Kudos to the selfless contributions and legion success tales of women in every era. Particularly the cities witnessing higher rates of crime against women, are ironically the origin points and hub of empowered women icons. DJJS, with the divine inspiration of His Holiness Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Ji (Head & Founder of the organization), is an institution that recognizes the successful deeds of such women in society every year by adding a feather in their caps called ‘Santulan Award’, as a constituent of its gender equality initiative ‘Santulan’. This year, for the 8th time in a row, it is carrying out 8th Annual Santulan Awards in 7 regions of the country viz, Maharashtra (Chakan), Haryana (Ambala), Punjab (Amritsar), Uttarakhand (Dehradun), Uttar Pradesh (Meerut), Madhya Pradesh (Gwalior) and Rajasthan (Jaipur), accrediting women for their impeccable performances in several social spheres. The event in Chakan was organized, considering the rapid industrial development of city ignorant of rapid rise in crime rate, at Aacharya Atre Rangmandir, Pimpri, Pune on March 16, 2017 with the presence of 900 attendees from various social sectors.
Women exhibiting extraordinary performances in their respective fields were shortlisted from the said region. It was further scrutinized by the organization jury based on their achievements and thus, nominated for awards. The awardees include personas like Ms. Chhaya Sandeep Ambhure (Entrepreneur), Ms. Lata Genu Kirdari (Empowerment of rural women), Ms. Subhadra Kondi Bhau (“Health” for underprivileged women), Ms. Salu Bai Sable (Empowering women in difficult situations), Ms. Kavita Bobmle (Women Empowerment), Ms. Vaishali Adsare (Capacity Building of rural women), Ms. Pushpa Mojad (Empowering women economically through livelihood trainings), Ms. Vaishali Ghatke (Economic Empowerment of Women), Ms. Meenakshi Vanjul (Philanthropy), Ms. Kiran Pachpandey (Social Reforms & Welfare) and Ms. Bharti Nimba Bharambe (Women Empowerment).
The panel of guests to honour these idols include eminent social figures, Hon.Eknathji Pawar (Group Leader,BJP,PCMC), Hon.Namdevji Dhake (Corporator,PCMC), Hon.Sangeeta Pradhan (Secretary,BJP,PCMC) and Hon.Sangeeta Jagtap (Member,BJP,PCMC), to name them.
The event commenced with lamp lighting by guests and preachers followed by a skit to showcase the journey of a woman who cannot escape from encounter with various forms of violence and discrimination against her, manages to succeeds and gifts another case study to quote for generations to come. A dance ballet to present women glory and gradeur as an incarnation of goddess, was also performed by team of enthusiastic volunteers. An enlightening lecture to create value for girl child by shedding light on her role and significance along with clarification over prevalent myths, was delivered by Sadhvi Shitabha Bharti Ji. She also laid emphasis on the need for women to be, not just educationally and economically, but also spiritually empowered and united in order to rise above the present scenario and re-hoist the flag of women glory. Another interesting dhol session, being Mahrashtra’s traditional performance, was also presented. Thereafter, each awardee was honoured with 8th Annual Santulan Award and being the token of appreciation, followed by a group photo.
In the end, a documentary with brief of Santulan’s philosophy and initiatives in regards to women status upliftment, was screened. Further, along with high tea, an exhibition was put up to display organizations’ illuminating publications and initiatives in regards to social evils.
