By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 14 Dec: Panchayati Rule And Gender Awareness Training Institute (PRAGATI) organised Gender Sensitisation Training for former and newly elected Parshads of the municipalities in Dehradun district. This training was attended by 30 women Parshads. The project is supported by the Australian High Commission.
This is the third amongst the Gender Sensitization Trainings. The training made the participants aware of Gender Equity, Rights of Women, Gender Education and organised discussions amongst the past and newly elected Parshads.
The training started with an introduction by Rekha Pundir, Secretary, PRAGATI, wherein she inquired about their expectations and discussed the importance of their participation in Governance. The sessions were on Concept of Gender, roles of both genders, Gender Discrimination, issues related to property and succession, Women Rights and how to get free legal aid, state schemes, etc. Following this, Surbhi Jhanwar, Legal Advisor, made the women aware of legal provisions on Domestic Violence and Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace.
The training saw active participation by women. Sushila Rawat of Ward 58, Defence Colony, asked about the departments to approach for domestic violence cases. She shared that the things she learnt in the Pre-Election training was applied by her while filing nomination which was very helpful. Another participant, Roshan Bala, ex-ward member said, “I really appreciate this training. It not only keeps us informed, but also gives us exposure. We get to meet past and present Parshads and this helps us to share ideas and learn more.”
Social Worker Divya Joshi held a session in which she taught the participants about the PC-PNDT Act, Rape Culture, and Gender Issues. An issue came up that the male members of the family of Female Parshads should not be allowed to interfere and so opportunities for the females should be given to take their own decisions. Instead, they should encourage the women to go out and undertake responsibilities and learn from their experience.
There were deliberations amongst the Parshads on the election results and their experiences.
