Celebration of International Women's Day
MUMBAI, 3 March 2015 – In honor of International Women’s Day 2015, Asia Society India Centre was delighted to partner with Citi India to welcome Shabana Azmi, Actress and Social Activist, in conversation with Ana Duarte McCarthy, Managing Director and Chief Diversity Officer, Citi. The programme was held to celebrate, encourage and support the strides that women have made, and highlight the challenges that remain to achieve gender equality.
Creating a framework of “India as a land of contradictions”, Azmi argued that while India may have had many women in prominent positions, including the world’s longest serving female prime minister, inequality and injustices towards women remain the norm. However laws alone cannot make the change, as social change is a sensitive task that requires internalization at an early childhood education level. Yet, as Shabana contended, no country can talk about progress until it regards its “Human Development Index just as important as its Gross Domestic Product”. Ana offered fresh insights into the similarities and differences which women face in the West towards the path to empowerment.
On a more personal note, Azmi offered an analysis of the film industry. While applauding the transformation from films such as the 1962 superhit Main Chup Rahungi, which placed virtue on women’s silence and morality, she criticized the hyper-sexualization and objectification of women in contemporary media, particularly in our obsession with item numbers. This objectification of women in the media influences the sexualization of women in all other spheres as well, from the workplace to the streets and at home. Despite the challenges, both Azmi and Duarte McCarthy remained hopeful that as women increasingly become decision makers, the fundamental notion of power will shift to a sharing of power among all individuals, and that problems will be addressed from multiple perspectives. However, as Azmi urged, this can only happen when men and women together take the first step and “speak out before it is too late”.
The conversation came to a close as Azmi indulged the audience in a beautifully fitting rendition of “Aaurat”, written by her father, poet Kaifi Azmi, over 70 years ago. The evening concluded with a soulful performance by acclaimed playback singer, Rekha Bhardwaj.
Reported by Pinki Thakker, Programme Assistant, Asia Society India Centre
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