Widening Horizons for Women

By Mary Trewartha / February 22, 2017;

Photo: Contact/Lha

The latest Women’s Empowerment Conference is taking place in Dharamshala from February 21 – 23. The first session has seen the announcement that March 12, traditionally known as Women’s Uprising Day will now be known as Tibetan Women’s Day.

The conference was opened by Pema Tsering from Tibet TV. Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, lit the ceremonial butter lamp and gave the keynote speech and nuns from Dolma Ling Nunnery performed the opening prayers.

The conference is an undertaking of the Women’s Empowerment Desk at the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA)’s Department of Home and is hosting around 350 participants of both genders from a wide spectrum of interests.

The CTA is launching the revised Women’s Empowerment Policy at the conference which they say has been convened to “rake in intellectual and public discourse on the understanding of the revised policy and to garner recommendations on the effective implementation of the clauses of the policy”. It aims to “widen the horizon of grassroots public engagement and action on gender issues and women’s empowerment initiatives and thereby strengthen the social foundations of both personal and public life”.

Photo: Contact/Lha

Four plenary sessions are taking place: Governance and Leadership; Mainstreaming Gender Perspectives into the Development Process; Achieving Social Empowerment of Women and Tackling Sexual and Gender Based Violence. The afternoons include working groups to discuss the issues raised and to provide feedback which will be taken up by the Drafting Committee who will report back at the final session.

The majority of the conference participants have been invited, with 90 seats reserved for individuals wishing to register in their own right. Speakers include Kalon Karma Gelek Yuthok, Lobsang Jinpa, Lynda Lepcha, Kalon Ngodup Tsering, Asha Ramesh, Kasur Rinchen Khando, Tashi Tsering the historian, Shrinja Dixon, Kalon Choekyong Wangchuk, Kalon Karma Yeshi and Chisur Dr B Tsering.