Lokmat Media Group organizes the Ninth edition of ‘Lokmat Women Summit 2022 – Udne ki Asha’ at Nagpur

Nagpur : Women are capable from the moment they are born. She is constantly at odds with the customs and traditions that seek to enslave her. Every woman has a dream. She keeps on struggling to fulfill it. The ninth Lokmat Women Summit provided inspiration to women to dream big. The message of dignity of women spread all over the country. This provided new energy to the women empowerment movement.

The Lodha Gold TMT Bar supported ninth Lokmat Women Summit in association with Pigeon and Nirmal Ujjwal Credit Cooperative Society Limited, Nagpur, was held at Hotel Centre Point on Saturday. The theme was ‘Udne ki Aasha’, the dream of every woman to fly high.

The summit was inaugurated by Energy Minister and Nagpur Guardian Minister Nitin Raut, who lit the ceremonial lamp. Chairman of Lokmat Editorial Board and former Rajya Sabha member Vijay Darda presided over the function.

Principal Secretary of Department of Environment and Protocol Manisha Mhaiskar, President of Gravittus Foundation Usha Kakade, Founder of Nirmal Ujjwal Credit Cooperative Society Limited Pramod Manmode, Senior Vice-President of Goel Ganga Group Sunita Shirolkar, Secretary of Khanderaya Pratishthan Sagar Balwadkar, Lokmat Media’s Director (Operations) Ashok Jain, Lokmat Media group editor Vijay Bawiskar and Lokmat Nagpur edition’s executive editor Shrimant Mane were prominently present on the occasion. Lokmat Sakhi Sanman state-level awards were also presented during the Summit.

Chairperson of Maharashtra State Commission for Women Rupali Chakankar, Amravati Police Commissioner Arti Singh, Founder of Indian Muslim Women’s Movement Zakia Soman, Director of Innovation and Incubation Centre of Savitribai Phule Pune University Dr Apoorva Palkar, Air India Pilot Captain Shivani Kalra, Sunita Kar of Indian Leadership Forum Against Trafficking, Actress Isha Koppikar, Actress Rasika Dugal, Kathak danseuse and actress Sanjana Sanghi and Crusader for Women with Alopecia Ketaki Jani participated in various panel discussions and highlighted the achievements of women in various fields. Shweta Shelgaonkar conducted the proceedings.

Will implement women empowerment policies: Nitin Raut

Contribution of women is higher than men in all sectors. Women have provided capable prime ministers, presidents, and chief ministers to the country. Nowadays, girls top all the examinations. Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government is firmly behind women in their journey to success, said Nagpur Guardian Minister Nitin Raut adding that the state government would implement women empowerment policies in a better way. Due to the initiative taken by Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule, girls in India could get educated. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution provided gender equality, he added.

Mothers should empower girls to struggle: Rupali Chakankar

The struggle for girls begins from the womb. It is the duty of the mother to empower her daughters for this struggle, said chairperson of Maharashtra State Commission for Women Rupali Chakankar. She further said that everybody faced physical discomfort during the Covid pandemic. Mental discomfort skyrocketed during this period. Most cases of domestic violence took place during the pandemic. A major campaign had to be launched to prevent child marriages. The State Commission for Women had to start a helpline in view of increased crimes against women. We had to launch the ‘Aayog Aplya Dari’ campaign. Chakankar was anguished that the society had developed a perverted mentality about women narrating atrocities against women in society.

Financial literacy must along with women empowerment: Vijay Darda

Women have achieved success in various fields through hard work and strong will power. Every woman has a new hope. We are making efforts to fulfill them through the Lokmat Women Summit. In the coming days, along with women empowerment, making them financially literate and educating them on savings would be our aim, said Chairman of Lokmat Editorial Board and former Rajya Sabha member Vijay Darda. Lokmat had coined the slogan ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ in its 2011 Women Summit. In 2015, the Central Government took concrete steps to implement it. We have also highlighted the problems of working women, their struggles, etc. Large number of girls are still deprived of education and you should not discriminate against them, he appealed.

Ask girls to break the glass ceiling: Manisha Mhaiskar

Mothers tell their young daughters about Cinderella being sought through her glass sandal. Now you should not tell girls about glass sandals but about the glass ceilings that still exist in our society, stated Principal Secretary of Department of Environment and Protocol Manisha Mhaiskar. Past has gone away while nobody has seen the future. Therefore, you should learn to live for the present, she said. Mhaiskar told about her good and bad experiences during her IAS days. She regretted that women were judged subjectively on the basis of their working style. Women have proved to be good administrators through their work, she added.

Isha Koppikar, Actress said, “Every woman is different. My father is a doctor but I did modelling and worked in cinema. Don’t compete with men. Every woman is a king. Not every person agrees with everything. Always believe in yourself and in your strength”.

Ms. Ketaki Jani, Alopecia survivor and activist, “I had long hair but due to Alopecia I had to suffer from losing them. I tried many medicines, but nothing worked. That situation was the reason of my depression and I even started thinking about ending my life. By my children were the reason I stood strong and decided to fight against.”

Rasika Dugal, Actress said, “You need to have the confidence to work with different people. Rasika pointed out that men are promoted but women are not given that much opportunity, but we need to keep working hard and believe in our dreams to achieve it”.

Arti Singh, CP, Amravati, the only woman commissioner of police in the country said, “My career has been different. Even today in the society, the mentality of having a son or a daughter is always ingrained. If there is a boy, there is a different reaction and if there is a girl, there is a different reaction. To change the society, this gap, this mentality needs to be changed.”

Zakia Soman, Founder member of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan said, “The issue of triple divorce is still on my mind. The plight of Muslim women has not gone away. Our society is male dominated. The voice against triple divorce is a historic beginning.”

Sanjana Sanghi, Actress said, “I came to Bollywood when I was 14 years old. Imtiaz Ali was looking for an actress. That is how I got the opportunity. We always advise women to how to dress-up but never to the men of the society. Through my upcoming film, we are trying to give message that you have raise your voice for yourself. I did stunts all by myself to show the power of a woman.”

Ms. Sunita Kar, Child Trafficking Survivor and activist against child trafficking mentioned about trafficking in West Bengal. She talked about her struggle and how she got connected with organization working against Child trafficking.