CU Punjab celebrated International Women’s Day by organizing a lecture on Inspiring Inclusion

Bathinda, March 7, 2024: The Department of Law at the Central University of Punjab, in collaboration with the Human Rights Cell and the Internal Complaint Committee, commemorated International Women's Day 2024 by organizing a special lecture titled 'Inspiring Inclusion.' The Chief Guest for this program was Laxmi Kant Chawla, Former Minister of Health, Government of Punjab.

In her keynote address, Laxmi Kant Chawla highlighted that over the last few decades, women have represented India in various fields. She pointed out that while the position of women has improved to some extent, their political, social, and economic situations have not noticeably improved. She spoke about the issues and challenges faced by working women in India, including discrimination in education, jobs, promotions, and access to resources. Smt. Chawla emphasized her efforts to break social taboos during her struggle for an equitable society. She further mentioned that women achievers such as Kalpana Chawla, the first astronaut of Indian origin to go into space, and Mother Teresa, the first Indian woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, have made immense efforts to challenge the descriptive gender roles and prescriptive biases of society. She concluded by appealing to youngsters to learn about the history and culture of our country and to act as beacons in creating an inclusive society by empowering women.

In his Presidential address, Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari, Vice-Chancellor, expressed his gratitude towards the Chief Guest for her enlightening talk. He stated that our ancient civilization and scriptures have given a respectable place to women in society. However, during the medieval era, the situation worsened with the emergence of various social evils. He urged the people of independent India to strive hard to eradicate all such evils and wrong practices that have hindered the growth and development of our Nari Shakti.

During the program, winners of the essay writing competition were awarded. Distinguished persons present on this occasion were Prof. R.K. Wusirika, Dean Incharge Academics; Prof. Anjana Munshi, Director R&D Cell; Prof. Monisha Dhiman, Director IQAC; Prof. B.P. Garg, Controller of Examinations; and Dr. Puneet Pathak, HoD, Dept. of Law. The program was coordinated by Dr. Sukhwinder Kaur. Faculty, staff members, and students of university enthusiastically attended this programme.