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

It is attention audience which is all ears

The Harmony Foundation, a Mumbai Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) working in the human rights space, joined the sea of celebrations and events, marking International Women's Day on March 8, today. The Foundation's 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 care.

Many thoughts

Dr Abraham Mathai, founder-chairman, Harmony Foundation said, "Today, 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 face." To Mathai, this was a day of celebration but mixed with sobering introspection too as he said, "Breaking 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 overtly," he said.

Surgeon Capt. Srujana Bhaskar was inspiring (right) Flavia Agnes shares her wisdom. Pics/Shadab Khan

National pride

Surgeon Captain Srujana Bhaskar was the next speaker. Crisp, white uniform crackling, Capt. Bhaskar said as she looked at the students, "I am a Naval officer, professor, and doctor. When I was asked to speak on women's empowerment, these are unchartered waters, I thought to myself," she quipped to some laughter. That laughter quickly turned to admiration and applause as she added, "This is the day of my commissioning into the forces. It has been 23 years of service to the nation, of wearing my beloved uniform."

Simple speak

The Capt. added, "I 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 pass." She signed off, "There may be challenges in other aspects, but the system has been very supportive to us women. Have no fear about entering the armed forces," she said as the room erupted in cheers.

The genesis

There was advocate Flavia Agnes, described as one of the central figures of the women's movement in India who began, "I am sad that this day comes once in a year. What you can do is make it your day, every single day." Agnes said "The genesis of International Women's 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 women's movement of that time. Today, of course, Women's Day is celebrated commercially. That was never the intended purpose when it started."

Yet, Agnes did admit that, "The 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 this."

The warriors

Agnes also referenced women as targets of domestic abuse, which included verbal, physical, sexual, and economic abuse. "Let us be more aware of our Constitutional Rights, and be confident to face life ahead. That for me is women's empowerment," 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 ‘Women's Rights' became oh-so-fashionable. It is because of them that the path is smoother today. For that alone, they command and deserve undying respect.