Naval Surgeon Captain Srujana Bhaskar, ‘Have no fear entering the armed forces’

The Harmony Foundation a Mumbai NonGovernmental Organisation NGO working in the human rights space joined the sea of celebrations and events marking International Womenrsquos Day on March 8 today The Foundationrsquos event held at the Wilson College Chowpatty Audio Visual AV room on Thursday morning saw special guests and speakers address the college audience about what the day means and why we should careMany thoughtsDr Abraham Mathai founderchairman Harmony Foundation said ldquoToday we are reminded of the incredible journey of women in India On the one hand we see how far they have come on the other it is a reminder about the continued challenges they facerdquo To Mathai this was a day of celebration but mixed with sobering introspection too as he said ldquoBreaking stereotypes and shattering glass ceilings deserve applause Women still have hurdles on all fronts It begins with the obsession of wanting a male child rejecting a girl child either covertly or overtlyrdquo he saidSurgeon Capt Srujana Bhaskar was inspiring right Flavia Agnes shares her wisdom PicsShadab KhanNational prideSurgeon Captain Srujana Bhaskar was the next speaker Crisp white uniform crackling Capt Bhaskar said as she looked at the students ldquoI am a Naval officer professor and doctor When I was asked to speak on womens empowerment these are unchartered waters I thought to myselfrdquo she quipped to some laughter That laughter quickly turned to admiration and applause as she added ldquoThis is the day of my commissioning into the forces It has been 23 years of service to the nation of wearing my beloved uniformrdquoSimple speakThe Capt added ldquoI really have not done anything out of the world or extraordinary What I emphasise are tenets of simplicity sincerity and optimism There will be hurdles but when the chips are down think to yourself and say this too shall pass It will and does passrdquo She signed off ldquoThere may be challenges in other aspects but the system has been very supportive to us women Have no fear about entering the armed forcesrdquo she said as the room erupted in cheersThe genesisThere was advocate Flavia Agnes described as one of the central figures of the womenrsquos movement in India who began ldquoI am sad that this day comes once in a year What you can do is make it your day every single day Agnes said ldquoThe genesis of International Womenrsquos Day was in the year 1911 and it was 1980 when it was formally marked in India The earlier days were about protests by women workers for rights asking for reform of rape laws It all had so much gravitas I was part of the emerging womenrsquos movement of that time Today of course Womenrsquos Day is celebrated commercially That was never the intended purpose when it startedrdquoYet Agnes did admit that ldquoThe commercial angle means that the day has been brought into the mainstream and there are some positives to that too You as young women have a lot of work ahead of you Let us never forget challenges persist We have the Jharkhand rape incident where a foreign tourist was sexually assaulted Even with so many initiatives and awareness the rape crime graph continues to climb It shows us we have a responsibility as a society to change this Both boys and girls have to participate in thisrdquoThe warriorsAgnes also referenced women as targets of domestic abuse which included verbal physical sexual and economic abuse ldquoLet us be more aware of our Constitutional Rights and be confident to face life ahead That for me is womenrsquos empowermentrdquo she ended As she went back to her seat from the podium one could not help but think one may dissent on certain aspects but the older women ploughed such a lonely furrow much before advocating for lsquoWomenrsquos Rightsrsquo became ohsofashionable It is because of them that the path is smoother today For that alone they command and deserve undying respect