Enlightening Government Officials about Gender Equality at Chitradurga

CHITHRA Don Bosco conducted a two-day training on gender equality and women empowerment for government officials on 10 and 11 October 2019 at CHITHRA Don Bosco, Chitradurga. The inauguration ceremony was presided over by Fr. Saji George sdb, Rector, Don Bosco, Chitradurga. The other dignitaries present were Mr. Vijaya Kumar- President, Lawyer’s Association, Chitradurga; Ms. Dilshad Unnisa- Panel Advocate, DLSA, Chitradurga; Fr. Sonychen Mathew- Director, CHITHRA Don Bosco. The two days training was animated by Ms. Ambika from National Rural Livelihood Mission. The 52 participants of the training included various professionals such as police officials, lawyers, anganwadi teachers, ASHA workers and CHITHRA staff. The dignitaries inaugurated the programme by lighting a lamp. The training started with a prayer song and Ms. Bharathi, Coordinator, Women Empowerment Project (WEP) welcomed the gathering with a short narration of the objectives of the training.

After the inaugural speeches by the dignitaries, Ms. Ambika led the sessions on women empowerment, gender equality, law and order, and rights of women; using group discussions, multimedia presentations, videos, and discussions on recent newspaper articles about atrocities against women. The sessions also included the following- difference between gender and sex, role and importance of women in politics and public administration, gender discrimination, legal assistance for women in distress, and against domestic violence. The resource person also simplified court procedures with the examples from relevant cases. In one of the sessions on the second day, Mr. Manjunath, social activist, CREAM Project, Chitradurga enlightened the gathering on the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. Before the conclusion of the training, the participants had a short interaction with Ms. Lynn, Dean of Service Learning, Seymour College, Adelaide, Australia. Finally, Fr. Sonychen thanked all the participants for attending the two-day training amidst their busy schedules and to broaden their perception of these concepts and topics.