SRINAGAR: The Govt. College of Education (IASE), M.A. Road, Srinagar launched a ground breaking two-day International Conference titled 'Voices for Change: Addressing and Preventing Crimes Against Women' today in collaboration with the Asha Paras for Peace and Harmony Foundation (APPHF) India and Soroptimist International, Srinagar Kashmir.
With the aim to address the pervasive issue of violence against women and girls, the conference brings together experts, policymakers and advocates to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices in preventing and responding to the violence against women. The objectives include raising awareness of crimes against women, discussing strategies for prevention and intervention, fostering collaboration between policymakers, academics, activists, and community leaders and amplifying women’s voices and advocating for systemic change
The inaugural session commenced with the felicitation of the esteemed dignitaries and welcome address by Prof. (Dr.) Seema Naz, Principal of the host college and the Nodal Principal of Kashmir Division Colleges. She emphasized the importance of collective action in addressing crimes against women and acknowledged the support of collaborating institutions.
This was followed by the official release of Smart Digest of the Conference by Prof. (Dr.) Mohammad Mobin, Vice Chancellor, Cluster University Srinagar, and Prof. (Dr.) Sheikh Aijaz Bashir, Director of Colleges, UT of J&K.
The experts including Dr. Tawheeda Rasool, Coordinator of the Women’s Studies Centre; Prof. Asha Shukla, Former Vice-Chancellor of BRAUSS and Managing Director of APPHF India; Prof. (Dr.) Mohammad Mobin, Vice Chancellor, Cluster University Srinagar; Prof. (Dr.) Sheikh Aijaz, Director of Colleges, UT of J&K and Ruth Healey, President of Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI); Prof Gurmeet Kaur, Former, Head Department of Languages, GCOE, Srinagar; Prof. (Dr.) Parveen Pandith, President of Soroptimist International Srinagar; Erinda Shah, Founder of Mental Health First Aid India Pvt. Ltd; Bisma Qazi , SP Srinagar East Zone, and Syed Sleet Shah, Dy. SP Hqrs Srinagar also spoke on the occasion.
The experts provided an overview of the conference's objectives, highlighted the significance of strengthening institutional responses to gender-based crimes, promoting gender equity and preventing violence against women, human trafficking & false marriages. Experts from law enforcement elaborated on the role of law enforcement in protecting women's rights and ensuring justice. They also deliberated upon the new criminal laws like BNS 2023 (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita).
The session concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Irfat Ara Khan, Head Department of Psychology, who expressed gratitude to the speakers, attendees, and organizers for their contributions to the conference. Meanwhile, the Wall of Gender Equality curated by Arshid Sualeh, Art Teacher was also inaugurated on the occasion.
The session was moderated by Dr Shaheena Rasool (Coordinator, Teacher Education), and the proceedings were documented by Dr. Shabina, Head Dept. of English and Shawana Manzoor, Head, Dept. of EVS.
