time when we need to understand that the hands that rock the cradle can rocks the world as well. There is no great feeling than getting recognized for your work and your own individuality. I wish just like me other females in our country as well as at the global level also get an opportunity to learn about their dreams and live them up to the fullest”.
While commenting on the event most of the spectators were of the opinion that such events need to be celebrated on a grand scale so that awareness is created among the masses regarding the apathy we experience in context to women. Gender discrimination need to be uprooted for the development of the nation as a whole.