Upholding the campaign theme ‘Balance for Better’, the district on Friday observed International Women’s Day with stress on gender equality and equal rights for women. A number of sociocultural organisations and women’s collectives stepped in with innovative events to mark the occasion, highlighting the achievements of women in diverse sectors and honouring those who have emerged as torchbearers for the cause.
The District Kudumbashree Mission organised a variety of events and launched new projects to mark the day. Their celebrations began with a mini marathon, ‘Run Mahila Run’, in the city on Friday morning. The launch of Kudumbashree’s new online cafe, Vibhavasree, and the opening of a new auditorium at Mahila Mall were the major events held to commemorate the day.
Self-defence training
A one-day self-defence training session for women was another initiative taken up by various women’s groups with the support of the City Police to celebrate the day. Women police trainers, who coordinated the short sessions covering around 400 women in various locations, said the purpose was to highlight the importance of mastering some basic self-protection skills to boost women’s self-confidence.
Calicut Shethon-2K19, a night mini marathon covering around 5 km on the beach, was another major outdoor event that declared Kozhikode to be a safe destination for women.
The marathon, organised with the support of the district administration, non-governmental organisations, city-based corporate firms and doctors, called for better support to nurture women entrepreneurship.
Leaders of the Asangaditha Meghala Thozhilali Union, an association of workers in the unorganised sector, and Penkoottu, the city’s women-only labourers’ forum, jointly organised a get-together at the Sports Council Hall to honour their members who have made commendable contributions to society.
The meet discussed possible areas of future interventions for women empowerment and social justice.
The campuses in the city responded warmly to the occasion with socio-cultural and charity events.
Students of Government Women’s Polytechnic College, Malaparamba, organised a blood donation campaign. They teamed up with the Kerala Blood Donors’ Forum to carry out the campaign.
Office-bearers of the Indian Medical Association said they would host the main event associated with Women’s Day celebrations at IMA Hall here on Saturday. Mayor Thottathil Raveendran will open the event titled ‘Veerangana’, which will honour 20 women from the district who lost their dear and near ones while serving in the Army.