Calls for inclusive consultations, action-oriented recommendations to achieve gender equality
Srinagar: Vice-Chancellor University of Kashmir Prof Nilofer Khan on Saturday chaired an interactive session with delegates of ‘Women20’, an official G20 engagement group focussing on gender equity, at Panjab University, Chandigarh.
Eminent women delegates of national and international repute, associated with W20, attended the interaction session at the varsity’s Centre for Women’s Studies and Development.
In her presidential remarks, Prof Nilofer said called for inclusive consultations and action-oriented recommendations, in line with the country’s W20 Goals, to achieve gender equality and create an enabling environment for women to excel and transform their lives.
She said five key priorities of W20 have been appropriately chosen for deliberations in view of their critical importance to understanding and addressing newer challenges in the way of gender equality.
“A lot of recommendations have to focus on the needs and requirements of women from underprivileged sections of the society. It is here that the W20 platform can step in with possible interventions and see how best we can help make a difference at grassroots,” the Vice-Chancellor said.
She informed the gathering that the University of Kashmir recently hosted the Civil20 Working Group Meeting on Gender Equality and Disability which evolved a slew of recommendations for further deliberations at the G20 platform.
“The W20 priorities include women’s entrepreneurship, grassroots women leadership and bridging the gender digital divide. In this context, the W20 platform is one of the best opportunities to put our heads together to see how best these goals can be achieved with practical solutions,” Prof Nilofer said.
Notably, besides hosting the Civil20 Working Group Meeting on Gender Equality and Disability, the University of Kashmir has been chosen among 15 institutions in the country to host Youth20 events as part of the country’s G20 Presidency. The Youth20 event at the University, scheduled in May 2023, will focus on climate change and mitigation in view of the climate change which is reported to be impacting the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR).