In the spirit of sisterhood, women should come together and be united in their fight against oppression, said Vasanthi Devi, former chairperson of the Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women, here on Sunday.
Speaking at an event organised by Roshni, a city-based NGO, to mark International Women’s Day, she said, “In a democracy, people should come together and this includes supportive men as well. The system of patriarchy over the years has denied us our voice and autonomy, and we should fight for equality.”
Bader Sayeed, the founder of Roshni, underscored the need to form a women’s caucus which would enable their voices to be heard. “Policy-makers and people in power will then come in search of us, which would contribute a lot towards our fight against oppression,” she said.
R. Geetha, adviser to the Unorganised Workers Federation, was presented with the Roshni Award for her service to the underprivileged sections. Zakia Soman, founder of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Mandal Andolan, spoke about how women from the Muslim community were fighting for gender justice and development.
“Just like our sisters from other faiths, we also want a codified personal law. It is our firm belief that gender justice is a main component of Islam and we should work towards bringing that out,” she said.
Emphasising the need to educate young boys and girls alike about their rights, actress Gautami Tadimalla said women who educated their children about this would help society evolve positively.
