Concept Note on CII & UNICEF CSR Conclave on Women with special focus on Adolescent girls

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1 Concept Note on CII & UNICEF CSR Conclave on Women with special focus on Adolescent girls Background In the eve of celebrating national girl child day on 24 th January, CII and UNICEF are happy to organise a conclave to address the issues faced by women with special focus to adolescent girls on 21 st January. National girl child day has been started as a national girls development mission by the Government of India. This mission raises the awareness among people all over the country about the importance of girl s promotion. It enhances the meaningful contribution of the girls in decision making processes through the active support of the parents and other community members. The worth of a civilization can be judged by the place given to women in the society. One of several factors that justify the greatness of India's ancient culture is the honorable place granted to women. The external invasion on India caused considerable deterioration in the status of women. They were deprived of their rights of equality with men. Raja Ram Mohan Roy started a movement against this inequality and subjugation. The contact of Indian culture with that of the British also brought improvement in the status of women. The third factor in the revival of women's position was the influence of Mahatma Gandhi who induced women to participate in the Freedom Movement. As a result of this retrieval of freedom, women in India have distinguished themselves as in different walks of life. On the surface, it looks like women's empowerment has been achieved in the sense that women are educated and employed in large numbers. However, the evils of illiteracy, dowry, domestic and work place violence, and economic slavery would have to be fully removed in order to give them their rightful place in Indian society. World's Most Dangerous Countries for Women Targeted violence against women, dismal healthcare and desperate poverty make Afghanistan the world's most dangerous country in which to be born a woman, with Congo a close second due to horrific levels of rape. Pakistan, India and Somalia are ranked third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the global survey of perceptions of threats ranging from domestic abuse and economic discrimination to female foeticide (the destruction of a fetus in the uterus), genital mutilation and acid attack, according to a survey compiled by the Thomson Reuters

2 Foundation to mark the launch of Trust Law Woman. The risks include health threats, sexual violence, non-sexual violence, cultural or religious restrictions, lack of access to resources and trafficking. Women as a Liability The Indian Constitution grants women equal rights to men, but strong patriarchal traditions persist in different spheres of society where women's lives are shaped by customs that are centuries old. Hence, in these strata, daughters are often regarded as a liability, and conditioned to believe that they are inferior and subordinate to men, whereas sons are idolized and celebrated. The first concerted effort on Women's Empowerment in India is the National Policy for the Empowerment of Women NPEW This policy is the culmination of international and national attempts to create a blue print for a gender sensitive society. Empowerment can be defined within the following frames: freedom in personal and professional spheres of life, access to health care, education and employment, legal redress and elimination of discrimination and violence against women. Gender sensitive policies: Gender is a critical factor that determines an individual s role and status. Because women and men have different roles and utilise the resources of their environment differently, development and environmental programmes affect women and men differently. The common assumption is that the whole household or community will benefit equally from such programmes, but this is rarely the case. Different people have different roles and status in a household and in a community, which can favour or hinder their capacity to access information, obtain new opportunities, and make decisions. Thus, it is important to develop gender sensitive programmes and monitor their impacts with methodologies and gender sensitive indicators. A gender sensitive programme recognises that women s role is as important as men s in addressing environmental and development issues. It acknowledges that, because they have different roles, women and men may have different needs, which must be addressed in order to achieve sustainable development. The gender perspective is not only relevant to projects where women are the principal target group, it must be mainstreamed in all environmental

3 and development programmes. A programming process is gender sensitive when the gender dimension is systematically integrated into every step of the process, from defining the problem, to identifying potential solutions, in the methodology and approach to implementation. Objectives The objective of this Conclave is to provide a holistic framework within which women's empowerment can be discussed as part of the CSR initiatives. The Conclave hopes to provide wide ranging perspectives of different stakeholders in different walks of life academia, NGOs and corporates. The Conclave will include key note addresses, panel discussions and interactive sessions by experts. It is hoped that participants will gain an insight on issues pertaining to women's empowerment and will be able to formulate appropriate gender sensitive CSR policies. Session 1 Women and gender constructs - Child marriage- A Changing Scenario Session 2 End violence on girls - A Reality Check CSR Case Studies Session 3 Gender Sensitive Society Models in Personal, Professional and Social Spheres Session 4 Women Development Solutions and the Way Forward Knowledge Partner Department of Women Studies University of Madras

4 CII & UNICEF CSR Conclave on Women with special focus on Adolescent girls Hrs Registration 0930 Hrs to 1700 Hrs : 21 January 2015, Hotel Raintree, Anna Salai, Chennai Suggested Programme Hrs: Inaugural Session 10 Mins Welcome & Introductory Mr Padmakumar Remarks Co Chairman - CSR Sub Committee CII SR & Team Leader - HR, Saint Gobain Glass India Ltd 15 Mins Special Address Mr Arun Dobhal* Officer in Charge UNICEF Chennai 15 Mins Key Note Address Dr R Thandavan* Vice Chancellor University of Madras 5 Mins Concluding remarks Dr Bharathi Harishankar Prof & Head Dept of Women Studies, University of Madras

5 Hrs: Session 1 Women and gender constructs Child marriage - A Changing Scenario 45 Mins Panel discussion on Women and Gender Constructs - A Changing Scenario Welcome & Context Setting Dr Rita John Professor of Theoretical Physics University of Madras Ms Grana Pu Selvi Integrated Programming Child Health, World Vision India Mr Vidyasagar Ramamurthy Child Protection Specialist UNICEF 10 Mins Q & A 5 Mins Closing Remarks & Dr Rita John Summary of Discussion Hrs: Tea Break

6 Hrs: Session 2 End violence on girls - A Reality Check CSR Case Studies 45 Mins Panel discussion on Status of Women with a special focus on girl child A Reality Check Welcome & Context Setting Dr M Priyamvadha Assistant Professor of Criminology University of Madras Ms Andal Damodaran President, Indian Council for Child Welfare, Tamil Nadu (ICCWTN) Mr Sugata Roy Communication Specialist UNICEF 10 Mins Q & A 5 Mins Closing Remarks & Dr M Priyamvadha Summary of Discussion Hrs: Lunch

7 Hrs: Session 3 Gender Sensitive Society Models in Personal, Professional and Social Spheres 45 Mins Panel discussion on Gender Sensitive Society Models in Personal, Professional and Social Spheres 10 Mins Q & A Welcome & Context Dr V Kadambari Setting Director, Centre for Women's Studies, Ethiraj College for Women, Chennai Ms P Madhavi Latha Associate Vice President - Trade Services SSC Chennai, Scope International Pvt Ltd Ms T Vanadhi Devi President- SIAWED, Southern Industrial Academy for Women Entrepreneur Development 5 Mins Closing Remarks & Dr V Kadambari Summary of Discussion

8 Hrs: Session 4 Women Development Solutions and the Way Forward 45 Mins Panel discussion on Women Development Solutions and the Way Forward Welcome & Context Setting Dr Sumanth C Raman Member- CSR Sub Committee, CII SR & Head Healthcare Innovation, Tata Consultancy Services Dr G Palanithurai Professor, Department of Political Science & Development Administration Dr C K Sreedharan Deputy Chairman Srinivasan Services Trust 10 Mins Q & A 5 Mins Closing Remarks & Dr Sumanth C Raman Summary of Discussion 1630 Hrs Tea 1700 Hrs End of the programme