PRESS STATEMENT
*Condemning the FIR against Dr. Ilina Sen and the Police Strong Handedness Against The Participants of the Indian Association Of Women's Studies* *Demanding the closure of the case against Dr. Ilina Sen.* * * 25th January 2011 The IAWS (Indian Association for Women’s Studies) is shocked and strongly condemns the entry of the police into Yatri Niwas, at Wardha at 2.30 a.m. on 24th January 2011, where a large number of women participants, who were mainly students and teachers from Universities across the country, attending the 13th National Conference of the Indian Association for Women’s Studies (IAWS) held from 20-24 January 2011 were staying. The conference was hosted by the Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya (MGAHV), Wardha, with the IAWS as the organiser. The earlier 12 conferences of the association too have been held in collaboration with Universities in different regions of the country and hosted by them. The IAWS is currently headed by Prof Anita Ghai, professor in psychology and a noted disability expert from New Delhi, who is the President of the Association, and Prof Samita Sen, historian and Director of the School of Women’s Studies at Jadavpur University, the General Secretary, along with other members of the Executive Committee such as Dr. Uma Chakravarti , Dr. Wandana Sonalkar, from New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Aurangabad, who are all noted academicians and few student representatives involved in gender studies. The preparations for this 13th National Conference has been ongoing for nearly two years now. The members of the Executive Committee of the Indian Association of Women’s Studies have been collaborating with Women’s Studies scholars across the country inviting them to speak at the plenaries, to be coordinators of 10 subthemes and present papers. A student pre-conference workshop with enthusiastic participation by students from across the country preceded the conference. Being an academic and professional association of Women’s Studies scholars, teachers, students and activists, the conference held once in three years deliberates on the various scholarly and social concerns centring on women’s lives in the country. In all, there were 750 participants, 3 foreign invited speakers. Among the prominent women present were Prof Saradamoni, Prof Devaki Jain, Dr. Zarina Bhatty , Prof Nirmala Banerjee, Sharmila Rege, Indu Agnihotri. The teachers, students and the administration of the Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya (MGAHV), Wardha, have helped the Executive Committee of the IAWS in the organisation not just of the academic proceedings, but also the cultural programmes, the films that were screened and the stalls and exhibitions that displayed books and crafts. As part of organising the conference in Wardha, which is in Central India, the IAWS expressed its pride and honour to have the opportunity to felicitate prominent senior activists from Vidharbha region, Malti Ruikar, Leelatai Chitale, Seema Sakhare, Nalini Ladke, and Sumantai Bang, a practice followed at national conferences. Pushpa Bhave felicitated the activists on behalf of the IAWS. Noted dalit woman writer, Kumud Pawde delivered the Madhuri Shah Memorial Lecture. In the above context, IAWS is shocked that the police entered the premises of the conference and the accommodation venues. We also wish to clarify that the media reports that attribute the organisation of the conference to Prof. Ilina Sen (EC member,IAWS) *alone *is totally erroneous and distorted, and that it is the Indian Association of Women’s Studies, that has organized this conference, hosted by the Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Vishwavidyalaya, Wardha. We condemn the lodging of the FIR against Dr. Ilina Sen and demand its withdrawal. Signed Dr. Anita Ghai and the members of the Executive Committee of the IAWS -- You cannot build anything on the foundations of caste. You cannot build up a nation, you cannot build up a morality. Anything that you will build on the foundations of caste will crack and will never be a whole. -AMBEDKAR http://venukm.blogspot.com http://www.shelfari.com/kmvenuannur http://kmvenuannur.livejournal.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB.
