Goan women get a tribute paid to them on 'appreciation day' BY HERALD REPORTER http://www.oheraldteam.com
PANJIM, NOV 16 -- The responsibility to combat social evils like alcoholism, HIV/AIDS and mental health problems lies not just on social workers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) but also on society at large. This was the view that emerged at a seminar organised by the Goa Sudharop Community Development Inc, an NGO, to celebrate the International Goan Women^�s Appreciation Day. Auda Viegas, of ^�Bailancho Ekvott^� highlighted some of the issues affecting women, whether they occur behind closed doors, or right out in the open. The first issue she spoke about was foeticide ^� right after conception of the girl child. She held not just the clinics carrying out this illegal practice responsible, but also families, who go for this procedure. When the girl child grows a little older, she then faces discrimination with regard to education, especially if there is a choice between a boy sibling and her going to school, besides discrimination in nutrition, as well as several other ways. Speaking about the role that society plays, Ms Viegas said: "It is the duty of the educated Goan society to support women who want to stand on their own and break away from the general conditioning of society." She said, women are subjected to cruelty of all types, be it physical or psychological and that it was the duty of society to overcome these problems Serena Mascarenhas, the founder of Al Anon (Goa) who spoke on alcoholism and its impact on women, claimed that women sometimes take a lot of physical eating due to misplaced loyalties and a wrong sense of duty. Talking about alcoholism in particular, she said that when social drinking crosses the limits and becomes alcoholic drinking, then it becomes a disease She said that the spouse of an person who has stopped drinking needs to realise that she/he is still living with an alcoholic, who has stayed away from the first drink. Al Anon, a support group for the relatives and friends of alcoholics was started 18 years ago in Goa, which functions primarily on the principle of admitting that the family is powerless where the alcohol is concerned and that there is a higher power who can help. Prachi Khandeparkar of Sangath spoke on ^�Women and Mental Health^�, where she said that women are subjected to mental pressure right from small. This mental pressure is in different forms - no choice in the marriage partner, having to adjust to her own home and then her matrimonial home, pressure due to her financial status, jobs and various other factors. She said that women very often do not have any personal time to themselves - they have to fulfil different roles of wife, mother, sister, just to name a few. She said that these problems are those caused by society, and society itself has to take steps to solve them. Mrs Khandeparkar stressed the importance of talking about the problems, and at a right time, otherwise it may become a full blown case of depression. She felt that if the husband's support is obtained, everything would then fall into place. Mrs Maya Chodankar from Positive People, speaking on AIDS and its impact on women said that the number of women suffering from HIV/AIDS is increasing over the years. Mrs Chodankar spoke on the various aspects involved in HIV/AIDS, where women are more prone to get the disease for different reasons other than biological ones. One of the factors she mentioned was that of the role played by women as care takers. Often, while looking after the HIV infected person, she may contract HIV, after which she is often thrown out by her family. Another factor which comes into play is that of age, where women get married to older men. As a result, the number of young women with HIV/AIDS is increasing. She also said that she was against the start of "care centres" as women need support not only from social organisations, but also from society at large. "Whether a person is HIV positive or not, everyone's participation is required to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS", she said. Tome Fernandes and Francis Rodrigues also provided the gathering with a musical interlude. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
