Imphal: We’re proud to have the world’s largest women’s market in Manipur. But how these women vendors are treated by their families when they return home from the market, is the issue we need to study and highlight their plight, said N Pramodini, Director, Women’s Studies Centre, Manipur University, here on Friday.
Women have played a key role in shaping our family and society since the ‘Women’s War’ aka Nupi Lan, of 1904 and 1939 in Manipur, but they still face suppression and subjugation in almost every field, which is why there is so much disparity and inequality in our society, said Dr Pramodini, while delivering a lecture on “DigiAll: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality” at S Kula Women’s College, Nambol.
The S. Kula Women’s College organised the lecture in collaboration with the Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture, Manipur Chapter, and the Women’s Studies Centre, Manipur University.
The academician said women had to be polite and feel obliged to the men, who have become socialized over the years. Even though we treat them as a cultural practice, she added that it has led to a defragmented and imbalanced society where women cannot express their own views and beliefs.
Unless we change these ill-conceived cultural practices and our patriarchal traditions from the grassroots level, the so-called women’s empowerment is meaningless, and gender disparity, and imbalance will continue, Pramodini contended.
Jadumani Sharma, convenor of Vivekananda Kendra, highlighted the importance of addressing gender inequality in rural areas so as to enable them to compete in the changing digital environment.
Dr. W. Robindro Singh, Principal, S. Kula Women’s College, presiding over the function, noted that women have been given equal status since the era of ‘Ramayana’ and added that all the discrepancies, imbalances, and inequality can be resolved if we believe in “wholeness,” in which everyone is equal.
Dr. W. Kunjarani Chanu, assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy and director of the Women’s Studies Center at S Kula Women’s College, and other senior members of the college also spoke on the occasion.
