On Saturday, 9th March 2019, a group of concerned citizens participated in a walk in solidarity with women from 62 countries in 174 similar walks around the globe. The program was organized by Ms. Chaitali Das and was sponsored by the Rakshak Foundation, the Fortune /US State Department Global Woman Mentoring Partnership Program, Vital Voices and the National Jute Board.

The flag bearers who lead the walk included Dr. Tehnaz Dastoor, former UNICEF Global Coordinator and champion of children and women’s rights and Professor Kakoli Sengupta of Jadavpur University among others. A number of schools/organizations also participated in the walk including the Women’s Christian College, Deshbandhu College for Girls, New Horizon High Schools and Nabadisha. The walk was flagged off by Mr. Moloy Chandan Chakrabortty, IDAS, Jute Commissioner, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India along with Mr. Arvind Kumar, Member, CEO National Jute Board Ministry of Textiles. Government of India.

The Walk was followed by Panel Discussion on “Women Leading Sustainability Development in the World.” Mr. Jay B. Treloar, Deputy Director – American Center and Assistant Public Affairs Officer at the US Consulate in Kolkata flagged off the Panel Discussion. Jay spoke about the importance of women in his personal and professional life throughout the years and stressed the importance of men, supporting women in all their endeavors.

Dr. Tehnaz Dastoor spoke about a special program which she instituted on behalf of the CII-Unicef CSR Hub. The CSR Hub was the first-of-its-kind in the country which she helped to establish in Kolkata. The program was an employment-linked vocational training program for minority girls in the city. The program trained young girls who had completed their 12th grade, in computer English language and life skills. Once the training was completed, they were hired by a local BPO.

Tehnaz gave the example of how one individual girl, who fought against her family’s norms of early marriage and enrolled in the program, soon became the catalyst within her family, neighborhood and community; helping other impoverished girls also enroll into the program and increase the economic status within their families. Through the additional income which she earned, she provided not only for the education of her siblings but also for better nutritional and health status of her family members. Her delayed marriage ensured better reproductive health and she became a champion of women’s empowerment in her locality.

Dr. Kakoli Sengupta, Associate Professor and former Head, Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University and Mr. Basit Ismail, Principal, Jibreel International School, both spoke about the need for gender equality which would happen one step-at-a-time and the need for educating our children, both boys and girls about the importance of respecting women in our society. Kakoli stressed the need to address the issue of sexual violence in our society and for women to speak out against it.

Ms. Ryena Gupta, Practicing Company Secretary and National Champion in Karate demonstrated self-defense techniques for the audience.

Following the discussions, the students raised some very pertinent questions relating to women’s equality and whether there was a need for: reserved seating in buses; women to learn martial arts and the evolution from a matriarchal to a patriarchal society in India.

The event concluded with the distribution of certificates for the students by the Rakshak Foundation.

On Saturday, 9th March 2019, a group of concerned citizens participated in a walk in solidarity with women from 62 countries in 174 similar walks around the globe. The program was organized by Ms. Chaitali Das and was sponsored by the Rakshak Foundation, the Fortune /US State Department Global Woman Mentoring Partnership Program, Vital Voices an