Our Ongole Women development center celebrated international Women’s day on 3rd & 4th of March. Sr. Theakkunkatil Annakutty FMA the animator of Secunderabad Auxilium was invited to animate our tailoring girls, school girls and the Self help women on the theme “Education to Love”. On 3rd Sr. Annakutty met in separate groups the school children and the tailoring girls. With the help of Videos and short films she explained to them on Sex, human trafficking, child labour, HIV/AIDS, health and hygiene, how horrible abortion is, functioning of the reproductive system, the various forms of exploitation women face at home and in the work place. The precautions parents and the girls need to take when they are alone, on special days and when they are out etc.
The tailoring girls were happy and they told us that “We came to know in detail many things. We never knew them before, mainly about the various facts of life. It was a great help for life”. On 4th, the programme started with a prayer song and Sr. Jyothi welcomed the invited resource person Sr. Annakutty and Sr. Josephine our community animator. Sr. Josephine gave a talk on the theme “Inspiring change for women empowerment”. She explained to them about the changes that we need to bring about in us, in the locality, in the society and in the nation. With the help of the placards, she explained to the participants, on “Inspiring change for what purpose?
• For greater awareness of young women and girls’ rights
• For more leadership roles for young women and girls
• For equal recognition of young women and girls in the arts
• For growth of female-owned businesses
• For increased financial independence for young women
• For an increased number of young women and girls in the fields of science, engineering and technology
• For fairer recognition of young women and girls in the area of sports and athletics.
Then Sr. Annakutty began her session for the SHG women, the tailoring girls and the Telugu medium children, on Education to love with the help of the Videos and short films. She dealt with the topics of Abortion, human trafficking, Sexual abuses, and harassment of girls in various forms. At the end of the session, women gave their feedback about the sessions and on the theme of the day. They said they got a fresh enlightenment about the human trafficking and how their own kith and kin too could cause harm to their daughters. They promised that they would do their best to fight for their rights and support the inspiring change in their own family and locality for the empowerment of women. Tailoring girls and Telugu medium school performed two theme dances, highlighting the life of women.
A total number of 150 profited from these 2 day’s sessions. At the end, the community gave lime rice packets to all the participants. They then visited, the exhibition put up by the tailoring girls. The sisters appreciated Sr. Jyothi and the women development centre animators. On 8th we celebrated the Actual “International women’s day” with meaningful and befitting initiatives. The reflections of the prayer service highlighted the united National proposal “Equality for women and girls is progress for all”. We celebrated the greatness of women hood and motherhood, when the world around is degrading, misusing and is neglecting women’s rights and dignity to a great extent. We remembered all the women in the world in the presence of the Eucharistic Lord, who respected women very much.
We prayed for them so that all might work together to uphold the rights of women and recognize their dignity, in the family and in the society always and everywhere. In the evening, the tailoring girls enacted, how the women are harassed by their husbands and household members, but it is they “who rock the cradles of the children, prepare the citizens & the rulers of the world”.
