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UGC-Sponsored Two Day National Seminar
On
Women Leaders and Achievers in Various
Fields - Documentation and Publication of
their Struggles and Contributions
Department of Women’s Studies,
Bharathidasan University,
Tiruchirappalli-620023, Tamil Nadu.
23rd &24th February-2015
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About the University
Bharathidasan University was established in February
1982, and was named after the great revolutionary
Tamil Poet, Bharathidasan (1891-1968). The motto
of the University "We will create a brave new
world" has been framed from Bharathidasan's poetic
words "
". The
University endeavors to be true to such a vision by
creating in the region a brave new world of academic
innovation for social change". (NAAC, - 2005, p.69)
The year 2006-07 is a Silver Jubilee year for this
great and vibrant University
Department of Women’s Studies
Department of Women’s Studies, Bharathidasan
University was established with the support of UGC
as Centre for Women’s Studies during 2004-05. The
Department offers M.A, M.Phil and Ph.D
Programmes in both Gender and Women’s Studies.
In addition, the Department has been continuously
engaging in research with the support of various
International, National and Regional funding
agencies, engages in offering various training,
conducting seminars, workshops and conferences on
various need based vital areas, documenting the
activities and disseminates the outcomes in the form
of publications, monographs, working papers etc. It
also involves in collaboration, networking, advocacy
and lobbying to influence the State, Civil Society, etc
to realize the objective of moving towards gender
equality. It was instrumental in introducing
Foundation Course on Gender Studies to Under
Graduate levels of affiliated colleges of the
Bharathidasan University and published books on
Gender Studies
in
both English and Tamil
languages. It serves as mentor for developing
proposals for UGC Women’s Studies. A well
equipped library serves as a one of the best
common resource centers for students and faculty
members in an interdisciplinary subjects. The
government sponsored skill training and incubator
projects for grass root women, Legal Aid Clinic and
counseling centers are established for women in
distress, placement is arranged for the students. The
expertise of the faculty members on Gender
Sensitization, Entrepreneurship Skill Development,
Life Skills and Counseling, Research Skills,
Development Consultant,
mentoring
towards
women empowerment initiatives, etc are available for
Academic Institutions, NGOs, State, Corporate,
Public Sector, Political leaders, Technical
Institutions, Police, Health, Service sector, civil
society organizations etc.
Seminar Theme Background
Women are emerging as a contributive force
and it becomes inevitable for the society to enfold
them into the development process. Towards
Marching on 21st Century, the women in India have
been proving and excel in various fields and
becoming role models. Thanks to the Women’s
Movements, Women’s Organizations, Feminists etc
who articulated and voiced one for women’s rights.
The credit also goes to gender sensitive and socially
concerned citizens who made it possible for women’s
presence in public sphere, playing crucial role in
economic, social and political fields, occupy
leadership positions in various vital organs of the
state, administering effectively to emphasis the social
change. Even though the society domesticated and
made women to confine to private space, forced to
look after the social and biological reproductive
activities by keeping away from the monetary
economy, failed to recognize their capabilities and
denied fair chance of equal representation, excluded
from public discourse, decision making in household
and community, it was possible for some women
make a difference, broke the stereotypes and to
contribute towards alternative thinking process.
Such phenomenon liberated women and girls to
participate and contribute to social emancipation.
Thanks to foreparents who made it happen with their
commitment and sacrifice which enabled the present
generation to move towards realizing
fair
distribution and social justice.
History cannot be changed in documenting the
contributions of such women who made a difference
in questioning the kind of inequalities and social
injustices prevailed in the society. The women who
made themselves visible in various fields articulated
scientifically the need to enfold every individual be
it men or women or transgender to be inclusive to
address the multiple inequalities in terms of class,
caste, race, ethnic, language, religion, region, gender
etc. Women have been placed at the bottom of
the all forms of social discrimination and experienced
historically all disadvantages, including sexual
harassment, alienation, non-cooperation, character
assassination etc and got ridiculed and demotivated by the social system. In order to, address
such undemocratic and inhuman social attitude,
several women had continuously struggled both
individually and in movement and succeeded in
getting the space for women.
There is an urgent need to document the experiences
of such struggles at grass root, public life, academic
field, industry and entrepreneurship, science and
technology, space research, environment, media,
social sector, or unconventional areas like Defense,
Police etc, which were treated as domains of men, it
serves as a learning resource on the one hand and
demonstrated the “We can Change” attitude on the
other. Though at the surface level, it is revealing that
more and more women are joining development
fields, for several women it was not bed of roses.
Many women suffered in silence but still never gave
it up and sustained in social life. Family might have
refrained from support to prove their potential and
capabilities, their mobility, non-conventional idology
in the given cultural context etc. But several
contemporary women who proved and excelled as
role models with self motivation or motivated by
society, whose experiences have not been
documented for the benefit of future generations. One
of the reasons why women still shy away from
joining social life is the absence of models, mentors,
motivators who would serve as guides to sensitize
towards the multiple injustices prevailed upon and
experienced by women. In this background the Two
Day National Seminar on “Women Leaders and
Achievers in Various Fields, Documentation and
Publication of their Struggles and Contributions” is
conceived. The seminar invites original contributions
from researchers, teachers, students NGOs etc, who
broke the traditions, stood for the principles, and
built an alternative perspective to move towards
gender equality with social justice.
Objective
To document and publish both on visual and printing
modes, the contributions of unsung heroines, unheard
voices, invisible, unrecognized in the social history in
terms of areas of contributions, perspectives,
struggles and hardships, recognitions, ideologies,
strategies of sustenance etc.
Major Theme:
Document and Present the women who still stay as
unsung heroines in various fields in different parts of
the country, from rural, socially and economically
backward, challenging cultural contexts, whose
experiences deserve formal documentation
and
visibility. Both visual and written documentation
case studies.
Sub Themes
The contributors may present and document using
Feminist Research Methods with the application of
qualitative techniques on the following sub themes,
which are however not exhaustive.

Living Experiences, Challenges, Struggles
of women in public life, including
economic, social and political fields to
occupy and sustain in leadership positions at
the National, Regional, State and local in the
contemporary historical contexts.

Women who mobilized people for social
change at grass root in their respective
regions and outside in the field of education,










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
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environment, bio-diversity, science and,
technology, entrepreneurship, micro credit
etc.
Women who have established institutions to
mainstream gender concerns and offered
space for women to interact.
Women who questioned the social
institutions such as religion, caste, cultural
norms, etc and lead a light to others
Women succeeded in creating social change
Gender Sensitive Women mentors and Role
Models in non-conventional areas
Professional women who have contributed
to social change and women empowerment,
balancing home and career
Women who have questioned the sociocultural institutional norms and mobilized
people to contribute to alternative social
norms to be inclusive and equitable.
Women business, academic, political,
administrative leaders who introduced new
norms questioning the existing the
traditional and backward social norms,
which were unfair to women.
The strategies followed by various women,
their self introspection, fight and struggles
faced to put the women into the centre of
development
Women without any supportive background
who contributed towards social change.
The struggles of women who emerged as
first in various fields and their experiences
which are not much documented
Women who have influenced other women
to follow them to ensure social justice, the
kind of experience faced while reaching
their goal
Difficulties of women with alternative
perspectives, in survival, rewards, penalties,
sacrifices, personal loss and the lessons.
Destitute women who emerged as leaders
Original contributions are invited on the role model
women, mentors whose experience deserved to be
documented to inform to the future generation the
kind of struggles and cautions that a women who
enters public life to undergo. It can be women from
any field including academic, business, science,
research, space research, politics, literature and poets,
journalist,
police
and
defense,
bursary,
administrative services, policy makers in public
sector, corporate, banks, social sector, social activists,
farmers, media, arts, music, to grass root wage
operators, tractor, bus, taxi, auto drivers, priests,
SHG women, NGOs, Women Awardees etc.
Women who made original contributions within your
own locality will be encouraged to present. Papers
and video document are encouraged to be presented
by academic institutions, women’s organizations,
NGOs, Women’s Associations and others. Those
who wish to submit their papers may send in both
hard and soft copies in Times New Roman font 12
size, through mail to: nsdw2015dwsbdu@gmail.com,
dwsbdu@gmail.com
Submission Deadlines:
Abstract of around 300 words to be submitted on or
before Feb 15th 2015
Full paper around 5000 words to be submitted on or
before Feb 20th 2015
Registration Fee:
Faculty Members: Rs. 300
Students and Research Scholars: Rs. 200
NGOs and Institutions: Rs. 500
The demand draft may be drawn in favour of
National Seminar, Department of Women’s
Studies,
Bharathidasan
University,
Tiruchirappalli
Tiruchippalli is a centrally located city in Tamil Nadu
and well connected with road, rail and air. Travel
and Accommodation may need to be borne by the
participants. Those who wish to have accommodation
may send a request. It will be arranged as per the
local tariff in hotels and the University guesthouse
Seminar Co-ordinators:
Prof.N.MANIMEKALAI, Director and Head,
Dr.S.SUBA, Asst. Professor,
Department of Women’s Studies, Bharathidasan
University, (Khajamalai Campus), Tiruchirapalli-23,
Tamil Nadu. nsdw2015dwsbdu@gmail.com website:
www.bdu.ac.in +919443030863 +919443923839
0431-2333627E-mail: drsubabdu@gmail.com,
nmanimekalai@mail.com. website www.bdu.ac.in
DEPARTMENT OF WOMEN’S STUDIES
BHARATHIDASAN UNIVERSITYKHAJAMALAI CAMPUS, TIUCHIRAPPALLI-23
Registration Form
UGC-Sponsored Two Day National Seminar On
Women Leaders and Achievers in Various Fields,
Documentation and Publication of their Struggles
and Contributions
Department of Women’s Studies,
Bharathidasan University,
Tiruchirappalli-620023, Tamil Nadu
23rd &24th February-2015
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