“Girls of today are women of tomorrow” is a well known but underexploited fact. Aiming to sensitize and empower them will, at the minimum, secure a welcoming and gender just future for generations to come. Utilising it as one of its arrow against trembling status of women, DJJS under its gender equality program Santulan conducted an ambitious 10 days winter camp under the banner “Koshish ek asha” with about 40 girls between age group of 10 to 25 years from January 25, 2018 at Shri Ram Chand Mandir, Hawa Mahal Road, Badi Choupar, Jaipur, Rajasthan. The workshop visioned to ignite self-worth and spirit of empowerment among the participants through diverse sensitization tools; enabling them to develop the ability to think critically.
The workshop was conducted by Sadhvi Arya Bharti ji and Sadhvi Gurpreet Bharti ji-disciples of Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Ji, along with a team of dedicated volunteers. It started off with a music session comprising of classical singing and instrument playing, followed by yoga session with demonstration and practise of some easy yet essential exercises. Thereafter, a group discussion was carried out to share perspectives about need for women to break confines from household chores to psychological barriers. “It is the woman who has to ensure that she has equal participation in decision making, whether it’s in the family or at the community level”, emphasized Sadhvi ji. Further, she put across the concept of spiritual awakening, being a major component of holistic empowerment, that helps women carve a positive self-image and increase their confidence level. A ved-mantra chanting spell was also conducted, infusing piousness and sanctity in the atmosphere. Fun-activities like dance and drama were carried out by volunteers with the participation of attendees that filled everyone with enthusiasm and spirit of gender revolution. Craftwork activity including doll puppets as emblems to save girl child, posters on gender discrimination, placards and photo-frames having slogans to voice against female feticide was executed.
Numerous campaigns and workshops are being organized by Santulan teams PAN India particularly with girls with the objective of nurturing their minds in gender just way by inculcating the significance of girl child education, her fundamental rights and making them realize their own ability to face up leadership skills. As rightly quoted by Katica Roy in Forbes, “Gender equality ‘does not mean that women and men will become the same, but that women’s and men’s rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female’.” DJJS Santulan, aiming at holistic empowerment of women through ideological capacity building, is working ceaselessly at global level now with a vision to re-establish women dignity and a discrimination free society for a girl child, before she is born.
